Boulogne-sur-Mer

This article is about Boulogne-sur-Mer. For other places called Boulogne, see Boulogne.

Coordinates: 50°43′35″N 1°36′53″E / 50.7263888889, 1.61472222222

Commune of Boulogne-Sur-Mer

Courthouse
Location
Boulogne-sur-Mer is located in France
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Administration
Country France
Region Nord-Pas de Calais
Department Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement Boulogne-sur-Mer
Intercommunality Boulogne Côte d'Opale
Mayor Frédéric Cuvillier
(2001-2008)
Statistics
Land area1 8.42 km2 (3.25 sq mi)
Population2
(1999)		 44,859
 - Density 5,327.7 /km² (13,799 /sq mi) (1999)
Miscellaneous
Postal code 62200
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.
France

Boulogne-sur-Mer (Bonen in Dutch) is a city in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais.

The population of the city was 44,859 in the 1999 census, whereas that of the whole metropolitan area was 135,116.

Contents

Name

The name Boulogne was first recorded during the Roman Empire as Bononia, a derivative of the Celtic word bona (meaning "foundation", "settlement", "citadel"). This derivation is also found in the name of the Italian city of Bologna.

History

The cathedral of Boulogne towers over the city

Origin of the city

Originally named Gesoriacum and probably also to be identified with Portus Itius, by the 4th century Boulogne was known to the Romans as Bononia and served as the major port connecting the rest of the empire to Britain. The emperor Claudius used this town as his base for the Roman invasion of Britain, in AD 43, and until 296 it was the base of the Classis Britannica.

Middle Ages

In the Middle Ages it was the centre of a namesake county. The area was fought over by the French and the English. In 1550, The Peace of Boulogne ended the war of England with Scotland and France. France bought back Boulogne for 400,000 crowns.

The Napoleonic period

In the 19th century the Cathedral of Notre Dame was reconstructed by the priest Benoit Haffreingue after he received a call from God to reconstruct the town's ruined basilica. During the Napoleonic Wars, Napoleon amassed La Grande Armée in Boulogne to invade the United Kingdom in 1805. However, his plans were halted by other European matters and the supremacy of the Royal Navy.

The two world wars

On June 15, 1944 297 aircraft (155 Lancasters, 130 Halifaxes, 12 Mosquitos) of the Royal Air Force bombed Boulogne harbour with the aim of surpressing German naval activity following D-Day. Some of the Lancasters carried Tallboy bombs. As a result, the harbour and the surrounding area were completely destroyed. To replace the vanished urban infrastructure, affordable housing and public facility projects in functional, brutalist building style were carried out in the 1950's and 60's. The harbour therefore sometimes proves to be a disappointment to tourists looking for typical Northern French harbour sceneries.

Post war to present

Economy

Boulogne-sur-Mer is the most important fishing port in France. 7,000 inhabitants derive part or all of their livelihoods from fishing.

IFREMER (the French Research Institute for Exploitation of the Sea) and the Pasteur Institute are located in Boulogne Port.

Certain brands, including Crown and Findus, are based in Boulogne.

Media

Miscellaneous

The Belfry is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Opened in 1991, Nausicaä - The French National Sea Centre is a Science Centre entirely dedicated to the relationship between Mankind and the Sea. It houses Aquaria, exhibitions on the marine fauna, and the exploitation and management of marine resources (fisheries, aquaculture, coastal planning, maritime transport, exploitation of energies and mineral, tourism).

In the year 1905 the First Esperanto Universal Congress was held in Boulogne-sur-Mer. L. L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, was among the attendees. In the year 2005 there was held a great anniversary meeting with more than 500 attendees.

Administration

List of Mayors
Duration Name Party Particularities
2008-2014 Frédéric Cuvillier PS Deputy
2004-2008 Frédéric Cuvillier PS Deputy
1996-2004 Guy Lengagne HI PS Deputy
1989-1996 Jean Muselet Conservative
1977-1989 Guy Lengagne PS Deputy, Minister
1945-1977 Henri Henneguelle PS
Past mayors are unknow.

Population

Boulogne's Castle Museum.
Demographic evolution of Boulogne-sur-Mer between 1936 and 2006
1936 1954 1962 1968 1975 1982 1990 1999 2006

52 371

 34 885 49 283 49 288 48 440 47 653 43 678 44 859 43 700

Transport

Road

  • Metropolitan bus services are operated by the TCRB
  • Coach services to Calais and Dunkerque
  • A16 motorway

Rail

  • The main railway station is Boulogne-Ville and located in the south of the city.
  • Boulogne-Tintelleries is used for regional transit. It is located near the University and the city center.

Water

Education

The Saint-Louis campus of University of Côte d'Opale.

Boulogne sur Mer is famous for hosting one of the oldest Universités de l'été - summer courses in French language and culture.

The Saint-Louis building of the University of the Côte d'Opale's Boulogne campus opened it's doors in 1991, on the site of the former St. Louis hospital, the front entrance to which remains a predominant architectural feature. Its 6 major specialisms are Modern Languages, French Literature, Sport, Law, History and Economics. The University is situated in the town centre, about 5 minutes from the Boulogne Tintelleries train station.

University

Public primary and secondary

  • High Schools : Lycée Edouard Branly, Auguste Marriette, Giraux Sannier, Cazin (professional).
  • College : College Langevin, Angelier, Daunou.

Private primary and secondary

  • High schools : Lycée Nazareth, Haffreingue, Saint-Joseph (professional).
  • College : College Godefroy de Bouillon, Haffreingue, Nazareth, Saint-Joseph.xc

Entertainment

There is one theatre, the Théatre Monsigny and two cinemas.

Health

Two health centers are located in Boulogne. The public Hospital Duchenne and the private Clinique de la côte d'opale

Sports

Football

Basketball

Others Sports

  • Aviron Boulonnais, produce many olympic medals for France

Culture

  • The castle-museum of Boulogne, in the fortified town, houses the most important exhibition of masks from Alsaka in the world, the second largest collection of Greek ceramics in France (after the Louvre), collections of Roman and medieval sculptures, paintings (15th-20th century), an Egyptian collection, African Arts etc. As these collections are exhibited in a medieval castle, one can also discover the Roman walls (in the underground) as well as rooms built in the 13th century (La Barbière, banqueting hall, chapel, covered parapet walk...)
  • La Casa San Martin is currently a museum where José de San Martin the leader of independence struggle in Argentina died in 1850, from 1930 to 1967 this house was the consulate of Argentina in France.
  • Nausicaä, the French national sealife center.

Food

  • La Matellote
  • Welsh Rarebit
  • Sandwich américain
  • Kipper
  • Le Hostellerie De le Rivere

Personalities

Born in Boulogne

Others associated with Boulogne

The Column of "la Grande Armée" commemorates Napoleon's gathering of 200,000 soldiers near Boulogne for a proposed invasion of England

Twin towns

Boulogne-sur-Mer is twinned with:

See also

References

Based on the article in the French Wikipedia.

External links

Sister project Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Boulogne-sur-Mer