Dunkerque, also known as Dunkirk, town, northern France, in Nord Department, on the Strait of Dover, near Calais. It is a major seaport and fishing base, connected by railroad and canal with the principal industrial and agricultural centers of Belgium and France. The city also is a manufacturing center; products include ships, refined petroleum, processed food, metal goods, and textiles.
Dunkerque grew around a church built in the 7th century by Saint Éloi in the midst of sand dunes; the name of the town is Flemish for “Church on the Dunes.” Historically Dunkerque shared the fortunes of Flanders, coming successively under Burgundian, Austrian, and Spanish rule. It was taken by the English in 1658 and sold to France in 1662 by Charles II of England. By the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713 the French were compelled to destroy the fortifications of Dunkerque, but they were restored in 1783.
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