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Lille (/ ˈ l iː l /, LEEL; French: ⓘ; Dutch: Rijsel; Picard: Lile; West Flemish: Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders.Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.
Lille had 158,000 inhabitants in 1872, over 200,000 in 1891, and 217,000 in 1912. In 1896, Gustave Delory became the first socialist mayor of a major French city, following Roubaix in 1892. The city was in the midst of the Industrial Revolution. Thanks in particular to the steam engine and mechanical looms, the city became opulent. [28]
The County of Flanders was created in the year 862 as a feudal fief in West Francia, the predecessor of the Kingdom of France.After a period of growing power within France, it was divided when its western districts fell under French rule in the late 12th century, with the remaining parts of Flanders came under the rule of the counts of neighbouring Hainaut in 1191.
French enjoys a limited official recognition in a dozen municipalities along the borders with French-speaking Wallonia, and a large recognition in the bilingual Brussels Region. French is widely known in Flanders, with 59% claiming to know French according to a survey conducted by UCLouvain in Louvain-la-Neuve and published in June 2006. [24] [25]
The region was ceded to the Kingdom of France, and became part of the province of Flanders and Hainaut. The bulk became part of the modern French administrative Nord department, although some western parts of the region, which separated in 1237 and became the County of Artois before the cession to the French, are now part of Pas-de-Calais.
It is one of the most densely populated regions of Europe with around 500/km 2 (1,300/sq mi). The Flemish Region is distinct from the Flemish Community: the latter encompasses both the inhabitants of the Flemish Region and the Dutch-speaking minority living in the Brussels-Capital Region. It borders the Netherlands and France.
Ghent (Dutch: Gent ⓘ; French: Gand ⓘ; historically known as Gaunt in English) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the province of East Flanders, and the third largest in the country, after Brussels and Antwerp. [2] It is a port and university city.
Kortrijk (/ ˈ k ɔːr t r aɪ k / KORT-ryke, [2] Dutch: [ˈkɔrtrɛik] ⓘ; West Flemish: Kortryk or Kortrik; French: Courtrai), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray [3] [4] (/ k ʊər ˈ t r eɪ / koor-TRAY), [2] is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders.