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 Show map of France Watten Watten (Hauts-de-France) Show map of Hauts-de-France
Coordinates: 50°50′01″N 2°12′47″E
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Nord
Arrondissement	Dunkerque
Canton	Wormhout
Intercommunality	Hauts de Flandre
Government
• Mayor (2014-2020)	Daniel Deschodt
Area ^1	7.32 km^2 (2.83 sq mi)
Population  (2017-01-01)[1]	2,563
• Density	350/km^2 (910/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	59647 /59143
Elevation	1–73 m (3.3–239.5 ft) (avg. 55 m or 180 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km^2 (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

Year	Pop.	±%
2006	2,730	—
2007	2,731	+0.0%
2008	2,704	−1.0%
2009	2,655	−1.8%
2010	2,608	−1.8%
2011	2,568	−1.5%
2012	2,536	−1.2%
2013	2,523	−0.5%
2014	2,536	+0.5%
2015	2,549	+0.5%
2016	2,561	+0.5%

Politics

Presidential Elections 2nd Round

Election		Winning Candidate	Party	%
	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.

See also

• Communes of the Nord department

References

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

• INSEE commune file
• Watten (in English)