Marcq-en-Baroeul
Ealing has enjoyed informal town twinning links with Marcq en Baroeul in France since 1978. In 1991 the town twinning relationship was formalised and marked by the signing of a declaration by the mayors of the two municipalities/boroughs. Marcq en Baroeul has a population of 36,000.
Location
Marcq en Baroeul is a town of 36,000 inhabitants
situated on the river Marque near the city of Lille in the
'department' (county) Nord. With good access to major motorways,
the northern coastal ports of Calais and Dunkirk can be reached in
about and hour, and Paris, at 213km (133 miles), in about two.
There are also excellent rail links by high-speed train to Paris,
Brussels and the coast.
History
The town of Marcq en Baroeul has its origins in medieval
times prior to the year 1000, and traces of Roman habitation have
been discovered. During its history Marcq has been subject to the
ups and down suffered by the Flanders region, from the Wars of
Religion of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries to the two
World Wars of our own century. However, it has also seen happier
times; in the eighteenth century its marker gardening of vegetables
earned it the title 'The Garden of Lille' and this agricultural
activity continues to this day. The nineteenth century saw the
development of the local textile industries, aided first by
transportation by canal and later by road and rail.
Marcq today
Marcq en Baroeul is a pleasant spacious town, and
combines the advantages of the town with the charm of the
countryside. Its economy ranges from high-tech service and
manufacturing industries with the presence of world famous
companies such as ICI and Rank Xerox, to agriculture, with one
third of the town's area still classified as rural land.
The local amenities of Marcq en Baroeul include a swimming pool, sports stadium, golf course and a famous horseracing course, the Hippodrome des Flandres.
The town has an active cultural life - among the town's many
schools is the School of Music and Dramatic Art, housed in an
impressive nineteenth century church of St Vincentsis - the venue
for concerts and local festivals.
Marcq and Ealing
Since 1978 there have been various civic visits and
social, cultural and educational exchanges and in recent years
Ealing's town twinning association, The Friends of Marcq en
Baroeul, has organised a number of joint activities with its French
counterpart, Les Amis d'Ealing. These include civic visits, social,
cultural and educational exchanges.
The Friends of Marcq-en-Baroeul (Ealing’s French Town
Twinning organisation) has been key in the successful development
of a rich and diverse programme of joint activities with their
French counterpart
Les Amis d’Ealing. The events and activities have focused on
cultural and linguistic exchange.
For more information visit: http://www.lintononline.co.uk/FoMeB/FomebHome.htm