Nieppe

Nieppe is a commune in the Nord department of northern France, known in Dutch as Niepkerke. It lies in the Lys Plain, with a portion of its territory in the Lys Valley, right beside the Belgian border and close to Armentières. It is about 42 kilometres southeast of Dunkirk and is joined to Lille by the A25 motorway, 15 kilometres away. Across the border it neighbours the Belgian municipalities of Heuvelland and Comines-Warneton. The commune has a railway station served by regional TER trains running between Calais-Ville, Dunkirk and Lille-Flandres. INSEE figures give a population of 5,341 in 1968, rising to 7,764 in 2023. Points of interest include a local historic museum, the Château de Nieppe and several Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemeteries. The singer and actress Line Renaud, born in 1928, is among its natives, and the commune has its own football club and handball club.