Hazebrouck

Hazebrouck Hazebroek
Town hall
Hazebrouck
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region  Hazebrouck
Administration
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Nord
Arrondissement	Dunkerque
Canton	Hazebrouck-Nord & Hazebrouck-Sud
Mayor	Jean-Pierre Allossery (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	17–66 m (56–217 ft) (avg. 23 m or 75 ft)
Land area1	26.2 km2 (10.1 sq mi)
Population2	21,396  (1999)
- Density	817 /km2 (2,120 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	59295/ 59190
Website	www.ville-hazebrouck.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Location of Hazebrouck in the arrondissement of Dunkirk

Hazebrouck (Dutch: Hazebroek) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Hazebrouck in Flanders was a small market town before it became an important railway junction in the 1860s. West Flemish was the usual popular language used in the town until 1880. At that time French was taught at school and became spoken thanks to the development of the railways which links Hazebrouck to Lille to Calais and Dunkirk.

History

Its town hall was built in the 19th century and the oldest monument of the town is St Eloi's church. During the two world wars Hazebrouck was an important military target. Many British soldiers are buried in the cemeteries around the town. In the town museum which originally was a chapel and friary of the Augustines, visitors can see the Hazebrouck's giants - Roland, Tijse-Tajse, Toria and Babe-Tajse, a collection of Flemish and French paintings and a traditional Flemish kitchen.

The entrance of the chapel

• A private Chapel which is now part of College Saint-Jacques can now be visited. This old College was an English hospital during the first world war and a twinning is still active in 2008 with Queen Elizabeth's Grammar School, Faversham (Kent). School exchanges take place every year and are very beneficial to all who attend.

Heraldry

The arms of Hazebrouck are blazoned : Argent, a lion sable langued gules, holding an inescutcheon Or charged with a 'coney courant bendwise proper.

Communications

The town enjoys excellent rail connections, with frequent daily services to Lille and Paris, some by High Speed Line. There is a small international airport, concentrating on business flights, at Merville-Calonne just 12 kilometre / 8 miles away. There is good access to the national Autoroute network connecting Hazebrouck with Dunkirk and Lille and, less directly, Arras, Paris, Calais and Brussels.

See also

• Communes of the Nord department
• Battle of Hazebrouk

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• Official town website (in French)
• History of St Francis of Assisi college 1854-1973(in English)