Calais is a busy cross-Channel port. It is located on an island, surrounded by harbors and canals, off the northwestern tip of the Département of Pas-de-Calais. Calais is 21 miles southeast of Dover, England. The two towns are separated by the shortest crossing of the Strait of Dover [Pas-de-Calais]. Calais is situated just to the northwest of the intersection of Auto Routes A 16 and A 26, at the juncture of Route National N 43, which runs along the coast and passes through the town, and D 940. It is 130 Miles west of Bruxelles, 181 miles north-northwest of Paris, 172 miles northwest of Reims and 134 miles north-northeast of Rouen. The date of Calais’ founding, as a fishing village, is unknown. By the Middle Ages, it had become a major port. In the 10th century, the town was the domain of the Count of Flanders. By 1224, it was ruled by the Count of Boulogne who fortified it. In 1346, during the Hundred Years’ War, and after Edward III’s siege that lasted eight months, the English were finally able to starve the populace and take the town. In 1558, after holding Calais for about 200 years, the English lost the town to the second duc de Guise, François de Lorraine. As a direct consequence, the area became known as the Pays Reconquis [the Reconquered Territory]. The Treaty of Vervins returned the area of Calais to the French after it had been held by the Spanish for the years 1596 to 1598. In 1805, part of Napoleon’s Grande Armée awaited the never-to-happen invasion of England at Calais. During the early part of the 19th century, modern port facilities were constructed. During World War I, the town was the primary port of debarkation for the British Expeditionary Forces. In WWII, the Germans occupied Calais from May, 1940 to September, 1944. They utilized it as a launching base for some of the buzz bombs that were used to bombard England. The Allied bombing, of the launch sites and war industries, resulted in considerable damage. There was fierce fighting, in and around Calais, following the Normandy landings, that also contributed to the devastation. The town was clumsily rebuilt following the war. Calais offers some major tourist attractions. Of primary interest is the Auguste Rodin 1895 bronze sculpture of the Burghers of Calais that stands before the rebuilt Flemish Renaissance Hôtel-de-Ville. It commemorates the 1347 surrender of Eustache de Saint-Pierre, and his five fellow Calais burghers, during the Hundred Years’ War. They offered up their lives to avoid an English massacre of the town’s people. The English had laid siege to the town for eight months before the town capitulated. There is also the Church of Notre-Dame and the 13th century watchtower, the Tour du Guet, that was used as a lighthouse until 1848. The Musée des Beaux- Arts et de la Dentelle houses works by the Flemish and Dutch schools, together with a display of the town’s dentelle [lace]. The museum also exhibits Rodin’s studies for the Burghers. Calais is a major transportation center and a dominant point for crossing the Channel. Its harbor is the southern terminus for the car ferries and hovercraft that transport passengers, vehicles and cargo across the straits. It is also the site where the 31 mile long railroad and vehicular tunnel, that lies beneath the English Channel, surfaces in France. The Chunnel was opened in 1994. The town is both a fishing and a light manufacturing center. Among its products are cables, chemicals, distilled products, electric appliances, embroideries, lumber, paper, plastics, processed food, textiles and tiles. It is France’s largest lace-manufacturing center. Calais is also an agricultural distribution center and a popular tourist resort.