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Last modified: 2021-06-27 by ivan sache
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Flag of Cucq - Image by Olivier Touzeau, 25 May 2020
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The municipality of Cucq (5,121 inhabitants in 2017; 1,316 ha), sometimes called Cucq-Trépied-Stella-Plage, is composed of the village of Cucq, of the hamlet of Trépied, and of the sea resort of Stella Plage.
During the Merovingian period, the territory presently occupied by Cucq, Le Touquet, Merlimont and Berck was either marshland or tidal. Little by little, the sea withdrew and the marshes were conquered by sand and dunes. The grass-covered dunes of Cucq and Trépied are the result of centuries of coastal movement.
Cucq or Cuc in Celtic means "a height, a hill" or in Latin "fortified". The town was originally situated on a dune slightly higher than others in the vicinity.
Trépied is so-called because of the triangular outline of the town. On the banks of river Canche, the harbour of Trépied once boasted more than thirty fishing boats. Hundred and fifty men lived from the sea, supplying fish to the markets of Amiens, Abbeville and Beauvais.
In 1819, the government decided to sell the land of the former domain of the abbey of St. Josse, confiscated at the time of the French Revolution. One thousand and six hundreds hectares of the warrens of Trépied were sold in 1837 to Jean-Baptiste Daloz. Most of this area became better-known later as Le Touquet, erected in a separate municipality in 1912.
From 1914 to 1920, plans for the foundation of Stella-Plage were put on hold by World War I but Stella was inaugurated in 1925 as a "Climatic Resort", attracting holiday-makers from Paris and Lille. World War II saw Stella razed to the ground, save for two estates that remained intact until the end of the conflict.
Olivier Touzeau, 25 May 2020
The flag of Cucq (photo) is white with the municipal coat of arms.
The dexter part of the arms stand for Cucq, featuring the arms of Ponthieu, "Or three bends azure, a bordure gules". The burning flames gules recall that during the wars that desolated Picardy in the 16th century, the inhabitants kept watch on the shore. They stayed on the large sand pit (dune) and warned by light signals the watchmen of the tower of Saint-Josse, who in turn forwarded the signal to the post of Montreuil-sur-Mer.
The sinester part is tierced in fess. Trépied is symbolized by three golden bezants. The two mullets (fishes) recall that in 1168 the fishermen of Trépied obtained the exclusive privilege of net fishing from the Canche river to the Authie river.
Stella-Plage is represented by the field azure with four waves argent, and a golden star. The star is a straightforward reference to the place's name (stella, Latin for "a star"). The resort was designed in a starry pattern, the houses being arranged along six streets converging to the beach (plage) and connected by four perpendicular, semi-circular roads.
The last part of the arms shows the arms of Le Touquet-Paris-Plage.
The French motto, "Voir loin, voir grand", reads "To see far, to think bige.
[Stella-Plage tourism bureau]
Olivier Touzeau & Ivan Sache, 25 May 2020
