Wissant

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Wissant
region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Pas-de-Calais
Arrondissement	Boulogne-sur-Mer
Canton	Desvres
Community association	Terre des Deux Caps
Coordinates	50 ° 53 ′  N , 1 ° 40 ′  E Coordinates: 50 ° 53 ′  N , 1 ° 40 ′  E
height	0-158 m
surface	12.79 km 2
Residents	939 (January 1, 2017)
Population density	73 inhabitants / km 2
Post Code	62179
INSEE code	62899
Website	http://www.ville-wissant.fr/
Center of Wissant

Wissant ( . NDL : Witzand ; translated German Weis sand ) is located on the English Channel French municipality and a seaside resort with 939 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Pas-de-Calais in the region of Hauts-de-France .

etymology

The place name comes from Old Low Franconian, Old English or Old Saxon. It is related to the Dutch or Flemish wit-zand or the English white sand (in the area of ​​Boulogne, Old English may have been spoken in the 10th century). Many other forms of name such as Witsant (933), Witsantum (938), Wissanc , Withandum , Wichsand have been handed down. The abbot Jean d'Ypres of Saint-Bertin mentioned around 668 "in sombris propoe Wissantium".

Geographical location and economy

Wissant is located on the Channel coast in a twelve kilometer wide bay between Cap Gris-Nez and Cap Blanc-Nez . Wide sandy beaches with dunes and nature reserves add to the tourist attraction of the place on the Côte d'Opale . Directly on the beach, the terrain rises up to 150  m . The tidal range is about 6  m . The municipality is part of the Caps et Marais d'Opale Regional Nature Park .

The place consists of the following districts:

• Averlot
• La Motte Carlin
• Le Colombier
• Le Fort-César or Motte du Castel
• Estrouannes
• La Motte du Vent
• Gazevert
• Sombres
• Haute sombres
• Le Vivier
• La Mine d'Or
• Les Wrimetz
• Herlen (also the name of a 2.7 km long stream)

Mussel fence for breeding mussels

Newly designed Wissant promenade

The area is used intensively for agriculture (grain cultivation, dairy farming, meat production, especially Charolais cattle ), and regional beers are also brewed ( Blanche de Wissant , Bière des deux Caps ). Fishing is only of minor importance in Wissant, only one type of flob , as the typical open fishing boat is called, is in use. Flatfish (sole) and crabs in particular are sold freshly caught to consumers on the marketplace. On the beach in the direction of Cap Griz-Nez, Mytilusn (mussels) are grown on a large scale for the popular moules fries .

Several small hotels and pensions as well as several small restaurants cater to tourists and locals. The communal campsite is conveniently located to the town, to the sea and to the adjacent nature reserve with a large lake.

The weekly market on Wednesday morning offers numerous regional products. In the summer months there is a small evening market on Friday, where the often organic products from local suppliers are offered.

In the last 60 years - also as a result of the destruction during the war and the demolition of the Atlantic Wall - around 250 meters of the coast have been eroded away. On March 19, 2007, a storm surge caused numerous damage to the promenade ( 5  m ) along the beach . In the winter of 2015, work began to repair the stone fill on the promenade. These should be completed in autumn 2015.

history

It is believed that Wissant is the portus ictius (or itius portus ) mentioned by Caesar in de bello gallico (Book VII) , from which he undertook his expeditions to England, whose chalk cliffs are easily visible to the naked eye (approx. 35 km away). Ictius is said to be derived from the pre-Roman term Isiu for “near” and “in front of” (England).

In the Middle Ages, Wissant served as a port for shipping traffic with England. Numerous historical personalities are mentioned as passengers. After English troops under Edward III. Having besieged and conquered Calais in 1346 and 1647 , Wissant lost its rank as a valuable base. The port and place were destroyed by the invaders so that Wissant could no longer serve the French as a port facility. Even after the place by the Treaty of Brétigny of May 8, 1360 between John II and Edward III. had reverted back to France, it no longer gained its old meaning. Wissant was burned down several times by the English, including under Henry VIII (1491–1547), residents were executed on the gallows (1513, the cross in the neighboring village of Hervelinghen, called the cross of the hanged man, commemorates this).

Numerous storm surges, e.g. B. 1738 and 1777, led to severe destruction and silted up the port. They caused the population to move their houses to the slope. The fishermen drove their boats with horse-drawn carts and later tractors onto the flat sandy beach. Numerous disputes over the fishing grounds were carried out with the neighboring village of Audresselles .

In 1803 Napoleon Bonaparte explored the Bay of Wissant and developed plans for the new construction of the port, which were not implemented.

In the Second World War, after the occupation of northern France in June 1940 , Wissant became a base of the German Wehrmacht . In the very south, mostly in the west of the municipality of the neighboring town of Audembert, was the Aèrodrome de Wissant-Audembert , often just Aèrodrome de Audembert . Later on, Wissant was heavily fortified as the Germans expected the Allies to land here. Remnants of the airfield and the Atlantic Wall can still be seen. In the Chez Nicole bar, two murals still preserved today from the occupation time with Cologne Cathedral and a Rhine / Moselle landscape, which were painted with camouflage colors.

Attractions

Le Typhonium

War memorial

• Le Typhonium is an Egyptian style villa built in 1891 by Belgian architect Edmond De Vigne for Virginie Demont-Breton and her husband.
• Camp de César ( Fort César ), an archaeologically undeveloped hill above the village, probably a complex from the Middle Ages.
• The 15th century Gothic church of Saint Nicolas , which was expanded in the 19th century
• Several villas from the 19th and early 20th centuries
• War memorial in front of the town hall

museum

• Musée de Moulin (former water mill on the Herlen)

Festivals

• Fête du Flobart in August, a parade with the traditional fishing boats

Personalities

Pierre de Wissant by Auguste Rodin

Pierre de Wissant , Canon at the Cathedral of Laon and donor of the altar named after him , and his brother Jacques volunteered with four other citizens as hostages in the Hundred Years' War during the siege of Calais . On August 4, 1347, they are said to have stepped barefoot, only in a shirt and a rope around their neck, before the English king who intended to have them executed in retaliation for the losses of his siege troops. Only the request of the English Queen Philippa of Hainaut , who was also present, is said to have saved the six men. Auguste Rodin took this event as a model for his famous sculpture The Citizens of Calais (1889).

Virginie Demont-Breton: Fisher's wife comes back from bathing her children

In the 1880s / 1890s, a school of naturalistic open-air and genre painting emerged in Wissant , which became known for its pictures of the village and the landscape around the Herlen as well as for studies of the everyday life of fishermen. Among the painters of this École de Wissant were Virginie Demont-Breton (1859-1935) and her husband Adrien Demont (1851-1928) as well as Pierre Carrier-Belleuse (1851-1932) and Fernand Stiévenart (1862-1922). Even Francis Tattegrain (1852-1915) spent the summer here.

The French President Charles de Gaulle owned a small holiday home in Wissant that is still standing today. A plaque commemorates the famous holiday guest.

Sports

Wissant is a popular starting point for hikes through the hilly hinterland or along the coast, sometimes dangerous tours on the steep coast towards Cap Blanc-Nez . For cyclists (including mountain bikers ) the region offers numerous routes, some of which are steep, with vantage points on beautiful panoramas . Many routes are signposted.

The bay is very popular with experienced kite surfers and windsurfers , especially with stronger winds. It is less suitable for beginners because of waves, currents and mostly strong winds. Sea kayaking and sand yachting are available. The surf is hardly suitable for surfing, but occasionally you can see longboard surfers who stand up and ride around with the support of a paddle and also try to ride the wave ( stand up paddle surfing ).

Part of the nature reserve lake is open to anglers. Sea fishing is only worthwhile at Cap Gris-Nez , but has also been practiced from the quay wall since 2011.

The spacious beach is often very well visited on nice days. The usable area varies greatly depending on the tide.

literature

• Wolfgang Kern: Wissant - then and now. A tourist guide about the pearl between Cap Blanc Nez and Cap Gris Nez . 2nd Edition. Buchverlag Delphine Kern, Hürth 2000, ISBN 3-933481-00-7 (also available in French)

Web links

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

• www.ville-wissant.fr

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Ruisseau d'Herlen. Annuaire des Mairies et Villes de France.
2. ↑ Travaux de reconstruction du perré de protection de WISSANT. (PDF) (No longer available online.) In: ville-wissant.fr. Ville Wissant, February 15, 2015, archived from the original on May 28, 2015 ; Retrieved October 8, 2015 (French). Perré de protection de Wissant: Pose de la 1ère pierre. (MP4) (No longer available online.) In: ville-wissant.fr. Ville Wissant, 2015, archived from the original on February 18, 2017 ; Retrieved October 8, 2015 (French). 
    
3. ^ Biography of Virginie Demont-Breton
4. ^ Association Art et Histoire de Wissant (ed.): L'Ecole de Wissant et ses Peintres

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