Gravelines

The Battle of Gravelines was fought on 13 July 1558 at Gravelines, near Calais, France. It occurred during the twelve-year war between France and Spain (1547–1559). The battle resulted in a victory by the Spanish forces, led by Lamoral, Count of Egmont, over the French, led by Marshal Paul de Thermes. The Spanish were supported by the English Navy, who opened fire on the French as they reached the sand dunes at Gravelines.Following the dominance of the Spanish forces, led by Duke Emmanuel Philibert of Savoy, at the Battle of St. Quentin, Henry II of France prepared his revenge. He recruited a new army in Picardy, which he put in the hands of Louis Gonzaga, Duke of Nevers. He asked the Ottoman Sultan for naval support and encouraged the Scots to invade England from the north. Francis, Duke of Guise, seized the port of Calais from the English and moved to capture the city of Thionville in Philip II's duchy of Luxembourg on 22 June 1558. Marshall de Thermes invaded with another army consisting of 12,000 infantry and 2,000 cavalry, armed with a considerable amount of artillery. After crossing the river Aa at its mouth, de Thermes commandeered his army to conquer both Dunkirk and Nieuwpoort, consequently threatening Brussels. It is reported that a Spanish army was to later intercept the duke's army at the Aa River.

Jean Bart is the name given to the replica of a 1670, 84-gun, ship-of-the-line, that is being constructed by the Association Tourville at Gravelines, Dunkirk, to the plans of the seventeenth century ship builder Colbert. It has European funding through the Heroes2c programme.

Gravelines Sportica is an indoor sporting arena located in Gravelines, France. The capacity of the arena is 3,500 people. It is currently home to the Basket Club Maritime Gravelines Dunkerque Grand Littoral basketball team.

Grand-Fort-Philippe (French pronunciation: ​[ɡʁɑ̃ fɔʁ filip]; Dutch: Groot-Fort-Filips) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.

The Gravelines Nuclear Power Station is a nuclear power plant located near the commune of Gravelines in Nord, France, approximately 20 km (12 mi) from Dunkerque and Calais. It is the seventh largest nuclear power station in the world, and the largest in Western Europe. Its cooling water comes from the North Sea. The plant consists of 6 nuclear reactors of 900 MW each. In 2017 the plant produced 31.67 TWh of electric energy, 5.9% of French electricity production. Two reactors entered service in 1980, two in 1981, and two in 1985. The site employs 1,680 regular employees. As of 2 August 2010, it became the second nuclear station anywhere in the world to produce over one thousand terawatt-hours of electricity, following Bruce Nuclear Generating Station in Ontario, Canada, which passed that milestone in 2009.The reactors of Units 5 and 6 were initially intended for export to Iran, but the order was cancelled after the Iranian Revolution in 1979. Their design, known as CPY, was the basis for the Chinese CPR-1000. An intermediate derivative is called the M310.

The Aa (French pronunciation: ​[a]; Picard: Abbe) is a river in northern France that is 93 km (58 miles) long. Originating near the village of Bourthes and emptying into the North Sea near Gravelines, the Aa is located near the north-eastern limit of the English Channel. The Aa has been canalized for most of its length and forms much of the border between the regions of Pas-de-Calais and Nord.

Saint-Folquin (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃fɔlkɛ̃]; West Flemish: Sint-Volkwin) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France named for a 9th-century Christian saint named Folquin.

Saint-Georges-sur-l'Aa (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃ ʒɔʁʒ syʁ la], literally Saint-Georges on the Aa; Dutch: Sint-Joris-aan-de-Aa) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France.

Saint-Omer-Capelle (French pronunciation: ​[sɛ̃.t‿ɔmɛʁ kapɛl]; West Flemish: Sint-Omaarskapelle) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Vieille-Église (West Flemish: Oudekerke) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.

Bourbourg (French pronunciation: ​[buʁbuʁ]; West Flemish: Broekburg) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is situated in the maritime plain of northern France, in the middle of a triangle formed by Dunkirk, Calais, and Saint-Omer.

Oye-Plage (French pronunciation: ​[wa plaʒ]; West Flemish: Ooie) is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in the Hauts-de-France region of France.