Guînes

Guînes
region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Calais
Canton	Calais-2
Community association	Pays d'Opale
Coordinates	50 ° 52 ′ N , 1 ° 52 ′ E Coordinates: 50 ° 52 ′ N , 1 ° 52 ′ E
height	0-166 m
surface	26.42 km 2
Residents	5,626 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	213 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	62340
INSEE code	62397

Guînes (Flemish Giezene ) is a French municipality with 5626 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Pas-de-Calais in the region of Hauts-de-France ; it belongs to the Arrondissement of Calais and the Canton of Calais-2 .

The municipality is part of the Caps et Marais d'Opale Regional Nature Park .

The beginning of the Canal de Guînes that connects the city with Calais
Bridge on the Canal de Guînes

history

Place des Tilleuls. In the background the Tour de l'Horloge on the medieval motte

Guînes was the capital of the county of Guînes in the Middle Ages . The Normans planted a moth here in 928 , which they surrounded with a double moat. Count Robert Manasse founded a Benedictine convent near his castle , which was consecrated to Saint Leonard of Limoges . At the end of the 11th century, Count Balduin II had the old wooden castle replaced by a stone one and the city surrounded by a wall. Three years after the conquest of Calais , on January 22, 1351 , the castle of Guînes was betrayed to the English. The Peace of Brétigny then completely surrendered the city and county to the English.

A few kilometers southeast, south of the hamlet of Campagne les Guînes, there was a field airfield of the German Air Force during the Second World War . This used it in the context of the Battle of Britain . Major parts of the Bf 109- equipped Jagdgeschwader 54 (JG 54) were located here. His staff was here between the beginning of August and the beginning of December 1940, from the end of August under the command of Obstlt. Hannes Trautloft . In addition, between the end of July and the end of September, the I. (I./JG 54) and then the II. Today the railway line to the Channel Tunnel cuts through the former airfield.

Population development

1962: 4.724
1968: 4,984
1975: 5.034
1982: 5.174
1990: 5.105
1999: 5,221

Attractions

The Blanchard column (La column Blanchard)

The inscription on the pillar

La colonne Blanchard : at this point in the Forêt domaniale landed on January 7th, 1785 the first people to cross the English Channel by air; it is named after Jean-Pierre Blanchard .

Personalities

Frédéric Darras (1966-2010), football player

Web links

Commons : Guînes - collection of images, videos and audio files

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