Roubaix

For the fabric, see Roubaix (fabric).

Roubaix
Église Saint-Martin
Roubaix
Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region  Roubaix
Administration
Country	France
Region	Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department	Nord
Arrondissement	Lille
Canton	4 cantons
Intercommunality	Lille Métropole
Mayor	René Vandierendonck (2001–2008)
Statistics
Elevation	17–52 m (56–171 ft) (avg. 32 m or 105 ft)
Land area1	13.23 km2 (5.11 sq mi)
Population2	96,984  (1999)
- Density	7,331 /km2 (18,990 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	59512/ 59100
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.

Roubaix (French pronunciation: [ʁu.bɛ]; Dutch Robaais, sometimes also called Robeke, although Robaais is the only correct translation according to the Dutch Language Union) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.

The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.

Culture

Notable is La Piscine art gallery, which, as the name implies, is located in the old municipal swimming pool. Discobolos (international artist Wim Delvoye's) is the first work of modern art, ordered by the inhabitants, with the Comité de quartier de l'Hommelet, an association of citizens.

On 16 May 1967, Roubaix was the venue of the final live performance in the career of singer Jacques Brel.

Sport

Roubaix is the finish of the Paris–Roubaix cycling classic from Compiègne to Roubaix over 259.5 km, which includes almost 50 km of cobbles.

One of the longest distance walking races in the world also takes place each year in Roubaix. Since 1953 the televised 'Roubaix 28 hours' regularly sees elite endurance athletes from dozens of countries aiming to complete the longest distance possible within the 28 hour time limit. The current record is over 255 kilometres, with many each year completing more than 200 km.

Notable people

Roubaix was the birthplace of:

• Bernard Arnault (born 1949), businessman
• Étienne Chatiliez (born 1952), film director
• David Coulibaly footballer
• Stanislas Dehaene (born 1965), cognitive psychologist
• Georges Delerue (1925–1992), film composer who worked on over 300 films
• Jean Desbouvrie (c. 1840-1847 - ?) inventor and bird tamer
• Arnaud Desplechin (born 1960) - film director
• Aliou Dia, footballer
• Yero Dia footballer
• Léon Mathot (1886–1968) - French film actor and director
• Martial Mbandjock athlete
• Pierre Pflimlin (1907–2000), Christian Democratic politician who served as the last Prime Minister of the Fourth Republic
• Viviane Romance (1912–1991), actress
• Daouda Sow boxer
• Maxence Van Der Meersch (1907–1951) writer
• Michel Breistroff (1971–1996) hockey player
• Arnaud Tournant (1978) track cyclist

and home of Joseph Willot (1875-1919) pharmacist and World War I resistance activist.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Roubaix is twinned with:

• Mönchengladbach, Germany, since 1969
• Bradford, England, United Kingdom
• Covilhã, Portugal
• Bouïra, Algeria
• Skopje, Macedonia
• Prato, Italy
• Sosnowiec, Poland

References

• INSEE commune file

External links

• City council website (French)
• Tourist office website
• Website of the museum
• LeBlog2Roubaix.com (videoblog and WebTv about Roubaix)
• Roubaix at the Open Directory Project (French)
• See pictures from Antonio Mucherino's web site