Cucq (; unofficially also: ''Cucq-Trépied-Stella-Plage''; vls, Kuuk, lang) is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the

Pas-de-Calais Pas-de-Calais (, " strait of Calais"; pcd, Pas-Calés; also nl, Nauw van Kales) is a department in northern France named after the French designation of the Strait of Dover, which it borders. It has the most communes of all the departments ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Hauts-de-France Hauts-de-France (; pcd, Heuts-d'Franche; , also ''Upper France'') is the northernmost Regions of France, region of France, created by the territorial reform of French regions in 2014, from a merger of Nord-Pas-de-Calais and Picardy. Its Prefectu ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.INSEE commune file
/ref>

Geography

Cucq is made up of three villages: Cucq itself, the second village of Trépied in the north and the coastal resort of Stella-Plage to the west.

History

During the

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

period, the terrain presently occupied by Cucq,

Le Touquet Le Touquet-Paris-Plage (; pcd, Ech Toutchet-Paris-Plache; vls, 't Oekske, older nl, Het Hoekske), commonly referred to as Le Touquet (), is a commune near Étaples, in the Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. It has a population of 4, ...

Merlimont Merlimont () is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France. Geography Merlimont lies on the coast of France, facing northwards to the English Channel. Long, wide sandy beaches and huge sand-dunes are the ...

and

Berck Berck (), sometimes referred to as Berck-sur-Mer (, literally ''Berck on Sea''), is a commune in the northern French department of Pas-de-Calais. It lies within the Marquenterre regional park, an ornithological nature reserve. Geography Situ ...

was either marshland or tidal. Little by little, the sea withdrew and the marshes were covered by sand and the dunes. The grass-covered dunes of Cucq and Trépied are the result of centuries of coastal movement. The sand of the lower beach, blown by the wind at low tide, accumulated to form a cordon of dunes along the coast.

Origins of the names of Cucq and Trépied

Cucq or Cuc in

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language * Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Fo ...

meant "height, hill" or in Latin "fortified". The town was originally situated on a dune slightly higher than others in the vicinity, from which the comparison and the name of Cucq or Cuck or Cucques has evolved. Trépied is so-called because of the triangular outline of the town.

Creation of Le Touquet

In 1819, the government decided to sell the land of the former domain of the Abbey of St. Josse, confiscated at the time of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. 1600 hectares of the warrens of Trépied were sold in 1837 to Jean-Baptiste Daloz.

Pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...

trees were planted over the entire plot of land. Most of this area became better-known later as

, a separate commune, in 1912. On the banks of the river

Canche The river Canche (; nl, Kwinte) is one of the rivers that flow from the plateau of southern Boulonnais and Picardy, into the English Channel, of which the Somme is the largest example. It is long. The basin of the Canche extends to and lies ...

, the harbour of Trépied once boasted more than thirty fishing boats. 150 men lived from the sea, supplying fish to the markets of

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

Abbeville Abbeville (, vls, Abbekerke, pcd, Advile) is a commune in the Somme department and in Hauts-de-France region in northern France. It is the chef-lieu of one of the arrondissements of Somme. Located on the river Somme, it was the capital of ...

and

Beauvais Beauvais ( , ; pcd, Bieuvais) is a city and commune in northern France, and prefecture of the Oise département, in the Hauts-de-France region, north of Paris. The commune of Beauvais had a population of 56,020 , making it the most populous ...

Stella-Plage

During the 20th century, Stella-Plage started to emerge as a tourist town. From 1914 to 1920, plans for the foundation of Stella-Plage were put on hold by

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

but from 1925, Stella was inaugurated as a "Climatic Station" and attracted holiday-makers from

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

saw Stella razed to the ground, save for two villas, that remained intact at the end of the conflict.

Population

Places of interest

Early each February, the beach is the scene of the motor-bike races known as the Enduropal (formerly the

Enduro Enduro is a form of motorcycle sport run on extended cross-country, off-road courses. Enduro consists of many different obstacles and challenges. The main type of enduro event, and the format to which the World Enduro Championship is run, is a ...

of Le Touquet).

Notable people

Matthieu Bataille Matthieu Bataille (born 26 July 1978 in Cucq) is a French judoka is an unarmed modern Japanese martial art, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電� ...

, judo champion of France 2006 and bronze medallist at the Judo World Championship 2007 *

Pauline Parmentier Pauline Parmentier (; born 31 January 1986) is a French former tennis player. Her career-high WTA rankings, WTA singles ranking is world No. 40, which she attained on 21 July 2008. On 30 April 2012, she peaked at world No. 89 on the WTA doubles ...

, professional tennis player * Michael Curtis "Yogi" Stewart, played in the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

league for the

Atlanta Hawks The Atlanta Hawks are an American professional basketball team based in Atlanta. The Hawks compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the league's Eastern Conference (NBA), Eastern Conference Southeast Division (NBA), Sou ...

Pauline Crammer Pauline Crammer (born 14 February 1991) is a French footballer who last played as a striker for Hénin-Beaumont. Prior to that, she played for Arras FCF in the French Division 2 Féminine and RSC Anderlecht in the BeNe League. Career Crammer ...

, women's football player *

Ophélie David Ophélie David (née Rácz, born 6 July 1976) is a French freestyle skier specializing in ski cross, an event in which she has won a world championship and four consecutive Winter X Games, as well as having previously been ranked number one in t ...

, skier