Roubaix

Roubaix

The city hall

Coat of arms
Roubaix

Coordinates: 50°42′N 3°10′E / 50.7°N 3.17°ECoordinates: 50°42′N 3°10′E / 50.7°N 3.17°E
Country France
Region Nord-Pas-de-Calais
Department Nord
Arrondissement Lille
Intercommunality Lille Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) Guillaume Delbar
Area1 13.23 km2 (5.11 sq mi)
Population (2013)2 96,984
 • Density 7,300/km2 (19,000/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 59512 / 59100
Elevation 17–52 m (56–171 ft)
(avg. 32 m or 105 ft)
Website www.ville-roubaix.fr (French)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Roubaix (French pronunciation: ​[ʁu.bɛ]) is a commune in the Nord department in northern France. It is located between the cities of Lille and Tourcoing.

Roubaix is the second largest city in the French region of Nord-Pas-de-Calais ranked by population with about 100,000 inhabitants. Together with Lille, Tourcoing, Villeneuve-d'Ascq and 81 other communes, Roubaix gives structure to a metropolitan area inhabited by around 1.1 million people: the Urban Community of Lille Métropole. To a greater extent, Roubaix belongs to a vast conurbation formed with the Belgian cities of Mouscron, Kortrijk, Tournai and Menen, which gave birth to the first European Grouping of Territorial Cooperation in January 2008, Lille–Kortrijk–Tournai, which counts for a total of over 2 million inhabitants. The city is served by the Lille Metro.

Renowned for art and history, the city remains famous for its architectural heritage and for the economic boom which took place here during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century, thanks to the textile industry, of which it was the worldwide capital at the beginning of the 20th century. The main French mail order houses were founded here (La Redoute and 3 Suisses).

Roubaix is trying to address the difficulties associated with deindustrialization (1970-1980) by creating new industries, capitalizing on its cultural and political attributes (La Piscine Museum, Condition publique, Colisée, National Archives of the World of Work) and a strong student presence (EDHEC Business School, ENSAIT). Nevertheless, unemployment remains high and 75% of the city is classified as sensitive urban zone (ZUS).

Geography

Location

Roubaix is set on the eastern side of Lille and the southern side of Tourcoing, close to the Belgian border. The municipality belongs to the land of Ferrain, a neighbourhood of the former Castellany of Lille.

Lake in the Barbieux Park, Roubaix.
Tourcoing Tourcoing Wattrelos
 
 
Wasquehal    Roubaix     Leers
Croix Hem Lys-lez-Lannoy

The Gare de Roubaix railway station offers connections to Lille, Tourcoing, Antwerp, Ostend and Paris.

Culture

St. Martin's Church in Roubaix, Built for the first time in 881 AD and rebuilt in 1468.

Notable is La Piscine art gallery, which, as the name implies, is located in the old municipal swimming pool. Discobolos (international artist Wim Delvoye's) is the first work of modern art, ordered by the inhabitants, with the Comité de quartier de l'Hommelet, an association of citizens.

On 16 May 1967, Roubaix was the venue of the final live performance in the career of singer Jacques Brel. Filming location of Arnaud Desplechin's "A Christmas Tale" ("Un Conte de Noel"), a highly regarded 2008 comedy-drama.

Economy

Ankama Games has its head office in Roubaix.[1]

OVH has 6 datacentres in Roubaix.

Sport

Roubaix is the finish of the Paris–Roubaix cycling classic, one of the most prestigious[2] events on the cycling calendar. The 259.5-kilometre (161.2 mi) race from Compiègne to Roubaix includes almost 50 km (31 mi) of cobbles.

One of the longest distance walking races in the world also takes place each year in Roubaix. Since 1953 the televised 'Roubaix 28 hours' regularly sees elite endurance athletes from dozens of countries aiming to complete the longest distance possible within the 28 hour time limit. The current record is over 255 km (158 mi), with many each year completing more than 200 km (124 mi).

Notable people

Eugène Motte
Viviane Romance

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Roubaix is twinned with:

See also

References

Notes

  1. ↑ "MENTIONS LEGALES." Ankama Games. Retrieved on 30 October 2012. "75 boulevard d'Armentières BP 60403 59057 ROUBAIX Cedex 1 - France"
  2. ↑ Cycling. "Paris-Roubaix 2011: race preview of 'the hell of the north'". Telegraph. Retrieved 2013-03-12.
  3. ↑ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 2013-07-11.
  4. ↑ "Skopje - Twin towns & Sister cities". Official portal of City of Skopje. © Grad Skopje - 2006 - 2013, www.skopje.gov.mk. Archived from the original on 2013-10-24. Retrieved 2013-11-04.

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Roubaix.