Guînes

Sister cities

• Kluisbergen

History

Historically, Guînes was the capital of a small county of the same name. After the Romans left, in the 5th century, there is little known about the town. In the Dark Ages, according to legend, the territory of Guînes became the property of one Aigneric, Mayor of the Palace of the Burgundian king Théodebert II. In 928, when the Danes invaded and seized the place, it was probably a defenceless village. A fenced mound and a double ditch would soon have been created by the Danes. This is the origin of the castle of Guînes. Arnulf I, Count of Flanders, realizing a counter-attack would be costly, arranged the marriage of his daughter Elstrude, to Sigfrid, the Danish leader, bestowing upon him the title of Count of Guînes but as vassal to him, the Count of Flanders. Under Sigfrid's successors, the county of Guînes acquired considerable importance. At the beginning of the 11th century, Count Manassès founded a convent of the order of St Benedict. This was placed under the jurisdiction of the nearby abbey of Saint Léonard. At that time, Guînes comprised three parishes within its walls, whose churches were dedicated to Saint Bertin, Saint Pierre and Saint Médard. Outside the town ramparts were the abbey of Saint Léonard, the church of Saint-Blaise, in the hamlet of Melleke, and the leper-house of Saint Quentin, in the hamlet of Spelleke in Tournepuits. At the end of the 11th century, Baldwin I, Count of Guînes, built a huge stone castle on top of Sigfrid's old keep and enclosed the town within a stone wall, with defensive towers at each of the entrances. His brother Fulk was a participant in the First Crusade. In 1180, Guînes was passed together with Ardres, Arras and Saint-Omer to the French crown as part of the dowry of Isabel of Hainaut when she married Philip II of…

Geography

Guînes is located on the border of the two territories of the Boulonnais and Calaisis, at the edge of the now-drained marshes, which extend from there to the coast. The Guînes canal connects with Calais.