The City of Lille

Here are some details about the city of Lille, France. 

The city of Lille, to which the previously independent town of Lomme was annexed on 27 February 2000, has a population of 226,827 according to the 2009 census. (For comparison, Des Moines has a population of 207,510.)

However, Metropolitan Lille, which also includes Roubaix, Tourcoing and numerous suburban communities, has a population of 1,091,438. 

The Eurometropolis of Lille-Kortrijk-Tournai, which also includes the Belgian cities of Kortrijk, Tournai and Mouscron, has 2,155,161 residents. It is the fifth-largest urban area in France after Paris, Lyon, Marseille, and Toulouse.

Fun facts (according to the internet):

• Lille is one of the friendliest cities in France.
• Lille (often written L’Île [“the island”] until the 18th century) began as a village between arms of the Deûle River. 
• Count Baldwin IV of Flanders fortified it in the 11th century. The medieval town was destroyed or changed hands several times. 
• Louis XIV besieged and claimed it in 1667. 
• After being captured by the duke of Marlborough in 1708, it was finally ceded to France in 1713 by the Treaty of Utrecht. 
• Lille owes its name – once spelled L’Isle – to the fact that it was founded, back in the 11th century, on an island in the River Deûle.
  

• Lille was first mentioned in 1066 as part of the estates of the powerful Counts of Flanders. 
• Lille was damaged and also occupied by the Germans during World Wars I and II.

• Lille is one of France’s top student cities, with over 110,000 students.

• Lille hosts Europe's largest flea market, the two-day Braderie (French for “sell at a low price”) de Lille, in September each year. 

More details and firsthand pictures when we are in Lille!