Lille (Flemish Ryssel), city, northern France, capital of Nord Department, on the Deûle River, near the Belgian border. It is a major manufacturing, transportation, and cultural center, long known for its textiles; other products include iron and steel, machinery, and processed food. Points of interest include a large citadel (1667-70), designed by Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban; the old stock exchange (17th century); and an unfinished cathedral (begun 1850s). In the city are the state universities of Lille I, II, and III (1560, reorganized 1970); a Roman Catholic university; and the Museum of Fine Arts, with a rich collection of paintings of the 15th to 20th century.
Lille was fortified early in the 11th century by the counts of Flanders. Ceded to France in 1312, the city subsequently was under Burgundian, Austrian, and Spanish rule until it was restored to France in 1713. The city was occupied by the Germans during World Wars I and II. Population (1999) 184,657.
