Located on the seaside between Calais and Dunkirk, Gravelines has a vast cultural and historical heritage with its Vauban fortifications, its Museum of Original Drawing and Printmaking (unique in France) and its many monuments of military architecture. The city also has a very diversified natural environment with plains, canals, dunes and beaches.
The port of Gravelines was originally a small fishing hamlet. In the 12th century, the Count of Flanders, Thierry of Alsace, decided to surround the city with a rampart of stones and piles and to build a new estuary for the Aa river. The city then became the outport of Saint-Omer, where herring was fished and salt, fruit and wine were transported.
Led in turn by the Dukes of Burgundy and the kings of Spain (Charles V is at the origin of the star-shaped bastioned rampart), the fortifications were extended after the city became French in 1659. It was at this time that Louis XIV commissioned Vauban to complete the city's defence with a series of half-moons, counterscarps and locks. The construction of the channel, designed by King Philip IV of Spain, was completed under Louis XV in 1740.
From the 19th century until 1938, cod fishing was one of the main activities of sailors who "went to Iceland". As port trade began to decline in the 1960s, Gravelines turned to industry and tourism. Today, the city has many labels that reflect the quality of its infrastructure and environment, including being one of the "100 most beautiful detours in France".
The Liberty and Powder Magazine gardens are labelled "Remarkable Gardens" thanks to their botanical richness and the enhancement of various atypical elements. The contemporary garden of La Poudrière, created in 2006, links the walkway with the streets of the city center. Located in a historical setting, it looks like a vegetable garden with its square plantations. It hosts various events such as cultural exhibitions and concerts.
The Liberty Garden, with its kiosk, boxwood-lined alleys and old roses, is typical of the late 19th century. Among other things, you can see a 150-year-old purple beech tree and a Ginkgo biloba planted by children in 2000.
So, ready for a pedestrian discovery of Gravelines?
Valérie from Comme des Français
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