Tourcoing
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Tourcoing |
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 Tourcoing
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Location within Nord-Pas-de-Calais region
Tourcoing
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| Administration | ||
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| Country | France | |
| Region | Nord-Pas-de-Calais | |
| Department | Nord | |
| Arrondissement | Lille | |
| Intercommunality | Lille Métropole | |
| Mayor | Michel-François Delannoy (2008–2014) |
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| Statistics | ||
| Elevation | 67 m (220 ft) avg. | |
| Land area1 | 15.19 km2 (5.86 sq mi) | |
| Population2 | 93,540 (1999) | |
| - Density | 6,158 /km2 (15,950 /sq mi) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 59599/ 59200 | |
| 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. | ||
Coordinates: 50°43′56″N 3°06′14″E / 50.7323°N 3.1040°E
Tourcoing (French pronunciation: [tuʁ.kwɛ̃]) is a city in northern France. It is designated municipally as a commune within the département of Nord.
Tourcoing is situated near the cities of Lille and Roubaix and the Belgian border.
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[edit] Main sights
- Church of St Christopher (15th-16th centuries), considered one of the most beautiful Neo-Gothic edifices of Nord. In stone and brickwork, it has an 80 m-high bell tower with more than 80 bells.
- Hospice de Havre, founded in 1260. The cloister and the chapel date from the seventeenth century.
- Hôtel de ville (1885), in Napoleon III-style.
- Jardin botanique de Tourcoing, a botanical garden and arboretum.
[edit] History
The city was the site of a significant victory for France during the French Revolutionary Wars. Marshal Charles Pichegru and his generals Joseph Souham and Jean Moreau defeated a combined force of British and Austrian troops in the Battle of Tourcoing on 29 Floréal II (18 May 1794).[1]
[edit] Transport
The Gare de Tourcoing is a railway station offering direct connections to Lille and Paris (high speed trains), Kortrijk, Ostend, Ghent and Antwerp.
[edit] Notable people
- Albert Roussel, composer
- Brigitte Fossey, actress
- Brigitte Lahaie, pornstar
- Joseph-Charles Lefèbvre, bishop of Bourges, cardinal, cousin of
- Marcel Lefebvre, missionary priest and, later, controversial archbishop, cousin of Joseph-Charles
- Mr. Sam, a popular deejay and producer running his own record label since 2008.
- Stéphane Denève, conductor
- Anna Gomis, wrestler
- Yohan Cabaye, footballer currently playing for Newcastle United.
- Jean-Marc Degraeve, chess grandmaster.
[edit] Twin towns
Berlin, Germany
Biella, Italy- Bottrop, Germany
Guimarães, Portugal
Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland
Mouscron, Belgium- Mühlhausen, Germany
Rochdale, United Kingdom
Veszprém, Hungary
[edit] See also
- Battle of Tourcoing (1794)
- Free Institution of Sacred Heart
- Communes of the Nord department
- See pictures from Antonio Mucherino's web site
[edit] References
- ^ Soboul, Albert (1975). The French Revolution 1787–1799. USA: Vintage. p. 404. ISBN 039471220X.
[edit] External links
- Tourcoing town council website (in French)
- Tourcoing Volley-Ball Lille Métropole (Official website of the top team, in French)
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