Lille - online puzzles

Lille ( LEEL; French : [lil] (listen); Dutch: Rijsel [ˈrɛisəl]; Picard: Lile; West Flemish: Rysel) is a city at the northern tip of France, in French Flanders. On the Deûle River, near France 's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de- France region, the prefecture of the Nord department, and the main city of the European Metropolis of Lille.

As of 2015, Lille had a population of 232,741 within its administrative limits,. Lille is the first city of the Métropole Européenne de Lille with a population of 1,182,127, making it the fourth largest urban area in France after Paris, Lyon and Marseille.

History

Origin of the city

Archeological digs seem to show the area as inhabited by as early as 2000 BC, most notably in the modern- day quartiers of Fives, Wazemmes, and Vieux Lille. The original inhabitants of this region were the Gauls, such as the Menapians, the Morins, the Atrebates, and the Nervians, who were followed by Germanic peoples: the Saxons, the Frisians and the Franks.

The legend of "Lydéric and Phinaert" puts the foundation of the city of Lille at 640. In the 8th century, the language of Old Low Franconian was spoken here, as attested by toponymic research. Lille's Dutch name is Rijsel, which comes from ter ijsel (at the island ) from Middle Dutch ijssel (“small island, islet ”), calque of Old French l'Isle (“the Island ”), itself from Latin Īnsula, from īnsula (“ island ”).

From 830 until around 910, the Vikings invaded Flanders.