The inhabitants of Bailleul celebrate carnival with five days of processions and other festivities.
The carnival has taken place since 1853, when the Philanthropic Company of Bailleul was founded. During the event, a search takes place for the needy ones of the city. The Gargantua Giant chairs the festivities, seated on his float and accompanied by his kitchen boys.
At the end of Shrove Tuesday, after the final procession of around 50 floats, with local groups, brass bands and plenty of confetti, Doctor Francisco Piccolissimo tries to cure the excesses of some inhabitants in an unconventional way in front of the town hall, and the festival continues late into the night in the town's cafés and bars.
From the 17th to the 19th century, the bobbin lace craft developed in Bailleul. (La Maison de la Dentelle bobbin lace museum), a craft for which the town is still known far beyond its borders.
Bailleul in 1918
During First World War, the area around Bailleul was at times heavily affected by the heavy fighting that German and Allied troops engaged in around the nearby Belgian town of Ypres. When German troops used chlorine gas against the Allied troops near Wulverghem (municipality of Heuvelland, Belgium) on 30 April 1916 over a front length of 3.2 kilometres, the resulting toxic gas cloud extended as far as Bailleul. During the German Spring Offensive in Operation Georgette from 13 April 1918, Bailleul with its old Flemish Town Centre was more than 90 percent destroyed.
After the severe destruction of the First World War, the town was rebuilt in the Neo-Flemish style during the 20th century. A typical example of the architectural style, which was widespread throughout Flanders, is the town hall of 1932 with its bell tower.
^"Belfries of Belgium and France". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 5 November 2021.
^"Jumelages". ville-bailleul.fr (in French). Bailleul. Retrieved 21 November 2019.
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