Dunkerque hotel bookings and guide

History

 

The Dunkerque area has a long history of war, being disputed between the Netherlands, Spain, England and France. Later, during WW2, the city was occupied by the Germans and heavily bombed by allied forces.

 

·        Dunkerque was first mentioned in 1067 as Dunkerk which is Dutch for Church of the Dune or Dune Church.

 

·        In the 80 Years War the port was the base of the infamous Dunkerquers: private ship-owners who operated whole privateer fleets to intercept merchants from countries hostile to the Spanish Habsburgs.

 

·        In 1657, as a result of war between Oliver Cromwell’s Commonwealth and the Kingdom of Spain, it was captured by English forces, and was awarded to England in the peace the following year.

 

·        The city became definitively French when Charles II of England sold it to France for £320,000 on 17 October 1662.

 

·        During the reign of Louis XIV, a large number of commerce raiders had again their base at Dunkerque; Jean Bart was the most famous, known for attacking Dutch ships.

 

·        In May 1940 during the battle of France, the British Expeditionary Force in France aiding the French, were cut off from the rest of the French Army by the German advance. Encircled by the Germans they retreated to the area around the port of Dunkerque.

 

·        The city was again contested in 1944, and the Second Canadian Division attempted to liberate the city in September, as Allied forces surged northeast after their victory in the Battle of Normandy.

 

·        The fortress under command of German Admiral Friedrich Frisius eventually unconditionally surrendered to the commander of the Czechoslovak forces, Brigade General Alois Liska, on May 9, 1945.

 

·        On 14 December 2002, the Norwegian auto carrier Tricolor collided with the Bahamian-registered Kariba and sank off Dunkerque harbor, causing a hazard to navigation in the English Channel.