Picture this Rue du Plat in Lille a quiet street today. It hides a lively past. This unassuming street once bordered a bustling canal. It was the canal des Hibernois. This canal served as a moat for Lille’s ancient ramparts. These ramparts were demolished around 1604. The canal itself was eventually filled in during the late 19th century.
Rue du Plat’s name reveals its history. “Plat” comes from the old Dutch word for a pond or marsh. An actual pond or “plash” once existed at the street’s end. This watery area was filled in near the end of the 16th century. Before that the area was part of the old Molinel faubourg. It lay outside Lille’s walls built in the late 12th or early 13th century.
The street’s history stretches back to the early 17th century. Rue du Plat opened as part of Lille’s expansion in 1603-1605. This expansion moved the city walls. The old Molinel gate was demolished in 1606. It once stood where Rue du Plat meets Rue de la Riviérette. The new walls reached as far as the Porte Notre-Dame. This gate is located in Place de Béthune. The eastern side of Rue du Plat had houses backing onto the canal des Hibernois.
World War I heavily impacted Rue du Plat. The street’s buildings were mostly destroyed during the siege of Lille in 1914. They were rebuilt in the interwar period. Some buildings adopted a neo-Flemish or eclectic style. Others were more austere. Today Rue du Plat is a one-way street. It is mainly lined with residential buildings. It connects Rue du Molinel and Rue de la Vignette. Rue du Plat is a small piece of Lille’s rich history. A reminder of the city’s evolution from medieval times to its modern present. It silently tells a story of canals marshes and sieges. The quiet street whispers secrets of centuries past. It waits for you to explore its hidden depths.