Mont Cassel

Cassel

The highest point of the Flemish plain at 176 metres, Mont Cassel commands so vast a horizon that its summit once served as a landmark for sailors, although the North Sea lies more than thirty kilometres away. Ancient capital of the Menapii and then a Roman castellum, the hill was destroyed by Viking raids in 928 before becoming, throughout the Middle Ages, a strategic lock between France and Flanders: three battles were fought here, in 1071 between King Philip I and Robert the Frisian, in 1328 when Philip VI crushed the rebellious Flemish militias, then in 1677 during the Franco-Dutch War. But Cassel is also, in popular memory, the land of the giants Reuze Papa and Reuze Maman: according to local legend, they formed the hill themselves by dropping, after a quarrel, the clod of earth they were carrying to fill in a ravine. Made in 1827 and 1860, these wickerwork colossi parade at every carnival, embodying the founding ancestors of the town — a folklore of processional giants deeply rooted in French Flanders.

Getting there : Free access to the summit of Mont Cassel (public garden and orientation table), windmill and Musée de Flandre in the upper town

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound