Westhoek (region)
The Westhoek ( Dutch for west corner, French Le Westhoek ) is a region in Belgium and France. She was part of the county of Flanders. Since the Peace of Utrecht ( 1713) belongs to the western part of the Westhoek to France. Today, the region in the Belgian province of West Flanders comprises the Arrondissements Diksmuide, Ypres and Furnes. In the French department of Nord, the Arrondissement of Dunkirk belongs to the region, also known as French Westhoek. French Westhoek forms in France the northern part of French Flanders, the Leie River forms the border with its southern part with the arrondissements of Lille and Douai.
The Flemish municipalities De Panne, Koksijde and Nieuwpoort are sometimes referred to as Belgian Tourist Region West Coast ( Dutch Westkust ).
The Belgian-French border that divides the region, it is called popularly the line ( West Flemish de Schreve ) to emphasize that this is not a linguistic or cultural barriers.
Belgian Westhoek
The Belgian part of the Westhoek lies on the north western corner of Belgium. The arrondissements of Diksmuide, Ypres and Furnes with communities Furnes, Poperinge, Wervik, Ypres, De Panne, Long marrow Poelkapelle and Diksmuide are the political structure. The Yser flows across the region.
The primary (agriculture) sector accounts for a large share of total output.
French Westhoek
Geographical location
French Westhoek is the northern part of the broader region of French Flanders, it lies between the River Lys and the North Sea at the Franco-Belgian border. It corresponds, in the northwestern part of the department of Nord about the French Arrondissement of Dunkirk, but some parts of this arrondissement not belong to Westhoek, parts of Westhoek are in the territory of neighboring departments Pas -de -Calais. In French Westhoek are the cities of Dunkirk, Gravelines and Hazebrouck.
French - West Corner consists of the following scenic different regions:
Language
The traditional language of French Westhoek is West Flemish, a dialect of the Dutch language, also known as the French - Flemish ( nld.: Frans - Vlaams ) is called. At the time, the language was the most widely spoken language in the region, but in the course of the promotion of the French language, the language of instruction in school in 1853 began with the introduction of French, the Dutch language was in the region more and more displaced by the French. Of about 380,000 residents of the region French Westhoek use daily for about between 10,000 and 20,000 people West Flemish, most live in the region around Dunkirk, about twice as many people use this dialect occasionally. West Flemish is now recognized as French regional language. Bilingual street signs but there is no, French remains the only acceptable official language. The French Flemish dialect has a greater impact on the local expression ( toponym ). Thus derived, for example, the names of the in French Westhoek cities Roubaix and Dunkerque by the Flemish name Robeke and from Dunkirk.