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Commune of Calais |
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| Pier and lighthouse on the Calais seafront | ||
| Location | ||
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| Coordinates | ||
| Administration | ||
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| Country | France | |
| Region | Nord-Pas de Calais | |
| Department | Pas-de-Calais (sous-préfecture) |
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| Arrondissement | Calais | |
| Canton | Chief town of 4 cantons | |
| Intercommunality | Communauté d'agglomération du Calaisis |
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| Mayor | Natacha Bouchart (UMP) (2008-2014) |
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| Statistics | ||
| Elevation | 0 m–18 m | |
| Land area¹ | 33. A geographic coordinate system enables every location on the Earth to be specified in three coordinates using mainly a spherical coordinate system. Wikipedia talkFeatured lists for an explanation of this and other inclusion tags below -->This list of countries, arranged alphabetically This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Nord-Pas de Calais (French Nord-Pas de Calais; Dutch Noord-Nauw van Kales) is one of the 26 regions of France. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders Subprefectures (sous-préfectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The Arrondissement of Calais is an arrondissement of France located in the Pas-de-Calais département, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. A mayor (from the Latin māior, meaning "greater" is a modern title used in many countries for the highest ranking officer in a municipal government The elevation of a Geographic location is its height above a fixed reference point often the mean sea level. 50 km² | |
| Population² (1999) |
77,333 | |
| - Density | 2,308/km² (1999) | |
| Miscellaneous | ||
| INSEE/Postal code | 62193/ 62100 | |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. Population density (in agriculture standing stock and Standing crop) is a measurement of Population per unit area or unit volume The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE to identify various entities including communes Postal codes were introduced in France in 1972, when La Poste introduced automated sorting. Square Kilometre ( US spelling square kilometer) symbol km2, is a decimal multiple of the SI unit of 386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. The square mile is an imperial and US unit of Area equal the area of a square of one statute mile. An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open | ||
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once. C D E | ||
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Calais (IPA: [kaˈlɛ]; in English often IPA: /kæˈleɪ/, traditional English pronunciation /ˈkælɨs/; Dutch: Kales) is a town in northern France. Dutch ( is a West Germanic language spoken by around 24 million people 22 million of which are from the Netherlands, Belgium and Suriname This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. It is in the département of Pas-de-Calais, of which it is a sous-préfecture. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division Pas-de-Calais is a department in northern France. Its name is the French language equivalent of the Strait of Dover, which it borders Subprefectures (sous-préfectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's préfecture (capital) resides in its third-largest city of Arras. Arras (Atrecht is the capital of the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France.
The population of the city (commune) at the 1999 census was 77,333 inhabitants (74,800 as of February 2004 estimates). The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The population of the whole metropolitan area (aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 125,584. The aire urbaine is an INSEE (the national statistics office of France statistical region comprising a Couronne périurbaine commuter belt around a contiguous
Calais overlooks the Strait of Dover, the narrowest point in the English Channel, which is only 34 km (21 miles) wide here, and is the closest French town to the United Kingdom, of which Calais was a territorial possession for several centuries. The Strait of Dover or Dover Strait ( French: Pas de Calais, pɑdə kalɛ "Strait of Calais " Dutch: Nauw van The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The Pale of Calais ( French: Calaisis) is a historical region of France that was controlled by the Kingdom of England. The white cliffs of Dover can easily be seen on a clear day. The white cliffs of Dover are Cliffs which form part of the British coastline facing the Strait of Dover and France.
The old part of the town, Calais proper (or Calais-Nord), is situated on an artificial island surrounded by canals and harbours. An artificial island is an Island that has been constructed by humans rather than formed by natural means The modern part of the town, St-Pierre, lies to the south and southeast.
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History
Economy
The city's proximity to England has made it a major port for centuries. It is the principal ferry crossing point between England and France, with the vast majority of Channel crossings being made between Dover and Calais. See also Merchant ship A ferry is a form of transport usually a Boat or Ship, used to carry (or ferry) passengers and Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, England. The French end of the Channel Tunnel is also situated in the vicinity of Calais, in Coquelles some 4 miles (6 km) to the west of the town. The Channel Tunnel (Le tunnel sous la Manche also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in England with Coquelles is a village and commune of the Pas-de-Calais département, located near Calais in northern France.
The mainstay of the town's economy is, naturally, its port, but it also has a number of indigenous industries. The principal ones are lace making, chemicals, and paper manufacture. It possesses direct rail links to Paris (148 miles / 238 km to the south). Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city
Due to the large difference in taxation between Britain and France on such items as alcoholic beverages and tobacco, massive shopping complexes targeted at British day-trippers have sprung up on and around Calais to take advantage of the border trade. Tobacco is an Agricultural product recognized as an addictive drug processed from the fresh Leaves of plants in the genus Nicotiana. A day-tripper is a person who visits a Tourist destination or Visitor attraction from their home and return home on the same day Border trade, in general refers to the flow of goods and services across the international land borders between countries Such day trippers are colloquially known as "booze cruisers" and were the target of considerable attention from the UK Customs and Excise authorities. Booze cruise is an English colloquial term for a brief trip from Britain to France or Belgium with the intent of taking advantage of lower prices and buying However, given that both the UK and France are members of the EU customs zone, there is no restriction on the movement of purchases between the two countries as long as the goods are for personal use. The European Union Customs Union is a Customs union which consists of all European Union member states. [1]
Transport
As well as the large port, the town is served by two railway stations: Gare de Calais-Fréthun and Gare de Calais-Ville, the former being the first stop on mainland Europe of the Eurostar line. Eurostar is a High-speed train service in Western Europe connecting London and Kent in the United Kingdom, with Paris
Main sights
Virtually the entire town was destroyed by heavy bombardments during World War II, so there is little in Calais that pre-dates the war. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including For most visitors, the town is simply a place to pass through en route to other destinations.
The town centre is dominated by its distinctive hotel de ville (town hall), built in the Flemish Renaissance style (and visible well out to sea). Directly in front of the town hall is a cast of the statue The Burghers of Calais (French Les Bourgeois de Calais), by Auguste Rodin. The Burghers of Calais ( Les Bourgeois de Calais) is one of the most famous sculptures by Auguste Rodin, completed in 1888 Auguste Rodin (born François-Auguste-René Rodin; November 12 1840–November 17 1917 was a French artist most famous as a sculptor.
The German wartime military headquarters, situated near the train station in a small park, is today open to the public as a war museum.
Immediately to the west is the Côte d'Opale, an extremely scenic cliff-lined section of coast that parallels the White Cliffs on the British coast and is part of the same geological formation. Côte d'Opale is the French coast from Calais to Boulogne-sur-Mer.
On clear days, the buildings of Calais can quite readily be seen with the naked eye from the British shore, 33 km (21 miles) away.
References
External links
- Official Website (in French)
- Agglomération (in French)
- Info about the port and city (in French)
- Port of Calais
- Calais fortifications
- Old Postcard Views of Calais
- Photos of Calais in 3d (Anaglyphs).
- 3D View of Castle of Calais from Henry VIII period Google Earth
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