Hondschoote
Encyclopedia
Hondschoote is a commune
of the Nord département, in northern France
.
frontier, just inland from the North Sea
.
The battle of Hondschoote in 1793 was a key event in saving the French Republic after the Revolution. The English king sent an army via Flanders to capture Dunkerque as key invasion port to rid the country of revolutionaries. They were joined by troops from Hanover and Austrians from neighbouring Austrian Flanders. The foreign invaders were beaten by a French volunteer army in a fierce patriotic battle near Hondeschoote, where the windmill was a look-out post and first-aid station.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
of the Nord département, in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
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Heraldry
Geography
Hondschoote lies on the French side of the Franco-BelgianBelgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
frontier, just inland from the North Sea
North Sea
In the southwest, beyond the Straits of Dover, the North Sea becomes the English Channel connecting to the Atlantic Ocean. In the east, it connects to the Baltic Sea via the Skagerrak and Kattegat, narrow straits that separate Denmark from Norway and Sweden respectively...
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Sights
The Noordmeulen windmill dates from 1127 and another windmill, the Spinnewyn was restored in 1993. The church dates from the fourteenth century - its tower was completed 1513 but burnt during the religious troubles in 1582. It was restored in the early 17th century - it is a surprisingly large building for this small town. On the square are several fine old buildings, particularly the town hall. The tourist office is a tiny structure near the front of the church.History
In the Middle Ages, Hondeschoote was part of the Spanish Netherlands. A thriving wealthy cloth-town, it had thousands of small workshops making serge cloth from locally-grown linen flax. But in the 16th century, when French armies attacked the Spanish army, battles raged over Hondschoote. The French burned and looted the town. The cloth-makers of Hondeschoote fled as refugees to what is now Belgium and to England, taking their skills to benefit France's rivals.The battle of Hondschoote in 1793 was a key event in saving the French Republic after the Revolution. The English king sent an army via Flanders to capture Dunkerque as key invasion port to rid the country of revolutionaries. They were joined by troops from Hanover and Austrians from neighbouring Austrian Flanders. The foreign invaders were beaten by a French volunteer army in a fierce patriotic battle near Hondeschoote, where the windmill was a look-out post and first-aid station.