Lille
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.
The following article is about the term Lille in the context of the French city. See Lille (disambiguation) for other meanings.
Lille is a city in northern France on the Deule River. It is the prefecture (capital) of the departement of Nord, in the region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Population 180,000. It lies near the border with Belgium; the city is called Rijsel in Flemish, the dialect of Dutch spoken across the border.
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2 Economy 3 Public transport 4 Miscellaneous 5 External link |
History
In 1312, the city of Lille was ceded to France but was subsequently subjected to Burgundian, Austrian, and Spanish rule. It was part of the Spanish Netherlands, until it was conquered by Louis XIV and incorporated into France in 1678.
The city's fortifications were upgraded by Sebastian Le Prestre de Vauban.
In the nineteenth century Lille became the centre of French industry due to the large nearby coal deposits. It thus became a central part of the country's rail network.
Economy
A major textile manufacturing center, Lille forms the heart of a larger conurbation, regrouping Lille, Roubaix and Tourcoing, which is France's 4th-largest urban conglomeration with a 1999 population of over 1.1 million.
Public transport
Lille is an important crossroads in the European TGV network: it lies on the Eurostar line to London and the Thalys network to Amsterdam and Cologne.
The VAL system (vehicule automatique leger = light automated vehicle) is a driverless metro. Line 2 is 32 km long with 43 stations, the first and longest automatic metro line in the world, opened May 16, 1983. Trains are only 26 m long (two linked cars) and are rubber-tired.
Miscellaneous
Lille has one of France's largest university students' population.
The Euralille urban development project, centred around the new TGV station has fostered a long debate among Lille's citizens. The project has finally been completed with modern architecture and disruption to the ancient city center.
Lille was elected European Capital of Culture in 2004.
Famous persons born in Lille
- Charles de Gaulle (1890-1970)
- Madeleine Damerment (1917-1944), French Resistance fighter - Legion of Honor, Croix de Guerre, Medaille combattant volontaire de la Resistance
Twin cities
- Cologne (Germany)
- Erfurt (Germany)
- Esch-sur-Alzette (Luxembourg, since July 3, 1958)
- Kharkov (Ukraine)
- Leeds (United Kingdom)
- Liege (Belgium)
- Nablus (West Bank)
- Rotterdam (Netherlands)
- Saint-Louis du Senegal (Senegal)
- Turin (Italy)
- Valladolid (Spain)
External link