Wormhout
Wormhout | ||
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region | Hauts-de-France | |
Department | North | |
Arrondissement | Dunkerque | |
Canton | Wormhout (main town) | |
Community association | Hauts de Flandre | |
Coordinates | 50 ° 53 ' N , 2 ° 28' E | |
height | 5-33 m | |
surface | 27.41 km 2 | |
Residents | 5,632 (January 1, 2017) | |
Population density | 205 inhabitants / km 2 | |
Post Code | 59470 | |
INSEE code | 59663 | |
Website | http://www.ville-wormhout.fr/en/home/ | |
Town hall of Wormhout |
Wormhout is a French municipality with 5632 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the department of Nord in the region of Hauts-de-France . It belongs to the Arrondissement of Dunkerque and to the community association Communauté de communes des Hauts de Flandre . Wormhout is the capital ( chef-lieu ) of the same Canton Wormhout . West Flemish is also spoken in Wormhout .
geography
Wormhout is located in the Houtland (woodland) near the Belgian border on the Yser . Wormhout is surrounded by the neighboring municipalities of Quaëdypre and Wylder in the north, West-Cappel in the northeast, Bambecque and Herzeele in the east, Oudezeele in the southeast, Zermezeele , Hardifort and Cassel in the south, Ledringhem in the southwest, Esquelbecq in the west and Bissezeele in the northwest.
The Autoroute A25 and the former Route nationale 16 run through the municipality .
history
Wormhout was first mentioned in the 7th century in the books of the Abbey of Sithiu, today's Saint-Omer , as Woromhold . In 1067 the county of Wormhout was created.
In 1566 the church was looted by the Geusen and rebuilt in 1578. In 1668 the place came to France in the Peace of Aachen .
During the western campaign in World War II , Wormhout was occupied by the Germans in 1940 and returned to France by Vice Admiral Frisius three days after the German surrender . On May 28, 1940, around 80 French and British prisoners of war were shot by a battalion of the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler during the Wormhout massacre .
Population development
year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2011 |
Residents | 2,826 | 3,004 | 4,332 | 5.133 | 5,057 | 4,984 | 5,191 | 5,308 |
Attractions
- Saint-Martin church from the 16th and 17th centuries, monument historique since 1987
- Riele windmill (also Deschodt mill), post mill from 1756, monument historique since 1977
- Maison 17 Rue d'Herzeele, built in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, monument historique since 1984
folklore
In Wormhout, as in other places in northern France and Belgium, there is the tradition of giant processions ( Géants ). The giants can be seen at Carnival time, on the last weekend in April and at many other regional festivals. Since 2005, the performances have been carried out by UNESCO under the title Processions of Giants and Dragons from Belgium and France as masterpieces of the oral and intangible heritage of humanity . Wormhout's Géant figures are “Le Roi des Mitrons” and “Mélanie”.
Community partnerships
With the British parish of Llandudno , in Conwy County, Wales
literature
- Le Patrimoine des Communes du Nord. Flohic Editions, Volume 2, Paris 2001, ISBN 2-84234-119-8 , pp. 1765-1771.