BOULOGNE-SUR-MER, a fortified seaport in the department of Pas-de-Calais, France. situated at the mouth of the Lianne, in the English channel, about 19 m. s.w. of Calais. and 139 n.n.w. of Paris. Lat. 50' 45' n., long. 1' 36' c. The town consists of two pails —upper and lower Boulogne. The upper town was, in former times, strongly fortified . but its citadel was demolished in 1690, and its ramparts have been converted into tent] tiful promenades, with fine views, and from which, in clear weather, the spire of I)er r can be seen. The upper town contains the bidet-de-Ville, and the cathedral, a modem n edifice with a conspicuous dome. The lower town, which is more properly the seaport. is newer, finer, more populous, and more lively, 'inhabited chiefly by merchants, •ar iners, and fishermen. It contains the barracks, the great hospital. the theater, the museum, and gallery of art. The streets have been much improved by side-pavement. and many new and elegant buildings have been erected. A large wet-dock was com pleted in 1872. B. has numerous churches and educational institutions; is the seat of various associations; has extensive and excellent salt-water baths; and, on account of its fine sands, is much resorted to for sea-bathing. Pop. in 1876, 40,075, actively engaged in the boiling of sugar, in the manufacture of linen and sail-cloth, cordage. ete.. and in fishing, the coast being productive in oysters, herring, cod, and mackerel. B. has an active coasting trade, and ranks with Calais as one of thenearest and most fre quented places of passage between France and England, plying daily to Lon don. which they reach in from 9 to 10 liours and twice a day to Folkstone, which they reach in about 2 hours. B. is much resorted to by the English. who form a large see. tion of the population, and for whose accommodation there are numerous hotels and boarding-houses. Paris is reached by railway from B. in 41 hours. The harbor of B.
is too shallow for large ships'of war, which can only reach the wide and safe roads of St. Jean; it was, however, considerably enlarged and improved by Napoleon I., and also more recently—so that at high water large merchant-vessels can, without danger pass out or in. The long pier forms a fine promenade. B. was anciently called eum, in the country of the Morini; after the time of Constantine the great, it IN ;l eaned Bononia, and after that of the ('arlovingians. Bolonia. In 1435. B. came into the possession of the duke of Burgundy, and was united with the crown of France by Louis XI. in 1477. B. was besieged by Henry VII. of England in 1492, taken by Henry VIII. in 1544. and restored to the French by Edward Vl. in 1550. From this point Napoleon contemplated the invasion of England; and here he encamped 180,000 men and collected 2400 transports, ready at any favorable moment to swoop down on tbe shores of Britain: but after months' watching, the war with Austria created other employment for them. As a memorial of this great camp, a tall marble column was commenced on the higher grounds; but being incOmplele at the restoration of the Bourbons,:.it was finished :aid inaugurated in honor of Louis XVIII. It has since been restored to its original object, and surmounted by a colossal statue of N111)01(2011. The poets Campbell and Churchill died at 13. ; and the house, or rather, the house occupying the site of that in which Le Sage, the author of Oil Bias, is said to have died, is shown to the visitor. Altogether, B. is to be described as a and agreeable place of residence; and from i Winne English tourists, and rapid railway transit to Paris, it has greatly superseded Calais as a place of debarkation.