Description
Fort Pierquin, located in Ennetières-en-Weppes, fifteen minutes from Lille, is a military structure built in 1879 as part of the defensive system designed by General Séré de Rivières to protect the city of Lille. Erected on a 10.5-hectare site and designed along the lines of first-generation forts, it adopts an earth-covered brick masonry structure, surrounded by ditches and defended by caponiers. Designed for around 600 men, it completed the western belt of Lille's fortifications, alongside several other forts and batteries.
In January 1887, the French Minister of War Georges Boulanger named it "Fort Pierquin", in honor of General Nicolas Pierquin, mortally wounded in 1794. The name remained in use for a short time before being withdrawn the same year, although it is still commonly used today.
The fort did not benefit from modernization in the early 20th century, and was decommissioned in 1910. Occupied by the German army during the First World War, it was heavily bombed in August 1944, causing destruction and fire. Permanently decommissioned in 1962, it remained a military estate until 1996, when the commune became the owner.
