Everything about Dunkirk totally explained
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alt moy=4 m |alt mini=0 m |alt maxi=17 m |
hectares=3,734|
km²=37.34 |
sans=70,850|
date-sans=1999|
dens=1,897|
date-dens=1999}}
Dunkirk (
French:
Dunkerque, or [dɛ̃kɛʀk];
Dutch: ;) is a harbour city and a
commune in the northernmost part of
France, in the
department of
Nord, 10 kilometres (6
mi) 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
West-Flemish "dun(e)" (
dune) and "kerke" (church). Until the middle of the 20th century the city was situated in the
Dutch language area; today the local Dutch dialect (
West Flemish) still can be found but has been largely replaced by
French.
Administration
The commune has grown substantially by absorbing several neighbouring communes:
- 1970: Merger with Malo-les-Bains (which had been created by being detached from Dunkirk 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 an associated commune, with a population of 372 in 1999)
- 1980: A large part of Petite-Synthe is detached from Dunkirk 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 Dunkirk and Saint-Pol-sur-Mer decided in favour of a fusion-association, which would create a new entity with a population of 94,187. The prefect requested a referendum, although this procedure wasn't 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 didn't gather 25% of the potential electorate, as required by the law. The prefect rejected the fusion proposal as a consequence.
History
Dunkirk was first mentioned in 1067 as
Dunkerk (
Dutch: “Church of the Dune” or
Dune Church). 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
Dunkirkers: private shipowners (
reders in Dutch) operated whole
privateer fleets to intercept merchants from countries hostile to the Spanish Habsburgs. The Dunkirkers briefly lost their home port, as the city was conquered by the French in 1646 but recaptured by the Habsburgs in 1652.
In 1657, as a result of war between
Oliver Cromwell's
Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Spain, it was captured by English forces, and was awarded to England in the peace the following year. It became definitively French when
Charles II of England sold it to France for £320,000 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. The
Man in the Iron Mask was also arrested in Dunkirk.
Dunkirk in World War II
In May 1940 during the
battle of France, the
British Expeditionary Force in France aiding the French, were cut off from the rest of the French Army by the German advance. Encircled by the Germans they retreated to the area around the port of Dunkirk. The German land forces could have easily destroyed the British expeditionary force, especially when many of the British troops, in their haste to withdraw, had left behind their heavy equipment. For some unexplained and still unknown reason, Adolf Hitler ordered the German army to stop the attack, favouring bombardment by the Luftwaffe. Some say it was because Hitler was still hopeful of establishing diplomatic peace with Britain and was still trying to avoid a full-fledged war, while others contest that the unfavourable terrain (which wasn't suited to armoured vehicles) and a strategic German desire to retain strength for future operations was the real explanation. This lull in the action gave the British a few days to evacuate by sea.
Winston Churchill ordered any ship or boat available, large or small, to pick up the stranded soldiers, and 338,226 men (including 120,000 French soldiers) were evacuated - the
miracle of Dunkirk, as Churchill called it. It took over 900 vessels to evacuate the Allied forces. More than 40,000 vehicles as well as massive amounts of other military equipment and supplies were left behind; their value being less than that of trained fighting men. The British evacuation of Dunkirk through the English Channel was codenamed
Operation Dynamo.
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, notably
1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. The fortress under command of German Admiral Friedrich Frisius eventually unconditionally surrendered to the commander of the Czechoslovak forces,
Brigade General Alois Liška, on
May 9 1945.
During the German occupation, Dunkirk was largely destroyed by allied bombings.
Postwar Dunkirk
On
14 December 2002, the
Norwegian auto carrier Tricolor collided with the
Bahamian-registered
Kariba and sank off Dunkirk harbour, causing a hazard to navigation in the
English Channel.
Economy
Dunkirk has the third largest harbour in France, after those of
Le Havre and
Marseille. It is also an industrial city, heavily dependent on the
steel,
food processing,
oil refining,
ship building and
chemical industries.
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.
The Carnival of Dunkirk
Miscellaneous
Transport
Dunkirk has a ferry connection with Dover in England.
Sport
USL Dunkerque, French football club, currently playing in the CFA.
The Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (or Four Days of Dunkirk) is an important elite professional road bicycle racing event.
Stage 2 of the 2007 Tour de France departed from Dunkirk.
Twin towns
Dunkirk is twinned with:
Krefeld, Germany since 15 June 1974
Redcar, United Kingdom since April 12, 1976
Gaza, Palestine
Riga, Latvia since 1960
Rostock, Germany since 1960
Vitória, Brazil since unknown date
Corumbá, Brazil since unknown date
Dunkirk has cooperation agreements with:
Dartford district, United Kingdom since March 1988
Thanet district, United Kingdom since June 18, 1993Further Information
Get more info on 'Dunkirk'.
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