Watten, Nord

Watten (Dutch: Waden, meaning "ford" as in "river-crossing") is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. Its inhabitants are called "Wattenais".

This article is about the French commune. For the nearby V-2 rockets launch site called the Watten bunker, see Blockhaus d'Éperlecques.
Watten
Commune
The windmill in Watten
Coat of arms
Watten in the arrondissement of Dunkirk
Location of Watten
Watten
Watten in the arrondissement of Dunkirk
Watten
Watten (Hauts-de-France)
Coordinates: 50°50′01″N 2°12′47″E
CountryFrance
RegionHauts-de-France
DepartmentNord
ArrondissementDunkerque
CantonWormhout
IntercommunalityHauts de Flandre
Government
 • Mayor (2014-2020) Daniel Deschodt
Area
1
7.32 km2 (2.83 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
2,563
 • Density350/km2 (910/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
59647 /59143
Elevation1–73 m (3.3–239.5 ft)
(avg. 55 m or 180 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Watten is located at the limit of the French Flanders historical county. However, the local Dutch dialect (French Flemish) is virtually extinct. The neighbouring villages are Wattendam (commune of Holque), Millam, Serques, Éperlecques and Wulverdinghe.

While Watten belongs to the Nord département, it is bordering the Pas-de-Calais département. The village is crossed by the rivers Aa and Colme.

Population
Historical population
YearPop.±%
20062,730—    
20072,731+0.0%
20082,704−1.0%
20092,655−1.8%
20102,608−1.8%
20112,568−1.5%
20122,536−1.2%
20132,523−0.5%
20142,536+0.5%
20152,549+0.5%
20162,561+0.5%

Politics

Presidential Elections 2nd Round
ElectionWinning CandidateParty%
2017 Marine Le Pen FN 63.74
2012 François Hollande PS 63.30
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 55.82
2002 Jacques Chirac RPR 71.67

[2]

Heraldry
Arms of Watten
 The arms of Watten are blazoned :
Per fess argent and gules, 3 pales counterchanged.

Sights

The village is famous for its old ruined abbey, and for its mill, which was restored in the 1990s. These two buildings are located on the "Mountain of Watten" (72 metres high). Its church dates from the thirteenth century.

Nearby is the Blockhaus d'Éperlecques, a massive German bunker site from World War Two, wrecked by Allied bombing. It is now a museum.

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See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. http://www.lemonde.fr/data/france/presidentielle-2017//


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