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| Lille,
Capital of French
Flanders |
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Birth
of Lille
Legend has it that in the year 620 a giant named
Salvaert... |
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Lille:
Proud Capital City of French Flanders
Lille was conquered by the Flemish, the French
and then the Spanish... |
ille's
Giant Flea Market
It is a
very important occasion in the life and culture of the
citizens of Lille... |
Gangster
and Policeman, Reality and Fiction
When one reads "Les Miserables" of Victor
Hugo... |
Valentine's
Day
We wanted to find
origins of this celebration ... |
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 onjour!
A new European crossroad: a mere one hour from Paris, 2 hours from London, 2 and 1/2 hours from Amsterdam and only 30 minutes from Brussels, the northern region of France and its capital, Lille, are certainly not without charm and deserve a visit while traveling through Europe.
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A Dream: Linking England to the
Continent
For more than two
centuries an immense challenge stimulated the imagination of
engineers. How could we link the European continent with
England? More than one hundred projects, some more crazy than
realistic were presented. The oldest one dates back to 1750.
At that time, Nicolas Desmarets, a geologist, thought that it
was very possible to join the two countries, whose coasts are
easily seen on a clear day. He proposed the building of a
bridge or the digging of a trench or tunnel. The idea of
placing tubes at the bottom of the ocean a simply floating in
the water was also considered. In the middle of the nineteenth
century, Tomé de Gammond, named the "father of the tunnel",
presented the first credible solution. In 1855, he dove 100
feet into the ocean to inspect its floor. He planned to
submerge thirteen artificial small islands with wells to
ventilate the tunnel. In 1880, a 30 foot engine, mounted on
tracks, started the digging.
A Reality: An Enormous
Challenge
As the dream
closed in on reality, the military from across the Channel
suddenly considered that England's risks were enormous and
imagined catastrophic scenarios, most of which were simply
crazy. They announced suddenly that the French would disembark
upon their country disguised as simple tourists but armed. The
invaders would overtake the tunnel and penetrate into the
country, and although more than 12,000 feet of tunnel had been
dug, the work was halted. The following years were punctuated
by numerous hesitations. It was only after the end of the
Second World War that the opposition to the tunnel finally
disappeared. It would however have to wait until the
Franco-British summit of 1981 for the construction project to
get under way and in 1986 the proposition of a rail tunnel was
definitively confirmed. Gigantic tunnel excavators would dig
without stop, day and night, for more than 4 years, to finally
allow the junction to be established on December 1st, 1990.
The total length of the tunnel would reach 30 miles, 23 of
which are under the English Channel. On May 6th, 1994, the
tunnel was finally inaugurated and opened. |
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| Birth of L'Isle
(Lille) |
| Legend has
it that in the year 620, a giant named Salvaert, Prince
of Dijon, and his wife Emergaert attempted to flee the
county of Burgundy and seek refuge in England. At the
point of crossing the sinister Sans Mercy (No Mercy)
Woods, the hideout of the tyrannical giant Phinaert,
they fall into an ambush. Salvaert and his escorts are
brutally assassinated. Emargaert manages to escape and
finds sanctuary with a hermit. She soon gives birth to a
son, and has just enough time to hide the baby before
she is taken by Phinaert's men. The hermit finds the
baby, names him Lyderic, and has him nursed by a doe. As
an adolescent, Lyderic learns about his birth and
decides to avenge his father. On June 19th, 640, he is
victorious in a duel, finds his mother, his prestige and
inherits Phinaert's goods, of which the castle of L'Isle
is part, and settles there. Tradition allows Lyderic to
become the first Count of Flanders and the founder of
the city of Lille as it is around the castle that the
city will develop in the eleventh century. |
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| Lille: Proud Capital City of French
Flanders |
| Over the course of many centuries, Lille
was conquered by the Flemish, the French and then the
Spanish before being returned to the French due to the
marriage between Louis the Fourteenth and the infanta
Maria Theresa of Spain in 1667. Today's architectural
richness is thanks to these many invasions and we
recommend you visit this magnificent city, where styles
and eras intermingle on a daily basis. The "Grand
Place", historic center of Lille, with its many
terraces, packed day and night, is the usual rendez-vous
of the locals and tourist alike. Four statues dominate
this plaza. In the center is the goddess, solidly placed
on its pedestal and seems to dominate the crowds. She
commemorates the heroic defense by the people of Lille
against the siege of the city by the Austrians, in 1792.
In her right hand, she holds the "boutefeu", ready to
light the canons to defend the city; while in her left
hand she shows the inscription on her platform which
reads: the absolute refusal by the mayor to surrender
his city. Three other women covered in gold leaf
surround the central statue and symbolically represent
the three provinces of the North/Pas de Calais region:
Flanders, Artois, and the Hainaut. |
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 Lille's Giant Flea Market |
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This grand fair is not to be
missed if you are in the area during the first week of
September. It is a very important occasion in the life
and culture of the citizens of Lille. During three days
of folly, the city is dressed in festivities. Most of
the city's street are given over to the strollers and
all, professional or not, take up a bit of the sidewalk
to sell their wares or more simply to get rid of what
they no longer want. It is undoubtedly one of the
largest flea markets in Europe which extends for over
200 kilometers of sidewalk. The origin of this fair
dates back to the middle Ages, era when the valets and
chamber maids of the nobles were given the opportunity,
once a year, to sell old garments and objects of their
masters. This market would not be complete without the
traditional mussel-fries, unique menu which is served by
the many restaurateurs and which is appreciated by all.
Several tons of mussels are consumed that day!
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| Gangster and
Policeman, Reality and Fiction |
| When one reads "Les
Miserables" of Victor Hugo, one is immediately moved by
the generosity, sensitivity and mischievousness of the
hero, Jean Valjean. To create this fictional character,
the author was greatly inspired by a man born not too
far from Lille: Eugene François Vidocq. Born in Arras in
1775, his life was somewhat astounding. Stripped by
local thieves of the money, he had himself stolen from
his father in order to pay his way to America, Vidocq
started a life of robbery, associating himself with
various crooks. Finally arrested and condemned to hard
labor, he managed to escape after 6 years in prison.
Tired of the vagabond lifestyle, he offered his services
as an informant to the police in exchange for his
freedom. He revealed himself to be quite capable in this
job, and with the help of other past thieves, he allowed
the law enforcement to arrest many criminals. Because of
this he was named the first chief of security of Paris
in 1811. Philanthropist and generous, he never forgot
the downtrodden and tried to help them as much as
possible. And so Victor Hugo is said to have used the
life story of this particular hero to write about his
legendary character and it also inspired other writers
such as Henry Melville in Moby Dick and Charles Dickens'
fugitive in Great Expectations. |
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| Valentine's
Day |
| We will
soon be celebrating the day for Sweethearts. We wanted
to find the origin or rather origins of this celebration
and have chosen the most common one agreed upon by
various historians. Valentine's Day dates back to Roman
times when pagan festivities were organized each year in
honor of Lupercus, God of shepherds and flocks. This
feast marked the first day of spring and fertility in
ancient Rome. This however greatly displeased the
primitive Holy Fathers of the Church, who in their own
right, decided to initiate their own holiday in honor of
a Roman priest named Valentine, who lived under the
reign of Emperor Claude II (3 centuries AD). The Emperor
had engaged Rome in numerous bloody and deadly battles,
and had forbidden all young men from marrying. In fact,
he deemed that bachelors made better soldiers. Valentine
disobeyed these orders and married young couples in
secret. He was executed on February 14th, 269 (or 270),
and then canonized. Valentine's Day is to be celebrated
in his honor. |
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| Whatever its origin, Valentine's Day
remains a tradition that sweethearts love to celebrate.
In Lille, like everywhere else, lovers will certainly
not avoid it. If you have the opportunity to travel in
Europe and your itinerary leads you to Lille, do not
miss this wonderful city, you will not be disappointed.
Not only is Lille an interesting metropolis but also its
citizens are particular warm and friendly. As a French
songwriter sings in one of his songs: "the people from
the North have in their hearts the sun that they do not
have outside". |
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