Encyclopædia Britannica, Ninth Edition/Gravelines
GRAVELINES (Flemish Gravelinghe, German Gravelingen), a fortified seaport town of France, in the department of Nord and arrondissement of Dunkirk, is situated near the mouth of the Aa, 11 miles S.W. of Dunkirk. The principal buildings are a church of the 16th century, the magazine, and the town hall. The harbour is only accessible at flood tide, but there is a considerable shipping trade in fish, apples, vegetables, and eggs. Shipbuilding is also carried on, and there are salt refineries, sail and linen manufactories, saw mills and meal mills. The fortifications were constructed anew by Vauban in the reign of Louis XIV. For its defence the land, to the distance of a mile all round, can be laid under water at pleasure. The population in 1876 was 4182.