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Caen (/kɒ̃, kɑːn/, French: [kɑ̃] (listen); Norman: Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (as of 2018^[update]), while its functional urban area has 470,000,[3] making Caen the second largest urban area in Normandy and the 19th largest in France.[4] It is also the third largest commune in all of Normandy after Le Havre and Rouen.[5][6]

Caen Kaem (Norman)
Prefecture and commune
View of the Abbaye aux Hommes; The Abbaye aux Dames; Saint-Pierre Church; Rue Froide in the old town
Coat of arms
Location of Caen
Caen Show map of France Caen Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°11′N 0°22′W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Caen
Canton	Caen-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5
Intercommunality	Caen la Mer
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Joël Bruneau[1] (LR)
Area 1	25.70 km2 (9.92 sq mi)
• Urban	173.6 km2 (67.0 sq mi)
• Metro	2,597 km2 (1,003 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)[2]	106,230
• Density	4,100/km2 (11,000/sq mi)
• Urban  (2018[3])	205,708
• Urban density	1,200/km2 (3,100/sq mi)
• Metro  (2018[3])	469,526
• Metro density	180/km2 (470/sq mi)
Demonym	Caennais
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14118 /14000
Elevation	2–73 m (6.6–239.5 ft) (avg. 8 m or 26 ft)
Website	www.caen.fr
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

It is located 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) inland from the English Channel, 200 kilometres (120 miles) north-west of Paris, and connected to the south of England by the Caen (Ouistreham) to Portsmouth ferry route. Caen is located in the centre of its northern region, and it is a centre of political, economic and cultural power. Located a few miles from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resorts of Deauville and Cabourg, as well as Norman Switzerland and Pays d'Auge, Caen is often considered the archetype of Normandy.

Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was buried there, and for the Battle for Caen, heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the city. The city has now preserved the memory by erecting a memorial and a museum dedicated to peace, the Mémorial de Caen.

History

Early history

This section does not cite any sources. (November 2022)

Caen was known in Roman times as 'Catumagos', from the Gaulish roots magos meaning 'field' and catu meaning 'combat'. It remained a minor settlement throughout the Roman period and began to see major development commence in the 10th century, under the patronage of the Dukes of Normandy. Around 1060, William the Conqueror began construction of the Château de Caen, which became the centre of the ducal court. Duchess Matilda of Flanders also founded the Benedictine Abbey of Sainte-Trinité, Caen around the same time, eventually being buried in the abbey. Caen succeeded Bayeux as the capital of Lower Normandy, complementing the second ducal capital of Rouen.

Caen fell to Philip II of France on 21 May 1204, and was incorporated along with the remainder of Normandy into the Kingdom of France.

Hundred Years' War

In 1346, King Edward III of England led his army against the city, hoping to loot it. It was expected that a siege of perhaps several weeks would be required, but the army took the city in less than a day, on 26 July 1346, storming and sacking it, killing 3,000 of its citizens, and burning much of the merchants' quarter on the Île Ste-Jean. Only the castle of Caen held out, despite attempts to besiege it. A few days later, the English left, marching to the east and on to their victory at the Battle of Crécy. It was later captured following a siege by Henry V in 1417 and treated harshly for being the first town to put up any resistance to his invasion. In 1450 towards the end of the war, French forces recaptured Caen.

Second World War

During the Battle of Normandy in the Second World War, Caen was taken back from German forces in early July, a month after the Normandy landings, particularly those by British I Corps on 6 June 1944. British and Canadian troops had intended to capture the town on D-Day. However they were held up north of the city until 9 July, when an intense bombing campaign during Operation Charnwood destroyed 70% of the city and killed 2,000 French civilians.[7] The Allies seized the western quarters, a month later than Field Marshal Montgomery's original plan. During the battle, many of the town's inhabitants sought refuge in the Abbaye aux Hommes ("Men's Abbey"), built by William the Conqueror some 800 years before. The spire of the Church of Saint-Pierre, Caen and the university were destroyed by the British and Canadian bombing.

Postwar

Postwar work included the reconstruction of complete districts of the city and the university campus. It took 14 years (1948–1962) and led to the current urbanization of Caen. Having lost many of its historic quarters and its university campus in the war, Caen does not have the atmosphere of a traditional Norman town such as Honfleur, Rouen, Cabourg, Deauville or Bayeux.

The Canadian Army Film and Photo Unit filmed the D-Day offensive and Orne breakout several weeks later. It returned several months later to document the city's recovery efforts. The resulting film, You Can't Kill a City, is preserved in the National Archives of Canada.

Etymology

The very first mentions of the name of Caen are found in different acts of the dukes of Normandy: Cadon 1021/1025,[8] Cadumus 1025,[9] Cathim 1026/1027.[10] Year 1070 of the Parker manuscript[11] of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to Caen as Kadum,[12] and year 1086 of the Laud manuscript[13] gives the name as Caþum.[14] Despite a lack of sources as to the origin of the settlements, the name Caen would seem to be of Gaulish origin, from the words catu-, referring to military activities and magos, field, hence meaning "manoeuvre field" or "battlefield".[15] In Layamon's Brut, the poet asserts that King Arthur named the city in memory of Sir Kay.[16]

Geography

Caen is in an area of high humidity. The river Orne flows through the city, as well as small rivers known as les Odons, most of which have been buried under the city to improve urban hygiene. Caen has a large flood zone, named "La prairie", located around the hippodrome, not far from the river Orne, which is regularly submerged.[17][18]

Caen is 10 kilometres (6.2 miles) from the Channel. A canal (Canal de Caen à la Mer) parallel to the Orne was built during the reign of Napoleon III to link the city to the sea at all times. The canal reaches the English Channel at Ouistreham. A lock keeps the tide out of the canal and lets large ships navigate up the canal to Caen's freshwater harbours.

Population

The population data in the table and graph below refer to the commune of Caen proper, in its geography at the given years. The commune of Caen absorbed the former commune of Venoix in 1952.[19]

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 34,805 —     1800 30,923 −1.68% 1806 36,231 +2.68% 1821 36,644 +0.08% 1831 39,140 +0.66% 1836 41,310 +1.09% 1841 43,079 +0.84% 1846 44,087 +0.46% 1851 45,280 +0.54% 1856 41,394 −1.78% 1861 43,740 +1.11% 1866 41,564 −1.02% 1872 41,210 −0.14% 1876 41,181 −0.02% 1881 41,508 +0.16% 1886 43,809 +1.08% 1891 45,201 +0.63% 1896 45,380 +0.08%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 44,794 −0.26% 1906 44,442 −0.16% 1911 46,934 +1.10% 1921 53,743 +1.36% 1926 54,128 +0.14% 1931 57,528 +1.23% 1936 61,334 +1.29% 1946 51,445 −1.74% 1954 67,851 +3.52% 1962 91,336 +3.79% 1968 110,262 +3.19% 1975 119,640 +1.17% 1982 114,068 −0.68% 1990 112,846 −0.13% 1999 113,987 +0.11% 2007 109,630 −0.49% 2012 108,365 −0.23% 2017 105,354 −0.56%
Source: EHESS[19] and INSEE (1968-2017)[20]

Main sights

Castle

The castle, Château de Caen, built circa 1060 by William the Conqueror, who successfully conquered England in 1066, is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Western Europe. It remained an essential feature of Norman strategy and policy. At Christmas 1182, a royal court celebration for Christmas in the aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, receiving more than a thousand knights. Caen Castle, along with all of Normandy, was handed over to the French Crown in 1204. The castle saw several engagements during the Hundred Years' War (1346, 1417, 1450) and was in use as a barracks as late as the Second World War. Bullet holes are visible on the walls of the castle where members of the French Resistance were shot during the Second World War. Today, the castle serves as a museum that houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen (Museum of Fine Arts of Caen) and Musée de Normandie (Museum of Normandy) along with many periodical exhibitions about arts and history. (See "Timeline of Caen Castle". Archived from the original on 13 February 2006. Retrieved 28 August 2004.)

Abbeys

In repentance for marrying his cousin Mathilda of Flanders, William ordered two abbeys to be built on the Pope's encouragement:

• Eglise St.-Etienne, formerly the Abbaye aux Hommes (Men's Abbey). It was completed in 1063 and is dedicated to St Stephen. The current Hôtel de Ville (town hall) of Caen is built onto the South Transept of the building.
• Eglise de la Ste.-Trinité, formerly the Abbaye aux Dames (Women's Abbey). It was completed in 1060 and is dedicated to the Holy Trinity. The current seat of the regional council (conseil régional) of Basse-Normandie is nearby.

Others

• Jardin botanique de Caen, a historic botanical garden
• Church of Saint-Pierre
• Church of Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux
• Church of Saint-Jean de Caen
• Mémorial pour la Paix ("Memorial for Peace") built in 1988, a museum charting the events leading up to and after D-Day. It is an emotional presentation inviting meditation on the thought of Elie Wiesel: "Peace is not a gift from God to man, but a gift from man to himself". The Memorial for Peace also includes an exhibit of Nobel Peace Prize winners and another one on Conflict Resolution in different cultures.
• Parc Festyland, an amusement park to the west of Caen in the nearby town of Carpiquet. The park receives 110,000 visitors every year.
• Mondeville 2 is a regional shopping centre in adjoining Mondeville.
• Medieval wooden houses[21]
• Colline aux Oiseaux, a floral parc located on the former dump of the city of Caen[22][23]

Administration

Mayors of Caen have included:

• 1945–1959: Yves Guillou, Rally of the French People
• 1959–1970: Jean-Marie Louvel, MRP and Centre Démocrate
• 1970–2001: Jean-Marie Girault, Republican Party and UDF
• 2001–2008: Brigitte Le Brethon, RPR and UMP
• 2008–2014: Philippe Duron, PS
• 2014–present: Joël Bruneau, The Republicans

Joël Bruneau was re-elected mayor in the 2020 municipal elections.[1]

In 1952, the small commune of Venoix became part of Caen.[19]

In 1990, the agglomeration of Caen was organized into a district, transformed in 2002 into a Communauté d'agglomération (Grand Caen (Greater Caen), renamed Caen la Mer in 2004), gathers 29 towns and villages, including Villons-les-Buissons, Lion-sur-Mer, Hermanville-sur-Mer, which joined the Communauté d'agglomération in 2004. The population of the "communauté d'agglomération" is around 220,000 inhabitants.

In the former administrative organisation, Caen was a part of 9 cantons, of which it was the chief town. These cantons contained a total of 13 towns. Caen gave its name to a 10th canton, of which it was not part. Since the 2015 canton reorganization, Caen is part of the cantons of Caen-1, 2, 3, 4 and 5.[24]

Transport

This section needs additional citations for verification. (December 2020)

Public transport

Twisto

Twisto is the urban transport network of Caen Including about sixty bus lines and 3 tramway lines. Twisto - Les Mobilités de Caen la mer

Rail

Caen also had several main and branch railway lines linking Caen railway station to all parts of Normandy with lines to Paris, Vire, Flers, Cabourg, Houlgate, Deauville, Saint-Lô, Bayeux and Cherbourg.

Now the SNCF is taking care of Paris-Caen-Cherbourg, Caen-Rouen, Caen-Le Mans-Tours, Caen-Rennes and some others small lines Normandie. Derniers ajustements pour les nouveaux horaires des trains en 2020 while Railcoop will soon open new lines such as Lille-Amiens-Rouen-Caen-Rennes-Nantes and Paris-Caen-Brest making Caen railway station his hub of the North-West.Avec Railcoop, deux nouvelles lignes de train passeront par la Manche

Caen railway Station is the second busiest of Normandy after Rouen's one

Air transport

Caen - Carpiquet Airport is the biggest airport in Normandy considering the number of passengers and flights that it serves every year. Most flights are operated by HOP!, Volotea and the French national airline Air France operates flights to the French cities of Lyon, Nice, Toulouse, Montpellier, Marseille, Biarritz, Ajaccio, Figari, Bastia and Calvi. Air France va proposer 5 destinations depuis Caen-Carpiquet en 2022

Water transport

Caen is served by the large port of Ouistreham, lying at the mouth of the Caen Canal where it meets the English Channel. A cruise/ferry service operates between Portsmouth, England, and Caen/Ouistreham running both standard roll-on-roll-off car ferries and supercat fast ferries, with the latter making crossing from March to November. The ferry terminal is 15 kilometres (9.3 miles) from Caen with a daytime shuttle bus service for foot passengers. There's also a cyclist road from Caen to Ouistreham.[25]

Road transport

Caen is connected to the rest of France by motorways to Paris (A13), Brittany and Southern France (A84) and to Le Mans and central France (A88–A28). The A13 and A88 are toll roads while the A84 is a toll-free motorway. The city is encircled by the N814 ring-road (Boulevard Périphérique) that was completed in the late 1990s. The N13 connects Caen to Cherbourg and to Paris. A section of the former N13 (Caen-Paris) is now D613 (in Calvados) following road renumbering. The Boulevard Périphérique includes an impressive viaduct called the Viaduc de Calix that goes over the canal and River Orne. The canal links the city to the sea to permit cargo ships and ferries to dock in the port of Caen. Ferries which have docked include the Quiberon and the Duc de Normandie.

Education

• The University of Caen has around 34,000 students in five different campuses and Caen is ranked 18th biggest student city of France. The University has a good reputation as it is ranked 16th in France.[26]
• The University is divided into 11 colleges, called UFR (Unité fondamentale de Recherche), six institutes, one Engineering School, two IUP and five local campuses. The University is one of the oldest in France, having been founded by Henry VI, King of England in 1432.
• Caen also has a school of fine arts L'ésam Caen/Cherbourg and grandes écoles such as the École nationale supérieure d'ingénieurs de Caen and École supérieure d'ingénieurs des travaux de la construction de Caen.
• A campus of the business school École de management de Normandie is also located in the city.

Economy

The agricultural and food-processing Agrial cooperative has its head office on Caen. Agrial group processes vegetables, cider apples, milk, poultry and meat with the help of its 12,000 employees and all its partners.[27]

Music and theatre

The Théâtre de Caen (1963) is the home of the Baroque musical ensemble Les Arts Florissants. The organization was founded by conductor William Christie in 1979 and derives its name from the 1685 opera by Marc-Antoine Charpentier.

Notable people

Caen was the birthplace or origin of:

• Robert, 1st Earl of Gloucester (c. 1090–1147), illegitimate son of Henry I of England
• Robert Constantin (bibliographer) (1530?–1605), scholar, lexicographer
• Jean Bertaut (1552–1611), poet
• François de Malherbe (1555–1628), poet, critic and translator (Malherbe's birthplace has survived)
• François le Métel de Boisrobert (1592–1662), poet
• Tanneguy Le Fèvre (1615–1672), classical scholar
• Jean Regnault de Segrais (1624–1701), poet and novelist
• Pierre Daniel Huet (1630–1721), churchman and scholar
• René Auguste Constantin de Renneville (1650–1723), writer
• Pierre Varignon (1654–1722), mathematician
• Hyacinthe Robillard d'Avrigny (1675-1719)
• Charlotte Corday (d. 1793), assassin of Marat
• François Henri Turpin (1709–1799), man of literature
• Jacques Clinchamps de Malfilâtre (1732–1767), poet
• J. Hector St. John de Crèvecœur (1735–1813), French-American writer
• Louis Lépecq de La Clôture (1736-1804), epidemiologist physician
• Jean-Jacques Boisard (1744–1833), writer who specialized in fables
• Gervais de La Rue (1751–1835), historian
• Jean-François Boisard (1762–1820), painter
• Louis Gustave le Doulcet, comte de Pontécoulant (1764–1853), politician
• Daniel Auber (1782–1871), composer
• Jacques Amand Eudes-Deslongchamps (1794–1867), French naturalist and palaeontologist
• Étienne Mélingue (1808–1875), actor and sculptor
• Jules Danbé (1840–1905) opera conductor
• Gabriel Dupont (1878–1914), musical composer
• Charles-Hippolyte Pouthas (1886–1974), historian
• André-Louis Danjon (1890–1967), astronomer
• Marie-Pierre Kœnig (1898–1970), general who commanded a Free French Brigade at the Battle of Bir Hakeim in 1942, Maréchal de France
• Jean-Pierre Jaussaud (1937–2021), racing driver, twice winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans
• Florent Chopin (1958– ), painter
• Christophe Desjardins (1962– ), violist
• Arnaud Guillon (1964– ), writer
• Gilles Peterson (1964– ), British-based DJ, record collector and record label owner, residing in London
• Sonia de La Provôté (1968– ), member of the French Senate
• Fabrice Le Vigoureux (1969– ), member of the National Assembly
• Laurent Lefrançois (1974–) French contemporary composer
• Orelsan (1982– ), rapper, songwriter, record producer, actor and film director
• Joël Thomas (1987– ), professional football player
• Elliot Grandin (1987– ), professional football player
• Saint John Eudes, the forerunner of the devotion to the Sacred Heart, died here.[28]

International relations

Caen is twinned with:[29]

Sport

From 1947 to 2006, Caen was a stage of the Tour de France a total of 15 times.[31] Further, Caen was one of the hosts of the EuroBasket 1983. The city has a football team, SM Caen. The Drakkars de Caen play ice hockey in the FFHG Division 1. In 2014, Caen was the location of the 2014 FEI World Equestrian Games.

Symbols

Heraldry

Current arms:

Gules, a single-towered open castle Or, windowed and masoned sable.

Under the Ancien Régime: Per fess, gules and azure, 3 fleurs de lys Or.

During the First French Empire: Gules, a single-towered castle Or, a chief of Good Imperial Cities (gules, 3 bees Or).

• 
  Arms in effect under Ancien Régime.
• 
  Arms requested from Napoleon in 1809 which were refused.[32]
• 
  Arms in effect under the First French Empire.
• 
  Arms in effect today, reverting to the original arms of the 13th century.

Motto

Today, Caen has no motto, but it used to have one, which did not survive the French Revolution. As a result, its spelling is archaic and has not been updated:[33]

Un Dieu, un Roy, une Foy, une Loy.

(One God, one King, one Faith, one Law.)

This motto is reflected in a notable old Chant royal.[34]

Code

Caen's home port code is CN.

Climate

Caen has an oceanic climate that is somewhat ameliorated due to its slightly inland position. In spite of this, summers are still cool by French standards and the climate is typically maritime in terms of high precipitation, relatively modest sunshine hours and mild winters.

Gallery

• 
  Hôtel d'Escoville, 16th century, Caen
• 
  Anonymous pen-and-ink bird's-eye view of the fortifications of Caen (Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris)
• 
  South Wall of the Castle, a huge fortress in the centre of the city
• 
  Town Hall of Caen
• 
  Caen railway station
• 
  Caen's former 'tramway' was in fact a modern guided-bus system.
• 
  Saint-Étienne-le-Vieux Church
• 
  Interior of Saint-Pierre Church
• 
  The fortress of Caen
• 
  The Abbey of St. Étienne
• 
  Église Saint Pierre seen from in front of the Château

See also

• Stade Malherbe Caen – Professional French association football team based in Caen
• Caen stone – Limestone quarried near Caen, France
• Communes of the Calvados department

References

Bibliography

• Joseph Decaëns and Adrien Dubois (ed.), Caen Castle. A ten Centuries Old Fortress within the Town, Publications du CRAHM, 2010, ISBN 978-2-902685-75-2, Publications du CRAHM

External links

• "Caen" . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 4 (11th ed.). 1911.
• Caen City Council Archived 6 November 2008 at the Wayback Machine (in French)
• "Caen Borough Council" (in French). Archived from the original on 6 November 2008. Retrieved 6 April 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
• Encyclopædia Britannica Caen
• Mémorial pour la Paix museum
• Caen town guide

На других языках

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[de] Caen

Vorlage:Infobox Gemeinde in Frankreich/Wartung/abweichendes Wappen in Wikidata

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- [en] Caen

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[fr] Caen

Caen (/kɑ̃/[2]) est une commune française du Nord-Ouest[3] de la France en Normandie. Préfecture du département du Calvados, elle était jusqu'au 1er janvier 2016 le chef-lieu de l'ancienne région Basse-Normandie. Depuis 2016, elle est le siège du conseil régional de Normandie et donc la capitale politique de la région tandis que Rouen avec le siège de la préfecture (chef-lieu) est la capitale administrative. La Normandie présente donc, à l'instar de la Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, la particularité de posséder une gouvernance « bicéphale ».

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[ru] Кан (Нормандия)

Кан (фр. Caen [kɑ̃][2], норманд. Caën, лат. Cadomum) — город и коммуна на северо-западе Франции, префектура (административный центр) департамента Кальвадос. Кан был центром региона Нижняя Нормандия, но после образования региона Нормандия его центром стал Руан, а в Кане располагается Совет региона.

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