Lys (river) | EPFL Graph Search

Are you an EPFL student looking for a semester project?

Work with us on data science and visualisation projects, and deploy your project as an app on top of GraphSearch.

The Lys (lis) or Leie (ˈlɛi̯ə) is a river in France and Belgium, and a left-bank tributary of the Scheldt. Its source is in Pas-de-Calais, France, and it flows into the river Scheldt in Ghent, Belgium. Its total length is . Historically a very polluted river from the high population density and industrialisation in both Northern France and Belgium, it has seen substantial improvements in recent years, partly due to the decline of the principal industry, the spinning and weaving of flax. The region of the Leie (between Deinze and Ghent) was known as a favourite place for numerous painters in the first half of the 20th century. The source of the Lys is in a village, Lisbourg, east of Fruges, in the Pas-de-Calais department of France. It flows generally northeast through the following departments of France, provinces of Belgium and towns and municipalities: Pas-de-Calais (F): Thérouanne, Aire-sur-la-Lys Nord (F): Merville, Armentières, Halluin Hainaut (B): Comines-Warneton West Flanders (B): Menen, Wevelgem, Kortrijk, Waregem, Wervik East Flanders (B): Zulte, Deinze, Ghent The main tributaries of the Leie are, from source to mouth: Laquette, Clarence, Lawe, Deûle, Gaverbeek, Heulebeek, and Mandel. The river was the location of three battles between the Allies and the German Army. During the First World War in 1918 the location was the scene of the First Battle of the Lys, which was part of the German Spring Offensive and later that year of the Second Battle of the Lys, which was part of the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive. During the Second World War, the Battle of the Lys was part of the 1940 German offensive in Flanders towards the English Channel. The Leie/Lys was a commercial navigation from the Middle Ages, but it was the river's devastating floods rather than navigation improvements which justified major works and meander cut-offs started around 1670. The 9 meter difference in elevation between Aire-sur-la-Lys and the border was gradually overcome by six locks and weirs, completed in 1780.

About this result

This page is automatically generated and may contain information that is not correct, complete, up-to-date, or relevant to your search query. The same applies to every other page on this website. Please make sure to verify the information with EPFL's official sources.

Related concepts (4)

Kortrijk

Kortrijk (ˈkɔːrtraɪk , ˈkɔrtrɛik; Kortryk or Kortrik; Courtrai kuʁtʁɛ; Cortoriacum), sometimes known in English as Courtrai or Courtray (kʊərˈtreɪ ), is a Belgian city and municipality in the Flemish province of West Flanders. With its 79,000 inhabitants (2023) Kortrijk is the capital and largest city of the judicial and administrative arrondissement of Kortrijk. The wider municipality comprises the city of Courtrai proper and the villages of Aalbeke, Bellegem, Bissegem, Heule, Kooigem, Marke, and Rollegem.

Lille

Lille ('liːl , lil; Rijsel ˈrɛisəl; Lile; Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, 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. The city of Lille proper had a population of 236,234 in 2020 within its small municipal territory of , but together with its French suburbs and exurbs the Lille metropolitan area (French part only), which extends over , had a population of 1,515,061 that same year (Jan.

Scheldt

The Scheldt (ʃɛlt,_skɛlt ; Escaut ɛsko; Schelde ˈsxɛldə) is a river that flows through northern France, western Belgium, and the southwestern part of the Netherlands, with its mouth at the North Sea. Its name is derived from an adjective corresponding to Old English sceald ("shallow"), Modern English shoal, Low German schol, West Frisian skol, and obsolete Swedish skäll ("thin"). The headwaters of the Scheldt are in Gouy, in the Aisne department of northern France. It flows north through Cambrai and Valenciennes, and enters Belgium near Tournai.