| • Science | • People | • Locations | • Timeline |
| Contents | ||
| Caen | |
|---|---|
| Région | Basse-Normandie |
| Département | Calvados |
| Arrondissement | 24 cantons 287 communes 389,973 habitants |
| Cantons | chief town of 9 cantons (13 common, 162,707 habitants) |
| Habitants | Caennais |
| Population (1999) | 117,157 habitants |
| Intercommunality ( 2004) | Agglomeration 217,805 habitants |
| Area | 2,6 km² |
Caen is a city and a commune of northwestern France. It is the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Calvados département, and the capital of the administrative Basse-Normandie (Lower Normandy) région. Population 115,000.
Caen is known in particular for its historical buildings built under William the Conqueror.
During the end-game of World War II in the wake of the Normandy landings, Caen was the scene of intense combat between Allied and Axis forces with British and CanadianCanada historically the Dominion of Canada is the second-largest, and northernmost, country in the world. It is a decentralized federation of 10 provinces and 3 territories, governed as a constitutional monarchy, and formed in 1867 through an act of Confe taking the city on July 9July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. Events 455 Roman military commander Avitus is proclaimed emperor of the western Roman Empire. 1357 5:31 AM Charles IV, Holy Roman Emperor assiste, 1944Events World War II January January 4 The Battle of Monte Cassino begins. January 5 Murder of Danish playwright Kaj Munck January 17 British forces, in Italy, cross the Garigliano River. January 20 The Royal Air Force drops 2,300 tons of bombs on Berlin;. The rebuilding of Caen took 14 years ( 19481948 is a leap year starting on Thursday (link will take you to calendar). Events January January 1 Nationalisation of UK railways to form British Railways. Arab militants lay siege to the Jewish Quarter of the Old City of Jerusalem. First day of the Ital- 1962Events January January 1 Western Samoa becomes independent from New Zealand January 3 Pope John XXIII excommunicates Fidel Castro January 4 New York City introduces a train that operates without a crew on-board January 8 Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is e) and marked its current urbanization.
The Orne flows through Caen.
The castle ( Château de Caen ), built ca. 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 Cœur de Lion and Jean sans Terre, receiving more than a thousand knights. Caen Castle and all Normandy was delivered 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 World War II. Today it serves as a museum enclosure. (See Timeline of Caen Castle)
Anonymous pen-and-ink bird's-eye view of the fortifications of Caen ( Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris)