The heart of the town since its creation over a thousand years ago, the Place du Général-de-Gaulle has worn many hats over the ages. Long occupied by the Deûle, the river that flows around the citadel, it was in the 13th century that it took on its commercial functions, before becoming the market square a few years later.
The mythical cobblestones made their appearance almost 600 years ago, before the installation of the Column of the Goddess, honouring the courage and resistance of the inhabitants during the Revolution against the Austrians in 1792.