Bourbourg (; ) is a commune in the

Nord Nord, a word meaning "north" in several European languages, may refer to: Acronyms * National Organization for Rare Disorders, an American nonprofit organization * New Orleans Recreation Department, New Orleans, Louisiana, US Film and televisi ...

department in northern France.INSEE commune file
/ref> It is situated in the maritime plain of northern France, in the middle of a triangle formed by

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, and

Saint-Omer Saint-Omer (; vls, Sint-Omaars) is a commune and sub-prefecture of the Pas-de-Calais department in France. It is west-northwest of Lille on the railway to Calais, and is located in the Artois province. The town is named after Saint Audoma ...

Population

In 1945 Bourbourg absorbed the former commune Bourbourg-Campagne. The population data given in the table and graph below for 1936 and earlier refer to Bourbourg proper, without Bourbourg-Campagne.

Heraldry

History

In the second half of the 3rd century AD, the

North Sea The North Sea lies between Great Britain, Norway, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and Belgium. An epeiric sea on the European continental shelf, it connects to the Atlantic Ocean through the English Channel in the south and the Norwegian ...

broke through the

sand dune A dune is a landform composed of wind- or water-driven sand. It typically takes the form of a mound, ridge, or hill. An area with dunes is called a dune system or a dune complex. A large dune complex is called a dune field, while broad, f ...

s to the

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

coast in an event known as attributed to the ''second

Dunkirk Dunkirk (french: Dunkerque ; vls, label=French Flemish, Duunkerke; nl, Duinkerke(n) ; , ;) is a commune in the department of Nord in northern France.

Transgression''. Then, in the 7th century,

siltation Siltation, is water pollution caused by particulate Terrestrial ecoregion, terrestrial Clastic rock, clastic material, with a particle size dominated by silt or clay. It refers both to the increased concentration of suspended sediments and to the ...

of the sea intrusion created a vast coastal

swamp A swamp is a forested wetland.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p. Swamps are considered to be transition zones because both land and water play a role in ...

with some dry areas. That enabled local residents between the 7th and the 12th century to begin to use the areas resources base on the

polder A polder () is a low-lying tract of land that forms an artificial hydrological entity, enclosed by embankments known as dikes. The three types of polder are: # Land reclaimed from a body of water, such as a lake or the seabed # Flood plains ...

model. The first mention of Bourbourg is in 1035, but the settlement is probably older, possibly even from the end of the 9th century. The oldest part of the city is located immediately southwest of the parochial St. John's Church, and the town was probably part of

defensive line against the

Normans The Normans ( Norman: ''Normaunds''; french: Normands; la, Nortmanni/Normanni) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norse Viking settlers and indigenous West Franks and Gallo-Romans. ...

The Church Saint-Jean-Baptiste was founded by

Clementia of Burgundy Clementia of Burgundy (c. 1078 – c. 1133) was countess of Flanders by marriage to Robert II of Flanders. She acted as regent of Flanders from 1096 until 1100, while her spouse was on crusade, and in the name of their son Baldwin VII from 1111 unt ...

, Countess of

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

, in 1100 and just south of the city a

Benedictine , image = Medalla San Benito.PNG , caption = Design on the obverse side of the Saint Benedict Medal , abbreviation = OSB , formation = , motto = (English: 'Pray and Work') , foun ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone (hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whic ...

, (St Mary's Abbey) was established by her husband Robert II of Jerusalem. After a while, it became the custom in that monastery that only

nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...

s of noble descent could join, which gave it the name ''"Abbey of noble ladies".'' In 1104, the city was named as a fortress and become the centre of a

Castellan A castellan is the title used in Medieval Europe for an appointed official, a governor of a castle and its surrounding territory referred to as the castellany. The title of ''governor'' is retained in the English prison system, as a remnant ...

domain of the same name. The domain was approximately 12,700 ha in 1071 and had 10 villages in a triangle between the

, the river Aa and the Lemonades-Loon line. Broekburg 1649 Blaeu

The city was important in the wars against the Normans and later in the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

. Following the Armistice of 1375, Bourbourg changed to French hands and carried in that capacity to the decline of Flanders. In 1382, troops from the city fought in the

Battle of Westrozebeke The Battle of Roosebeke (sometimes referred by its contemporary name as Battle of Westrozebeke) took place on 27 November 1382 on the Goudberg between a Flemish army under Philip van Artevelde and a French army under Louis II of Flanders who h ...

on the side of the French conquerors. The following year, the English took the city before being repulsed by the French. From then to the 17th century, the city underwent a period of economic and cultural prosperity, and in 1458, the city was granted authorisation to hold weekly and annual

markets Market is a term used to describe concepts such as: *Market (economics), system in which parties engage in transactions according to supply and demand *Market economy *Marketplace, a physical marketplace or public market Geography *Märket, an ...

. That prosperity lasted until the Franco-Spanish Wars, when the city was in the front line and was repeatedly exchanged between occupying forces.

Historical sites

There are a large number of historic sites to see, such as the former jail. Originally built in 1539 under Spanish rule, the three-storey 18th-century prison building in the main square includes several dungeons and strongrooms. Above the entrance door is a sundial with the motto ''Qua hora non-putatis'', part of a verse from the Bible, Luke 12:40, ''Et vos estote parati quia qua hora non-putatis Filius hominis venit'' ("Be you then also ready: for at what hour you think not the Son of man will come."). Other interesting old buildings include the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

church (Eglise Saint-Jean-Baptiste), parts of which date from the thirteenth century, and whose choir shelters a huge installation by Anthony Caro called "The Chapel of Light"; the old Fishmarket (''halle au poisson'') which dates from 1587 and has twice-weekly fresh

fish market A fish market is a marketplace for selling fish and fish products. It can be dedicated to wholesale trade between fishermen and fish merchants, or to the sale of seafood to individual consumers, or to both. Retail fish markets, a type of wet ma ...

s; and a 16th-century fortified farmhouse, the Manoir du Withof.

Places of interest

The town is crossed by the canal that goes from Dunkirk to the river Aa. You can walk along the canal which skirts the old town walls built by Spanish king Philip II as part of his border defences for Flanders. There are also footpaths and cycle routes out into the attractive flat countryside typical of the coastal area between Calais and Dunkerque. A new boat-stop quay provides facilities for leisure boaters touring the region's canals and waterways to stop here. The 18th-century canal was once important for carrying agricultural produce to Dunkirk, avoiding the hazards of the North Sea coast. The town's market day is Tuesday morning; fish markets are on Tuesday and Friday mornings, and there is a Christmas market in the Fishmarket.

Residents

Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg Abbé Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg (8 September 1814 – 8 January 1874) was a noted French writer, ethnographer, historian, archaeologist, and Catholic priest. He became a specialist in Mesoamerican studies, travelling extensively i ...

(1814–1874), writer,

ethnographer Ethnography (from Greek ''ethnos'' "folk, people, nation" and ''grapho'' "I write") is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. Ethnography explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject o ...

, historian and

archaeologist Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landsca ...

who specialized in Mesoamerican history

Gallery

File:Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church Bourbourg.jpg, Saint-Jean-Baptiste Church. File:Bourbourg SNCF.jpg, SNCF train station. File:MairiedeBourbourg.JPG, Mairie (town hall).