Bailleul (; ''Belle'' in
Dutch) 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
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is located in
French Flanders
French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...
, from the
Belgian border and northwest of
Lille
Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...
.
Population
Heraldry
Media
Bailleul is the birthplace of
French filmmaker Bruno Dumont
Bruno Dumont (; born 14 March 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. To date, he has directed twelve feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde.
His films have won several awards at the C ...
and served as the setting for his first two feature films. This area is also a setting in the
Timothy Findley
Timothy Irving Frederick Findley, (October 30, 1930 – June 20, 2002) was a Canadian novelist and playwright. book ''
The Wars
''The Wars'' is a 1977 novel by Timothy Findley that follows Robert Ross, a nineteen-year-old Canadian who enlists in World War I after the death of his beloved older sister in an attempt to escape both his grief and the social norms of oppressiv ...
''.
Points of interest
The city hall and
belfry
The belfry /ˈbɛlfri/ is a structure enclosing bells for ringing as part of a building, usually as part of a bell tower or steeple. It can also refer to the entire tower or building, particularly in continental Europe for such a tower attached ...
of Bailleul was inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 2005 as part of the
Belfries of Belgium and France
The Belfries of Belgium and France are a group of 56 historical buildings designated by UNESCO as World Heritage Sites, in recognition of the civic (rather than church) Belfry (architecture), belfries serving as an architectural manifestation of ...
site, in recognition of their importance in the rise of municipal power in Europe.
The
Jardin des Plantes Sauvages du Conservatoire botanique national de Bailleul is a botanical garden of protected plants. Over 850 species of native plants are found in the garden.
History
In 1526, Flanders fell to the
Spanish Netherlands
The Spanish Netherlands (; ; ; ) (historically in Spanish: , the name "Flanders" was used as a '' pars pro toto'') was the Habsburg Netherlands ruled by the Spanish branch of the Habsburgs from 1556 to 1714. They were a collection of States of t ...
by the
Treaty of Madrid. Under the reign of
Philip II, the first religious problems arose between
Flanders
Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...
and
Spain
Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
.
In the 17th century, Flanders was a permanent battlefield. Louis XIV reconquered Flanders. As a result, Bailleul reverted to France in 1678.
With the
Treaty of Utrecht
The Peace of Utrecht was a series of peace treaty, peace treaties signed by the belligerents in the War of the Spanish Succession, in the Dutch city of Utrecht between April 1713 and February 1715. The war involved three contenders for the vac ...
, Flanders and with it Bailleul fell to
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
in 1713, before both finally passed to France in 1745 after the
Battle of Fontenoy
The Battle of Fontenoy took place on 11 May 1745 during the War of the Austrian Succession, near Tournai, then in the Austrian Netherlands, now Belgium. A French army of 50,000 under Maurice, comte de Saxe, Marshal Saxe defeated a Pragmatic Ar ...
and the
Treaty of Aachen. Numerous fires marked the history of the city.
From the 17th to the 19th century, the
bobbin lace craft developed in Bailleul. (La Maison de la Dentelle bobbin lace museum), a craft for which the town is still known far beyond its borders.
During
First World War
World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the area around Bailleul was at times heavily affected by the heavy fighting that German and Allied troops engaged in around the nearby Belgian town of
Ypres
Ypres ( ; ; ; ; ) is a Belgian city and municipality in the province of West Flanders. Though
the Dutch name is the official one, the city's French name is most commonly used in English. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres/Ieper ...
. When German troops used
chlorine gas
Chlorine is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Cl and atomic number 17. The second-lightest of the halogens, it appears between fluorine and bromine in the periodic table and its properties are mostly intermediate between ...
against the Allied troops near Wulverghem (municipality of
Heuvelland
Heuvelland () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the villages of Dranouter, Kemmel, De Klijte, Loker, Nieuwkerke, Westouter, Wijtschate and Wulvergem. Heuvelland is a thinly popul ...
, Belgium) on 30 April 1916 over a front length of 3.2 kilometres, the resulting toxic gas cloud extended as far as Bailleul. During the
German Spring Offensive
The German spring offensive, also known as ''Kaiserschlacht'' ("Kaiser's Battle") or the Ludendorff offensive, was a series of German Empire, German attacks along the Western Front (World War I), Western Front during the World War I, First Wor ...
in
Operation Georgette from 13 April 1918, Bailleul with its old Flemish Town Centre was more than 90 percent destroyed.
After the severe destruction of the First World War, the town was rebuilt in the Neo-Flemish style during the 20th century. A typical example of the architectural style, which was widespread throughout Flanders, is the town hall of 1932 with its bell tower.
Railways
Bailleul has a railway station on the
line from Lille to Calais and Dunkirk.
International relations
Bailleul is
twinned with:
*
Werne
Werne an der Lippe (; Westphalian language, Westphalian: ''Wäen'') is a town in the Federal state of North Rhine-Westphalia in the Unna (district), Unna district in Germany. It is located on the southern edge of the Münster (region), Münsterla ...
, Germany, since 1967
*
Hawick
Hawick ( ; ; ) is a town in the Scottish Borders council areas of Scotland, council area and counties of Scotland, historic county of Roxburghshire in the east Southern Uplands of Scotland. It is south-west of Jedburgh and south-south-east o ...
, Scotland, United Kingdom, since 1973
*
Izegem
Izegem (; ) is a city and municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Izegem proper and the towns of Emelgem and Kachtem. Emelgem was added to Izegem in 1965, Kachtem in 1977. Izegem itse ...
, Belgium, since 1992
*
Kyritz
Kyritz () is a town in the Ostprignitz-Ruppin district, in Brandenburg, Germany. It is situated 28 km west of Neuruppin and 28 km southeast of Pritzwalk. The town has 9,260 inhabitants (2019).
Overview
The town is situated near the , ...
, Germany, since 2012
*
Wałcz
Wałcz (pronounced ; ) is a county town in Wałcz County of the West Pomeranian Voivodeship in northwestern Poland.
Granted city rights in 1303, Wałcz has become the administrative, industrial and cultural center of the Wałcz Lake District wi ...
, Poland, since 2015
Personalities
*
Edmond de Coussemaker
Charles Edmond Henri de Coussemaker (19 April 1805 – 10 January 1876) was a French musicologist and ethnologist focusing mainly on the cultural heritage of French Flanders. He was a defender of the French Flemish, Dutch language in France.
B ...
*
Pharaon de Winter
Pharaon-Abdon-Léon de Winter (17 November 1849, Bailleul, Nord, Bailleul - 22 June 1924, Lille) was a French painter; primarily of Genre art, genre scenes.
Biography
He was the third of twelve children born to the family of a Clog, clog-make ...
,
painter
Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...
*
Marguerite Yourcenar
Marguerite Yourcenar (, ; ; born Marguerite Antoinette Jeanne Marie Ghislaine Cleenewerck de Crayencour; 8 June 190317 December 1987) was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and ...
,
academic
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
*
Jean Delobel,
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
*
Michel Delebarre,
politician
A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...
*
Bruno Dumont
Bruno Dumont (; born 14 March 1958) is a French film director and screenwriter. To date, he has directed twelve feature films, all of which border somewhere between realistic drama and the avant-garde.
His films have won several awards at the C ...
,
director
Director may refer to:
Literature
* ''Director'' (magazine), a British magazine
* ''The Director'' (novel), a 1971 novel by Henry Denker
* ''The Director'' (play), a 2000 play by Nancy Hasty
Music
* Director (band), an Irish rock band
* ''D ...
and
filmmaker
Filmmaking or film production is the process by which a Film, motion picture is produced. Filmmaking involves a number of complex and discrete stages, beginning with an initial story, idea, or commission. Production then continues through screen ...
*
Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem
Philippe Édouard Léon Van Tieghem (; 19 April 1839 – 28 April 1914) was a French botanist born in Baillleul in the département of Nord. He was one of the best known French botanists of the latter nineteenth century.
Life
Van Tieghem's ...
, Biologist and botanist born in Bailleul in 1839
*
Jean-Luc Samyn, jockey in American thoroughbred racing
See also
*
Communes of the Nord department
The following is a list of the 647 communes of the Nord department of the French Republic.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):
*
French Flanders
French Flanders ( ; ; ) is a part of the historical County of Flanders, where Flemish—a Low Franconian dialect cluster of Dutch—was (and to some extent, still is) traditionally spoken. The region lies in the modern-day northern French regi ...
References
External links
Official website
{{authority control
Communes of Nord (French department)
French Flanders