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Dunkirk (French: Dunkerque, pronounced or ; Dutch: Duinkerke or Duinkerken) is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the département 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 Dutch "duin" (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
History Dunkirk was first mentioned in 1067 as Dunkerk (Dutch: “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. The Man in the Iron Mask was also arrested in Dunkirk. Dunkirk in World War II 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 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. The fortress eventually surrendered in May 1945. During the war, Dunkirk was largely destroyed by bombing. 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 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. Tourist attractions Transportation Dunkirk has a ferry connection with Dover in England. Sport Twin towns Dunkirk is twinned with: Dunkirk has cooperation agreements with: | ||||||||||
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