Sainte-Marie-Kerque

Sainte -Marie- Kerque ( Dutch: Sint- Mariakerke ) is a commune with 1521 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the Pas -de- Calais, in the Nord -Pas -de -Calais. It belongs to the arrondissement of Saint- Omer and the canton Audruicq.

Geography

The nearest towns are Saint -Pierre- Brouck ( approx. 3,6 km as the crow flies) and the cantonal capital Audruicq ( about 4.6 km). The coastal town of Calais, seat of the prefecture, located 20 km as the crow flies.

History

The municipality is located in French Flanders and belongs to the historical Dutch language area French -Flanders, the to the west also handed in the Middle Ages over Calais, which today in the names ( Kerque or Kerke ( Flemish) = church) and many family names of the inhabitants can be seen. Since the Early Modern French has, however, gained at the expense of Dutch in this region continuously gaining ground. In the Middle Ages the town shared the fate of the county of Flanders. This was in Lehnsabhängigkeit to the French crown since the Frankish Empire divisions in the 8th century, came to the house of Burgundy in 1385 and 1477/1526 to the Habsburgs, and thus to the Holy Roman Empire. In the 16-17. Century came the western Flanders again for France.

Attractions

At the sights in its beginnings dating back to the 15th century Eglise Notre -Dame-de -la- Visitation find ( Church of the appearance of Our Lady ). A major restoration took place in 1899. Moreover, is located in the Église Saint- Nicolas ( Church of St. Nicholas) from 1837 and the Château du Wetz ( Castle Wetz ).