Boulogne-sur-Mer

Boulogne-sur-Mer Boulonne-su-Mér ( West Flemish)
Subprefecture and commune
A general view from the Brecquerecque Quarter: The modern lighthouse, the medieval bell tower and the English Channel
Flag Coat of arms
Location of Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer Show map of France Boulogne-sur-Mer Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°43′35″N 1°36′53″E / 50.7264°N 1.6147°E / 50.7264; 1.6147
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Boulogne-sur-Mer
Canton	Boulogne-sur-Mer-1 and 2
Intercommunality	CA du Boulonnais
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Frédéric Cuvillier[1] (PS)
Area 1	8.42 km2 (3.25 sq mi)
• Urban	62.8 km2 (24.2 sq mi)
• Metro	667 km2 (258 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	40,910
• Density	4,900/km2 (13,000/sq mi)
• Urban  (2018[3])	84,676
• Urban density	1,300/km2 (3,500/sq mi)
• Metro  (2018[3])	160,130
• Metro density	240/km2 (620/sq mi)
Demonym	Boulonnaise
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	62160 /62200
Elevation	0–110 m (0–361 ft)
Website	http://www.ville-boulogne-sur-mer.fr/
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Boulogne-sur-Mer (French:

Boulogne is an ancient town and was the main Roman port for trade and communication with its Province of Britain. After a period of Germanic presence following the collapse of the Empire, Boulogne was integrated into the County of Boulogne of the Kingdom of France during the Middle Ages. It was occupied by the Kingdom of England numerous times due to conflict between the two nations. In 1805 it was a staging area for Napoleon's troops for several months during his planned invasion of the United Kingdom.

The city's 12th-century belfry is recognised by

Name

The French name Boulogne derives from the

History

Origin of the city

The foundation of the city known to the Romans as Gesoriacum is credited to the

The city was an important town of the Morini (the 'sea people'), and Zosimus called it Germanorum ("Germanic-speaking") at the end of the 4th century.^[11]

Middle Ages

In the

Boulogne received its current status as a

The 19th century was a prosperous one for Boulogne, which became a

A nephew of Napoleon Bonaparte, Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte (subsequently the emperor Napoleon III), returned to France in secret from his exile in Britain, passing through Boulogne in August 1840. He was later jailed for trying to lead a revolt in Strasbourg.

World wars

Until June 1918, the dead from the hospitals at Boulogne were buried in the Cimetiere de L'Est, one of the town's cemeteries, the Commonwealth graves forming a long, narrow strip along the right hand edge of the cemetery. In the spring of 1918, it was found that space was running short in the Eastern Cemetery in spite of repeated extensions to the south and the site of the new cemetery at Terlincthun was chosen.[14] It also was the site of an Allied (French and British) armaments production conference.

On 22 May 1940 during the

Location

Boulogne-sur-Mer is in Northern France, at the edge of the Channel and in the mouth of the river Liane. In a direct line, Boulogne is approximately at 30 kilometres (19 miles) from Calais, 50 kilometres (31 miles) from Folkestone, 100 kilometres (62 miles) from Lille and Amiens, 150 kilometres (93 miles) from Rouen and London and 215 kilometres (134 miles) from Paris.

Boulogne is a relatively important city of the North, exercising an influence on the

The city is divided into several parts :

• City centre : groups historic and administrative buildings, and also accommodations, stores, banks, churches, pedestrian streets and places.
• Fortified town : old-town where are a lot of historic monuments (the castle-museum, the basilica, the belfry, the imperial palace) and also the city hall and the courthouse. it is surrounded by 13th-century ramparts very appreciated today by walkers.
• Gambetta-Sainte-Beuve : tourist area situated in the northwest of the city, on the edge of the beach and the recreational harbour.
• Capécure : economic and industrial area, situated in the west of the city, around the harbour.
• Saint-Pierre (Saint Peter) : former neighborhood of the fishermen, destroyed during World War II and reconstructed after.
• Chemin Vert (Green path) : zone created in the 1950s, knowing today poverty and unemployment. it is the neighborhood of Franck Ribéry.
• Dernier Sou (Last penny) : residential area situated in the east of the city.
• Beaurepaire (Beautiful hideout) : residential area situated in the north of the city.
• Bréquerecque : residential area situated in the south of the city.

Climate

Boulogne-sur-Mer has an

Boulogne is close to the

The city has several railway stations, of which the most important is

Boulogne has no cross channel ferry services since the closure of the route to Dover by LD Lines in 2010.^{[citation needed]}

The regional trains are

Sights

Boulogne's 12th-century belfry is one of 56 listed

• Medieval walls 1,500 metres long, with 4 gates and 17 towers from the 13th century
• Medieval castle, whose foundations date to Roman times. It houses an Egyptian art collection, and the ancient Greek Suicide of Ajax Vase.
• Gothic church of St Nicholas, housing several 15th-century statues
• Cathedral basilica of Notre-Dame
  , with a dome standing at over 100 m. The crypt is one of the largest in France, and has Roman, Romanesque and Gothic elements.
• 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 marine fauna, and the exploitation and management of marine resources (fisheries, aquaculture, coastal planning, maritime transport, exploitation of energies and mineral, tourism).
• The Boulogne Eastern Cemetery, created during the Great War
• Colonne de la Grande Armée – Statue of Napoleon I

Economy

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Boulogne-sur-Mer is an important fishing port, with 7,000 inhabitants deriving 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, have regional offices in Boulogne.

Media

• Radio : France Bleu Nord, Virgin Radio Côte d'Opale
• Television : France 3 Côte d'Opale
• Print :
  La Voix du Nord
  (édition de Boulogne sur Mer), La Semaine dans le Boulonnais, Touzazimut

Events

In 1905, the first World Esperanto Congress was held in Boulogne-sur-Mer, where the historic Declaration of Boulogne was ratified. L. L. Zamenhof, the creator of Esperanto, was among the attendees. In 2005, there was an anniversary celebration to mark the centenary with more than 500 attendees.

Administration

• Boulogne is the seat of the Communauté d'agglomération du Boulonnais

Population

In 2018, 40,664 people lived in the city, while its metropolitan area had a population of 160,130.^[3]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 10,137 —     1800 10,685 +0.75% 1806 13,257 +3.66% 1821 17,728 +1.96% 1831 20,874 +1.65% 1836 25,732 +4.27% 1841 29,145 +2.52% 1846 30,994 +1.24% 1851 30,783 −0.14% 1856 34,739 +2.45% 1861 35,349 +0.35% 1866 38,492 +1.72% 1872 38,514 +0.01% 1876 40,075 +1.00% 1881 44,842 +2.27% 1886 45,916 +0.47% 1891 45,205 −0.31% 1896 46,807 +0.70%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 49,949 +1.31% 1906 51,201 +0.50% 1911 53,128 +0.74% 1921 55,336 +0.41% 1926 52,839 −0.92% 1931 51,854 −0.38% 1936 52,371 +0.20% 1946 34,885 −3.98% 1954 41,870 +2.31% 1962 49,281 +2.06% 1968 49,276 −0.00% 1975 48,440 −0.24% 1982 47,653 −0.23% 1990 43,678 −1.08% 1999 44,859 +0.30% 2007 43,840 −0.29% 2012 42,785 −0.49% 2017 40,874 −0.91%
Graphs are unavailable due to technical issues. There is more info on Phabricator and on MediaWiki.org.
Source: EHESS[20] and INSEE (1968-2017)[21]

Education

Boulogne-sur-Mer hosts one of the oldest Universités de l'été – summer courses in French language and culture. It is known as the Université d'été de Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The Saint-Louis building of the University of the Côte d'Opale's Boulogne campus opened its 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^{[clarification needed]} from the Boulogne Tintelleries railway station.

University

• Campus
  Université Lille Nord de France
  .

Public primary and secondary

• High schools : Lycée Auguste Mariette, Edouard Branly, Cazin (professional).
• College : College Langevin, Angelier, Daunou.

Private primary and secondary

• High schools: Lycée Nazareth, Haffreingue, Saint-Joseph
• College: College Godefroy de Bouillon, Haffreingue, Nazareth, Saint-Joseph

Health

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

Sports

Boulogne's football club,

The Château de Boulogne-sur-Mer (now a castle museum) of Boulogne, in the fortified town, houses the most important exhibition of masks from Alaska 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 Martín the leader of independence struggle in Argentina (also Chile and Peru) died in 1850, from 1930 to 1967 this house was the consulate of Argentina in France. There is a statue dedicated to his colleague Simón Bolívar, other liberator of South America in the revolutions against Spanish colonial rule in the 1810s. Bolivar planned to head in exile to this very part of France before his death in 1830. Historic emigration in the 19th century from the Nord-Pas de Calais region to Argentina and Chile can explain some cultural ties with South America of the Boulognais and Latino/Ibero-American culture. ^{[citation needed]}

Food

As an international maritime port on the English Channel (La Manche), the town of Boulogne-sur-Mer has European and American influences in local cuisine. They include:

• Welsh rarebit (from Wales, United Kingdom)
• Sandwich américain (an American sandwich introduced from the US)
• Kipper (Flemish: smoked herring)

Notable people

Born in Boulogne

• Guynemer (fl. 1090s), pirate.
• Matilda of Boulogne (1105–1152), Countess of Boulogne and queen consort of England; the wife of Stephen, King of England
  (reigned 1135–1154).
• Michel Le Quien (1661–1733), monk and historian.
• Pierre Claude François Daunou (1761–1840), politician and historian.
• Frédéric Sauvage (1786–1857), engineer and a pioneer of the propeller.
• Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve (1804–1869), literary critic and one of the major figures of French literary history.
• neurologist
  .
• Auguste Delacroix (1809-1868), painter.
• Auguste Mariette (1821–1881), scholar and archaeologist, one of the foremost Egyptologists of his generation, and the founder of the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.
• Joseph O'Kelly (1828–1885), composer and pianist.
• Auguste O'Kelly (1829–1900), music publisher.
• Charles Frédéric O'Kelly (1830–1897), managing director of Blanzy-Poure.
• George O'Kelly (1831–1914), pianist and composer.
• Alexandre Guilmant (1837–1911), organist/composer.
• Étienne-Prosper Berne-Bellecour (1838–1910), painter.
• Benoît-Constant Coquelin (1841–1909), actor.
• Ernest Hamy (1842–1908), anthropologist/ethnologist; created (in 1880) the museum of ethnography of Trocadéro (today known as the Musée de l'Homme, Trocadéro).
• Ernest Alexandre Honoré Coquelin (1848–1909), actor.
• Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris, and professor at the Paris Conservatory
  .
• Henri Malo (1868–1948), writer and historian.
• Léo Marjane (1912–2016), singer.
• Georges Mathieu (1921–2012), famous painter, initiator of "lyrical abstraction" and informal art.
• Michel Caffier (born 1930), writer and literary critic.
• Sophie Daumier (1934–2004), film actress.
• Estha Essombe (born 1963), judoka.
• Jean-Pierre Papin (born 1963), footballer.
• David Ringot (born 1969), footballer.
• Mickaël Bourgain (born 1980), track cyclist.
• Franck Ribéry (born 1983), footballer.
• Terence Makengo (born 1992), footballer.

Others associated with Boulogne

• Godfrey of Bouillon (c.1060–1100), Count of Boulogne, prominent figure in the First Crusade
• Baldwin I of Jerusalem (c.1058–1118), Count of Boulogne, prominent figure in the First Crusade
• Blaise de Monluc
  (1502–1577), Marshal of France
• Richard Martin (1754–1834), Irish parliamentarian and animal rights campaigner; exiled to Boulogne in 1826, where he died
• Smithson Tennant (1761–1815), chemist, discoverer of osmium and iridium, died falling from a bridge in Boulogne
• debtor's prison
  . He lived there for several years, and met his wife during this period.
• Adam Liszt (1776–1827), father of Franz Liszt, died from Typhoid fever while on a vacation
• José de San Martín (1778–1850), Argentine general who liberated Argentina, Chile and Peru; lived for two years in Boulogne and died there
• John Short Hewett (1781–1835), British cleric and academic, died there
• Benoît-Agathon Haffreingue
  (1785–1871), priest and builder of Boulogne's cathedral
• Félix Godefroid (1818–1897), Belgium-born composer, grew up in Boulogne
• Constant Coquelin
  (1841–1909), actor
• In Flanders Field
• Alfred-Georges Regner (1902–1987), painter-engraver
• Maurice Boitel (1919–2007), painter
• Olivier Latry (born 1962), musician, educator
• Grégory Thil (born 1980), footballer
• N'Golo Kanté (born 1991), footballer
• Randal Kolo Muani (born 1998), footballer

International relations

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Boulogne-sur-Mer is

• Folkestone, Kent, United Kingdom^[24]
• La Plata, Argentina
• Safi, Morocco – since 2007
• Deux-Ponts (Zweibrücken), Germany – since 1959

See also

• Boulonnais (land area)
• First Siege of Boulogne
• Itius Portus
• Vieux-Boulogne

References

Further reading

• "Boulogne", A Handbook for Travellers in France (8th ed.), London: John Murray, 1861,
  OL 24627024M
• "Boulogne-sur-Mer", Northern France (3rd ed.), Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1899,
  OL 24872324M
• "Boulogne sur Mer" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (9th ed.). 1878. pp. 171–172.
• "Boulogne-sur-Mer" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). 1911. pp. 323–324.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Boulogne-sur-Mer.

Wikivoyage has a travel guide for Boulogne-sur-Mer.

• Website about Boulogne-sur-Mer (English only)
• IGN (in English)
• Official website: Tourism in Boulogne sur Mer and the Boulonnais area (in English)
• Boulogne-sur-Mer city council website (in French)
• Visiting Boulogne-sur-Mer (English guide and tourist map)
• NAUSICAÄ's official website (in French and English)
• Boulogne 2005 Esperanto
• Universite d'ete de Boulogne-sur-Mer Archived 23 May 2017 at the Wayback Machine
• The university library of ULCO
• The Boulogne Eastern Cemetery on the website "Remembrance Trails of the Great War in Northern France"