Dunkirk

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For other uses of Dunkirk or Dunkerque, see Dunkirk (disambiguation).

Template:French commune Image:LocatieDuinkerke.PNG Template:FRdot Image:Digue de Dunkerque.jpg Image:Dunkirk.gif Image:Carnaval dunkerque.jpg Template:Commons Dunkirk (French: Dunkerque, pronounced Template:IPA or Template:IPA; Dutch: Duinkerke or Duinkerken) is a harbor city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the département of Nord, 10 km from the Belgian border.

Population of the city (commune) at the 1999 census was 70,850 inhabitants (71,300 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (aire urbaine) was 265,974 inhabitants at the 1999 census.

Its name is derived from the West Flemish (Dutch) "duin" (dune) and "kerke" (church). Till the middle of the 20th century the city was situated in the Dutch language area; today the local Dutch dialect still can be found, but has been largely replaced by French.

1 Administration
2 History
- 2.1 Dunkirk 1940
- 2.2 Dunkirk 1944
3 Economy
4 Tourist attractions
5 Miscellaneous
6 External links

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Administration

The commune has grown substantially by absorbing several neighboring communes:

1970: Merg with Malo-les-Bains (which had been created by being detached from Dunkerque in 1881)
1972: Fusion with Petite-Synthe and Rosendaël (the latter had been created by being detached from Téteghem in 1856)
1980: Fusion-association with Mardyck (which became a commune associée, with a population of 372 in 1999)
1980: A large part of Petite-Synthe is detached from Dunkerque and included into Grande-Synthe
2003: Project of fusion with Saint-Pol-sur-Mer (commune created by its territory being detached from Petite-Synthe in 1877). On December 19, 2003, the municipal councils of Dunkerque and Saint-Pol-sur-Mer decided in favor of a fusion-association, which would create a new entity with a population of 94,187. The préfet requested a popular referendum, although this procedure was not mandatory (it became mandatory on January 1, 2005). The referendum took place on December 5, 2004, actually covering 3 communes: Dunkerque, Saint-Pol-sur-Mer and Fort-Mardyck. Although the yes won with 54 % of the votes, it did not gather 25% of the potential electorate, as requested by the law. The préfet rejected the fusion proposal as a consequence.

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History

Dunkirk was first mentioned in 1067 as Dunkerk (Flemish: “Church of the Dunes”). The area was much disputed between Spain, England, the Netherlands and France. In the Eighty Years' War the port was the base of the infamous Dunkirker Raiders until the city was conquered by Louis XIII of France in 1646. Private shipping magnates (reders in Dutch) operated whole privateer fleets to intercept Dutch merchants. It became definitively French when Charles II of England sold it to France for £40,000 on 17 October 1662. During the reign of Louis XIV, a large number of commerce raiders had again their base at Dunkirk; Jean Bart was the most famous, known for attacking Dutch ships.

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Dunkirk 1940

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In World War II, heavy fighting took place around Dunkirk during the German invasion in 1940, but a lull in the action unexpectedly allowed a large number of French and British soldiers to escape to England. 338,226 men were evacuated amidst constant bombing (the miracle of Dunkirk, as Winston Churchill called it). The British evacuation of Dunkirk through the English Canal was codenamed Operation Dynamo. During the war, Dunkirk was largely destroyed by bombing.

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Dunkirk 1944

The city was again contested in 1944, and the Second Canadian Division attempted to liberate the city in September, as Allied forces surged northeast after their victory in the Battle of Normandy. German forces refused to relinquish their control of the city, which had been converted into a fortress, and the garrison there was "masked" by Allied troops. The fortress eventually surrendered in May 1945.

On 14 December 2002, the Norwegian auto carrier Tricolor collided with the Bahamian-registered Kariba and sank off Dunkirk harbor, causing a hazard to navigation in the English Channel.

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Economy

Dunkirk is the third largest harbour in France, after Le Havre and Marseille. It is also an industrial city, heavily dependent on the steel, food processing, oil refining, ship building and chemical industries.

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Tourist attractions

The Musée Portuaire hosts exhibits images about the history and presence of the port.
The Musée des Beaux-Arts has a large collection of Flemish, Italian and French paintings and sculptures.

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