Caen ( or ; ; ) is a city and commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Comparateur de territoire , INSEE, retrieved 20 June 2022. making Caen the second largest urban area in Normandy and the 19th largest in France. It is also the third largest commune in all of Normandy after Le Havre and Rouen.
Caen is located northwest of Paris, connected to the South of England by the Caen (Ouistreham) to Portsmouth ferry route through the English Channel. Situated a few kilometres from the coast, the landing beaches, the bustling resorts of Deauville and Cabourg, as well as Norman Switzerland and the 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.
Etymology The first references to the name of Caen are found in different acts of the dukes of Normandy: Cadon 1021/1025,Marie Fauroux, Recueil des actes des ducs de Normandie (911–1066), Mémoires de la Société des antiquaires de Normandie XXXVI, Caen, 1961, p. 122, n° 32. Cadumus 1025,Ibid., p. 130, n° 34. Cathim 1026/1027.Villam que dicitur Cathim super fluvium Olne: the town called Cathim on the Orne river, ibid., p. 182, n° 58. Year 1070 of the Parker manuscript of the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle refers to Caen as Kadum,Her Landfranc se þe wæs abbod an Kadum com to Ængla lande: Here Lanfranc who was abbot at Caen came to England. and year 1086 of the Laud manuscriptManuscript E: The Laud Chronicle – Asc.jebbo.co.uk gives the name as Caþum.He swealt on Normandige on þone nextan dæg æfter natiuitas sancte Marie. 7-man bebyrgede hine on Caþum æt sancte Stephanes mynstre: He [King William] died in Normandy on the day after the Nativity of St Mary and was buried in Caen, in St Stephen's Abbey 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".René Lepelley, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de communes de Normandie, P.U.C., Corlet, Caen, Condé-sur-Noireau, 1996 In Layamon's Brut, the poet asserts that King Arthur named the city in memory of Sir Kay,Brut, l. 13,936 although the historicity of King Arthur is widely doubted.
History
Early history
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.
In 912 Caen became the western capital of the Duchy of Normandy and due to the patronage of the Dukes of Normandy saw a major development of commence throughout the 10th century. 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 St-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.
World War II
During World War II, Caen was captured by German forces during the Battle of France in 1940 and placed under military occupation. In 1944, Allied forces launched Operation Overlord, invading German-occupied France and rapidly advancing through Normandy. From 6 June to 6 August 1944, the British Second Army fought the battle of Caen to dislodge German forces from the city. During the battle, Allied bombing raids heavily damaged the city and caused numerous French civilian casualties. After the battle, little of prewar Caen remained, and reconstruction efforts in the city continued until 1962.
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.
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.
Caen is 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.
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.
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.
Main sights Castle The castle, the Château de Caen, built 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 )
Abbeys In repentance for marrying his cousin Mathilda of Flanders, William ordered two abbeys to be built with the Pope's encouragement: Église St.-Étienne, formerly the Abbaye aux Hommes (Men's Abbey). It was completed in 1063 and is dedicated to St Stephen. The current Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) of Caen is built onto the South Transept of the building. Église 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 Colline aux Oiseaux, a floral parc located on the former dump of the city of Caen
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 2014–2024: Joël Bruneau, The Republicans 2024–present: Aristide Olivier, The Republicans
Aristide Olivier was re-elected mayor in the 2026 municipal elections.
In 1952, the small commune of Venoix became part of Caen.
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.
Transport
Public transport Urban transport network
Twisto is the urban transport network of Caen, including about sixty bus lines and 3 tramway lines. The present tram network officially opened on 27 July 2019 replacing the Caen Guided Light Transit ( but known locally as the "tram"), a guided trolleybus network which operated from 2002 to 2017, which was closed due to reliability issues. The city previously had a tramway which operated from 1860 to 1937.
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 operates the Paris-Caen-Cherbourg, Caen-Rouen, Caen-Le Mans-Tours, Caen-Rennes services and some others small lines, while Railcoop will soon open new lines such as Lille-Amiens-Rouen-Caen-Rennes-Nantes and Paris-Caen-Brest making Caen railway station its north-western hub.
Caen station is the second busiest in Normandy, after Rouen station.
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.
Water transport