Tourcoing
Encyclopedia
Tourcoing 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.
. Marshal Charles Pichegru
and his general
s 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).
is a railway station offering direct connections to Lille and Paris (high speed trains), Kortrijk, Ostend, Ghent and Antwerp.
, Germany Biella
, Italy Bottrop
, Germany Guimarães
, Portugal Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland Mouscron
, Belgium Mühlhausen
, Germany Rochdale
, United Kingdom Veszprém
, Hungary
City
A city is a relatively large and permanent settlement. Although there is no agreement on how a city is distinguished from a town within general English language meanings, many cities have a particular administrative, legal, or historical status based on local law.For example, in the U.S...
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...
. It is designated municipally as a commune
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...
within the département of Nord.
Tourcoing is situated near the cities of Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
and Roubaix
Roubaix
Roubaix 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:...
and the Belgian
Belgium
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...
border.
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 TourcoingJardin botanique de TourcoingThe Jardin botanique de Tourcoing is a municipal botanical garden and arboretum located at 32 rue du Moulin Fagot, Tourcoing, Nord, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France. It is open daily; admission is free....
, a botanical gardenBotanical gardenA botanical garden The terms botanic and botanical, and garden or gardens are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word botanic is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is a well-tended area displaying a wide range of plants labelled with their botanical names...
and arboretumArboretumAn arboretum in a narrow sense is a collection of trees only. Related collections include a fruticetum , and a viticetum, a collection of vines. More commonly, today, an arboretum is a botanical garden containing living collections of woody plants intended at least partly for scientific study...
.
History
The city was the site of a significant victory for France during the French Revolutionary WarsFrench Revolutionary Wars
The French Revolutionary Wars were a series of major conflicts, from 1792 until 1802, fought between the French Revolutionary government and several European states...
. Marshal Charles Pichegru
Charles Pichegru
Jean-Charles Pichegru was a French general and political figure of the French Revolution and Revolutionary Wars.-Early life and career:...
and his general
General
A general officer is an officer of high military rank, usually in the army, and in some nations, the air force. The term is widely used by many nations of the world, and when a country uses a different term, there is an equivalent title given....
s Joseph Souham
Joseph Souham
Joseph Souham was a French general who fought in the French Revolutionary Wars and the Napoleonic Wars. He was born at Lubersac and died at Versailles.-French revolutionary years:...
and Jean Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau
Jean Victor Marie Moreau was a French general who helped Napoleon Bonaparte to power, but later became a rival and was banished to the United States.- Early life :Moreau was born at Morlaix in Brittany...
defeated a combined force of British
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom. It originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height, it was the...
and Austrian troops in the Battle of Tourcoing on 29 Floréal II
French Republican Calendar
The French Republican Calendar or French Revolutionary Calendar was a calendar created and implemented during the French Revolution, and used by the French government for about 12 years from late 1793 to 1805, and for 18 days by the Paris Commune in 1871...
(18 May 1794).
Transport
The Gare de TourcoingGare de Tourcoing
Gare de Tourcoing is a railway station serving the town Tourcoing, Nord department, northern France.-Services:-References:*...
is a railway station offering direct connections to Lille and Paris (high speed trains), Kortrijk, Ostend, Ghent and Antwerp.
Notable people
- Albert RousselAlbert RousselAlbert Charles Paul Marie Roussel was a French composer. He spent seven years as a midshipman, turned to music as an adult, and became one of the most prominent French composers of the interwar period...
, composer - Brigitte FosseyBrigitte FosseyBrigitte Fossey, born in Tourcoing, Nord, is a French actress.-Early years:The daughter of a schoolteacher, Fossey was five years old when she was cast by director René Clément to star in his film, Forbidden Games. Fossey played the role of an innocent child orphaned by World War II...
, actress - Brigitte LahaieBrigitte LahaieBrigitte Lahaie is a radio talk show host, actress and former pornographic actress from France. She began her career at age 15 with a minor role in Africa Erotica and performed in pornographic films from 1976 through 1980....
, pornstar - Joseph-Charles LefèbvreJoseph-Charles LefèbvreJoseph-Charles Lefèbvre was a French Cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church. He served as Archbishop of Bourges from 1943 to 1969, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1960....
, bishop of Bourges, cardinalCardinal (Catholicism)A cardinal is a senior ecclesiastical official, usually an ordained bishop, and ecclesiastical prince of the Catholic Church. They are collectively known as the College of Cardinals, which as a body elects a new pope. The duties of the cardinals include attending the meetings of the College and...
, cousin of - Marcel LefebvreMarcel LefebvreMarcel François Marie Joseph Lefebvre was a French Roman Catholic archbishop. Following a career as an Apostolic Delegate for West Africa and Superior General of the Holy Ghost Fathers, he took the lead in opposing the changes within the Church associated with the Second Vatican Council.In 1970,...
, missionary priest and, later, controversial archbishop, cousin of Joseph-Charles - Mr. SamMr. SamSamuel Paquet , better known by his stage name, Mr. Sam, is a French techno/trance music DJ and producer.- Early career :...
, a popular deejay and producer running his own record label since 2008. - Stéphane DenèveStéphane DenèveStéphane Denève is a French conductor. Born in Tourcoing, France, and a graduate of the Paris Conservatoire, Denève has worked as conducting assistant to Sir Georg Solti with the Orchestre de Paris, Georges Prêtre at the Opéra National de Paris, and Seiji Ozawa at the Saito Kinen Festival...
, conductor - Anna GomisAnna GomisAnna Gomis is a French wrestler who competed in the Women's Freestyle 55 kg at the 2004 Summer Olympics and won the bronze medal. She was named 1999 Female Wrestler of the Year by the International Federation of Associated Wrestling Styles, and is four times world champion.-References:...
, wrestler - Yohan CabayeYohan CabayeYohan Cabaye is a French international footballer player who plays for English club Newcastle United in the Premier League and the French national team. He plays as a box-to-box midfielder and is described as a player who possesses "excellent vision, great ball control", and "provides technical...
, footballer currently playing for Newcastle United. - Jean-Marc DegraeveJean-Marc DegraeveJean-Marc Degraeve is a Grandmaster of chess from France.-Accomplishments:Degraeve won the French Junior Championship in 1987, and had attained the title of International Master in 1991, followed by the Grandmaster title in 1998. He played for France in various international tournaments,...
, chess grandmaster.
Twin towns
BerlinBerlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
, Germany Biella
Biella
Biella is a town and comune in the northern Italian region of Piemonte, the capital of the province of the same name, with some 45,800 inhabitants as of 2009. It is located about 80 km northeast of Turin and about 80 km west-northwest of Milan.It lies in the foothills of the Alps,...
, Italy Bottrop
Bottrop
Bottrop is a city in west central Germany, on the Rhine-Herne Canal, in North Rhine-Westphalia. Located in the Ruhr industrial area, Bottrop adjoins Essen, Oberhausen, Gladbeck and Dorsten. The city had been a coal-mining and rail center and contains factories producing coal-tar derivatives,...
, Germany Guimarães
Guimarães
Guimarães Municipality is located in northwestern Portugal in the province of Minho and in the Braga District. It contains the city of Guimarães.The present Mayor is António Magalhães Silva, elected by the Socialist Party.-Parishes:-Economy:...
, Portugal Jastrzębie-Zdrój, Poland Mouscron
Mouscron
Mouscron is a Walloon city and municipality located in the Belgian province of Hainaut. The Mouscron municipality includes the old communes of Dottignies , Luingne, and Herseaux .-Middle Ages:...
, Belgium Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen
Mühlhausen is a city in the federal state of Thuringia, Germany. It is the capital of the Unstrut-Hainich district, and lies along the river Unstrut. Mühlhausen had c. 37,000 inhabitants in 2006.-History:...
, Germany Rochdale
Rochdale
Rochdale is a large market town in Greater Manchester, England. It lies amongst the foothills of the Pennines on the River Roch, north-northwest of Oldham, and north-northeast of the city of Manchester. Rochdale is surrounded by several smaller settlements which together form the Metropolitan...
, United Kingdom Veszprém
Veszprém
Veszprém is one of the oldest urban areas in Hungary, and a city with county rights. It lies approximately north of the Lake Balaton. It is the administrative center of the county of the same name.-Location:...
, Hungary
See also
- Battle of Tourcoing (1794)Battle of Tourcoing (1794)The Battle of Tourcoing was fought near the town of Tourcoing, just north of Lille in northeastern France on 18 May 1794 and resulted in the victory of the French under Major-Generals Joseph Souham and Jean Moreau over the British under the Duke of York and the Austrians under General the Prince of...
- Free Institution of Sacred HeartFree Institution of Sacred HeartThe Institution Libre du Sacré-Cœur is the oldest and most prestigious school of Tourcoing, next to Lille in the North of France. Its current name is the Collège de Tourcoing .-History:...
- Communes of the Nord department
- See pictures from Antonio Mucherino's web site
External links
- Tourcoing town council website (in French)
- Tourcoing Volley-Ball Lille Métropole (Official website of the top team, in French)