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Dunkirk
Location of
Country	France
Arrondissement	Dunkirk
Canton	Chief town of 2 cantons
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	59183 /

Dunkirk (French: Dunkerque, IPA: [dœ̃kɛʀk] or ; Dutch: Duinkerke;) is a harbour city and a commune in the northernmost part of France, in the department 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 "kerk" (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

The commune has grown substantially by absorbing several neighbouring communes:

• 1970: Merger with Malo-les-Bains (which had been created by being detached from Dunkirk in 1881)
• 1972: Fusion with Petite-Synthe and Rosendaël(the latter had been created by being detached from Téteghem in 1856)
• 1980: Fusion-association with Mardyck (which became an associated commune, with a population of 372 in 1999)
• 1980: A large part of Petite-Synthe is detached from Dunkirk and included into Grande-Synthe
• 2003: Project of fusion with Saint-Pol-sur-Mer (commune created by its territory being detached from Petite-Synthe in 1877). On December 19, 2003, the municipal councils of Dunkirk and Saint-Pol-sur-Mer decided in favour of a fusion-association, which would create a new entity with a population of 94,187. The prefect requested a referendum, although this procedure was not mandatory (it became mandatory on January 1, 2005). The referendum took place on December 5, 2004, actually covering 3 communes: Dunkerque, Saint-Pol-sur-Mer and Fort-Mardyck. Although the yes won with 54 % of the votes, it did not gather 25% of the potential electorate, as required by the law. The prefect rejected the fusion proposal as a consequence.

History

Dunkirk was first mentioned in 1067 as Dunkerk (Dutch: “Church of the Dune”). 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 Dunkirkers: private shipping magnates (reders in Dutch) operated whole privateer fleets to intercept merchants from countries hostile to the Spanish Habsburgs. The Dunkirkers briefly lost their home port, as the city was conquered for Louis XIII of France in 1646 but recaptured by the Habsburgs in 1652. In 1657, as a result of war between Oliver Cromwell's Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Spain, it was captured by English forces, and was awarded to England in the peace the following year. It became definitively French when Charles II of England sold it to France for £320,000 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.

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Dunkirk in World War II

In May 1940 during World War II, the British expeditionary forces in France aiding the French, fearful of the oncoming German troops, began to retreat until they reached the port of Dunkirk and, with their backs to the ocean, had no place else to retreat. The German forces could have easily destroyed the British expeditionary force, especially when many of the British troops, in their haste to withdraw, had left behind their heavy equipment. For some unexplained and still unknown reason, Adolf Hitler ordered the German army to stop the attack. Some say it was because Hitler was still hopeful of establishing diplomatic peace with Britain and was still trying to avoid a full-fledged war . This lull in the action gave the British a few days to escape by boat. Winston Churchill ordered any ship or boat available, large or small, to pick up the stranded soldiers, and 338,226 men were evacuated (the miracle of Dunkirk, as Winston Churchill called it). It took over 900 vessels to evacuate the British and French soldiers, and more than 40,000 vehicles were abandoned, as well as massive amounts of other military equipment and supplies. 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, notably 1st Czechoslovak Armoured Brigade. The fortress under command of German Admiral Friedrich Frisius eventually unconditionally surrendered to commander of the Czechoslovak Brigade General Alois Liška on May 9th 1945.

During the German occupation, 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 has the third largest harbour in France, after those of 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

• The Musée Portuaire hosts exhibits images about the history and presence of the port.
• The Musée des Beaux-Arts has a large collection of Flemish, Italian and French paintings and sculptures.
• The Carnival of Dunkirk

Miscellaneous

Transport

Dunkirk has a ferry connection with Dover in England.

Sport

• The Quatre Jours de Dunkerque (or Four Days of Dunkirk) is an important elite professional road bicycle racing event.
• Stage 2 of the 2007 Tour de France departed from Dunkirk.

Twin towns

Dunkirk is twinned with:

• Krefeld, Germany since 15 June 1974
• Middlesbrough, United Kingdom since April 12, 1976
• Riga, Latvia since 1960
• Rostock, Germany since 1960

Dunkirk has cooperation agreements with:

• Dartford district, United Kingdom since March 1988
• Thanet district, United Kingdom since June 18, 1993

External links

• City council website Template:Fr icon
• Tourist office website
• Information about Port of Dunkirk
• Dunkerque in Old Postcards
• Visit Dunkirk and French Flanders

References

1. "Correspondence and papers of the first Duke of Ormonde, chiefly on Irish and English public affairs: ref. MS. Carte 218, fol(s). 5 - date: 26 December 1662" (Description of contents of carte papers). Oxford University, Bodleian Library, Special Collections and Western Manuscripts: Carte Papers. 2006. Retrieved 2007-10-17. {{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter: |coauthors= (help)
2. Template:Cs icon Czech army page

• Communes of Nord
• Subprefectures in France
• Port cities and towns in France