Lille

Sister cities

• Kharkiv
• Buffalo
• Leeds
• Rotterdam
• Esch-sur-Alzette
• Shanghai
• Valladolid
• Liège
• Wrocław
• Erfurt
• Turin
• Cologne

History

Archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC, most notably in the modern quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes and Vieux Lille. The original inhabitants of the region were the Gauls, such as the Menapians, the Morins, the Atrebates and the Nervians, who were followed by Germanic peoples: the Saxons, the Frisians and the Franks. The legend of "Lydéric and Phinaert" puts the foundation of the city of Lille at 640. In the 8th century, the language of Old Low Franconian was spoken, as attested by toponymic research. Lille's Dutch name is Rijsel, which comes from ter ijsel (at the island) from Middle Dutch ijssel ("small island, islet"), calque of Old French l'Isle ("the Island"), itself from Latin Īnsula, from īnsula ("island"). From 830 to around 910, the Vikings invaded Flanders. After the destruction caused by Normans' and the Magyars' invasion, the eastern part of the region was ruled by various local princes. The first mention of the town dates from 1066: apud Insulam (Latin for "at the island"). It was then controlled by the County of Flanders, as were the regional cities (the Roman cities Boulogne, Arras, Cambrai as well as the Carolingian cities Valenciennes, Saint-Omer, Ghent and Bruges). The County of Flanders thus extended to the left bank of the Scheldt, one of the richest and most prosperous regions of Europe. The Carolingian duke Évrard lived in the city in the 9th century and participated in many of the day's political and military affairs. There was an important Battle of Lille in 1054. Raimbert of Lille (fl. c. 1100) was an early nominalist who taught at Lille. From the 12th century, the fame of the Lille cloth fair began to grow. In 1144 Saint-Sauveur parish was formed, which would give its name to the modern-day quartier…

Most-observed species

• Bee Orchid

  Ophrys apifera Huds. · Liliopsida
  5,009
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,515
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,392
• Eurasian Magpie

  Pica pica (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,319
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,228
• Common Chaffinch

  Fringilla coelebs Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  2,696
• European Robin

  Erithacus rubecula (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,628
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  2,582

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 — 2005-02-27
  1 km NW of Libercourt, France
• M 2.5 — 2004-10-03
  0 km ESE of Maubray, Belgium
• M 2.7 — 2002-04-30
  0 km SSE of Waudrez, Belgium
• M 3.1 — 2001-07-02
  3 km NNE of Oostduinkerke, Belgium