Bully-les-Mines

Sister cities

• Elsdorf
• Wisła

History

The name of Bully-les-Mines has frequently had various forms over the centuries: from Bulgi (in 1135), to Bugi (1152), Builli (1157), Bullia (1198), Bully (1270), Boulli (1303), Buylly (1410), Builly-lez-Aix (1486), Builly-lez-Grenay (1511), Builly-en-Gohelle (1569), Bully-en-Gohelle (1709), Bully-Grenay (1750), Bully-en-Gohelle (1782), and finally Bully-les-Mines in 1925. According to many sources, the name has Gaulish origins. Ricouart proposes that "Bullire" derives from the French "bouillonner," a reference to the source of the river Surgeon in a neighboring commune. The current use of "les mines" indicates the importance of mining to the commune and the region. The train station has maintained the older name of Bully-Grenay, leading to occasional confusion among travelers. Although the region has been inhabited from prehistory onward, no evidence of prehistoric settlements has yet been found at Bully. The oldest relic so far discovered in the commune is a Celtic bracelet; Bully once belonged to the "Pagus Silvinus" region of the Atrébates. Gallo-Roman discoveries have been numerous within the commune. During the sixth century, Bully came under the spiritual leadership of the bishop of Cambrai-Arras. As an integral part of Artois, Bully fell under the domination of the Counts of Flanders from 862 to 1191 before passing with the rest of the region to French control. Governed directly by the French Crown from 1191 to 1237, the town and region remained part of France until 1384, when they submitted to the rule of Burgundy. A brief return to French control between 1477 and 1492 ended in an absorption into Spanish territory, which lasted until the region returned definitively to France with the 1659 Treaty of the Pyrenees. Bully's close proximity to three military…

Most-observed species

• Bee Orchid

  Ophrys apifera Huds. · Liliopsida
  4,991
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,595
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,027
• Eurasian Collared-Dove

  Streptopelia decaocto (Frivaldszky, 1838) · Aves
  1,917
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  1,902
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,739
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,616
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  1,378

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2008-08-08
  1 km SSE of Boussu, Belgium
• M 3.2 — 2008-07-14
  1 km SW of Boussu, Belgium
• M 3.1 — 2005-06-01
  3 km N of Grandvilliers, France
• M 3.1 — 2005-02-27
  1 km NW of Libercourt, France
• M 2.5 — 2004-10-03
  0 km ESE of Maubray, Belgium