Raid on Boulogne

The First Siege of Boulogne took place from 19 July to 14 September 1544 and the Second Siege of Boulogne took place in October 1544. An earlier Siege of Boulogne had taken place in 1492 when the English Tudor King Henry VII laid siege to the lightly defended lower town of Boulogne in the Pas-de-Calais, France. Fifty years later as allies of the Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, during the war against the French, the English returned led by Henry VII's son and heir, Henry VIII. Boulogne was fortified and defended as an English possession on the French mainland between 14 September 1544 and March 1550.

Boulogne-sur-Mer (French: [bulɔɲ syʁ mɛʁ] ; Picard: Boulonne-su-Mér; Dutch: Bonen; Latin: Gesoriacum or Bononia), often called just Boulogne (UK: , US: ), is a coastal city in Northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department of Pas-de-Calais. Boulogne lies on the Côte d'Opale, a touristic stretch of French coast on the English Channel between Calais and Normandy, and the most visited location in the region after the Lille conurbation. Boulogne is its department's second-largest city after Calais, and the 183rd-largest in France. It is also the country's largest fishing port, specialising in herring. Boulogne is an ancient town and was the main Roman port for trade and communication with its Province of Britain. After a period of Germanic presence following the collapse of the Empire, Boulogne was integrated into the County of Boulogne of the Kingdom of France during the Middle Ages. It was occupied by the Kingdom of England numerous times due to conflict between the two nations. In 1805 it was a staging area for Napoleon's troops for several months during his planned invasion of the United Kingdom. The city's 12th-century belfry is recognised by UNESCO as a World Heritage Site (along with other belfries of Belgium and France), while another popular attraction is the marine conservation centre Nausicaa.

The raid on Boulogne in 1801 was a failed attempt by elements of the Royal Navy led by Vice Admiral Lord Horatio Nelson to destroy a flotilla of French vessels anchored in the port of Boulogne, a fleet which was thought to be used for the invasion of England, during the French Revolutionary Wars. At dawn on 4 August, Nelson ordered five bomb vessels to move forward and open fire against the French line. Despite the inferior gunpowder of French artillery and the high number of shots fired by the bomb vessels, the British sustained more casualties and withdrew. The night of 16 August Nelson returned and tried to bring off the flotilla, attacking with seventy boats and nearly two thousand men organized into four divisions, but the attack was successfully repelled by the defenders, led by Admiral Latouche Tréville.

The Basilica of Notre-Dame, Boulogne, otherwise the Basilica of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception (French: Basilique Notre-Dame de Boulogne; Basilique Notre-Dame-de-l'Immaculée-Conception), is a minor basilica located in Boulogne-sur-Mer in the Pas-de-Calais département of northern France. The basilica, a prominent landmark of the city with its 101 metres (331 ft) high dome, was built between 1827 and 1875 on the site of the medieval cathedral of Boulogne: the basilica is still known locally as the "cathedral", although the present church has never had that status.

The Château de Boulogne-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [ʃato də bulɔɲ syʁ mɛʁ]) is a castle in the French seaport of Boulogne-sur-Mer, in the Pas-de-Calais département. It houses the Boulogne museum. The castle was built in the 13th century by Philippe Hurepel (1180–1234), count of Boulogne and son of Philip II of France. Following the death of his half-brother, king Louis VIII after a short three-year reign, Hurepel was one of the leaders of a rebellion against the regent, Blanche de Castille, mother of the minor Louis IX. He constructed castles at Calais and Hardelot and refortified Boulogne. The castle is built in the eastern corner of the medieval walls surrounding the Haute Ville (literally, high town - the part of Bologne on the hill). The walls themselves were reconstructed by Hurepel. The eastern part of the castle was built over a corner of the Roman wall, parts of which are still visible in the basement. Housing together the political, legal and economic powers of the time, it was also a residential and defensive site. Various modifications have taken place. Major alterations were carried out by the duc de Berry between 1394 and 1416. The horse shoe shape (barracks, arsenal) was completed around 1567. After being adapted because of developments in artillery during the 16th century, it lost some of its medieval character. In 1767, it became a barracks and, after World War II, it also housed a prison. In 1974, the town council took over ownership of the castle and decided to install its museum collections. Unlike many other contemporary castles of the early 13th century, the plan of the castle does not include a keep. The remains of Château de Hardelot in nearby Condette show that Hurepel used this design for at least one other castle. A similar castle was built around the same time at Fère-en-Tardenois by the Counts of Dreux. The Château de Boulogne is listed by the French Ministry of Culture as a monument historique.

The Université d'été de Boulogne-sur-Mer is a summer university at Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas de Calais, France.

The Communauté d'agglomération du Boulonnais, created in January 2000, is a communauté d'agglomération (an intercommunal structure) centered on the city of Boulogne-sur-Mer. It is located in the Pas-de-Calais department, in the Hauts-de-France region in northern France. Its area is 205.1 km2. Its population was 112,836 in 2018, of which 40,664 in Boulogne-sur-Mer proper.

The canton of Boulogne-sur-Mer-2 is an administrative division of the Pas-de-Calais department, in northern France. It was created at the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015. Its seat is in Boulogne-sur-Mer. It consists of the following communes: Baincthun Boulogne-sur-Mer (partly) Echinghen Le Portel Saint-Martin-Boulogne

Stade de la Libération (French pronunciation: [stad də la libeʁɑsjɔ̃]) is a multi-use stadium in Boulogne-sur-Mer, France. It is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of US Boulogne. The stadium is able to hold 9,534 people.

The former French Catholic diocese of Boulogne existed from 1567 to the French Revolution. It was created after the diocese of Thérouanne was suppressed because of war damage to the see; effectively this was a renaming. It belonged to the Archdiocese of Reims. The Concordat of 1801 suppressed the diocese of Boulogne, transferring its territory to the diocese of Arras. The seat was the Boulogne Cathedral, demolished in 1793.

The arrondissement of Boulogne-sur-Mer is an arrondissement of France in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region. It has 74 communes. Its population is 157,817 (2021), and its area is 633.7 km2 (244.7 sq mi).

Boulogne-Ville is one of the railway stations serving the town Boulogne-sur-Mer, Pas-de-Calais department, northern France. The other station is Boulogne-Tintelleries.