CALVADOS INFORMATION
CALVADOS Geography
Calvados belongs to the region of Lower Normandy, in french Basse-Normandie and is surrounded by the departments of Seine-Maritime, Eure, Orne, and Manche. On the north is la Baie de Seine, part of the English Channel. On the east, the Seine River forms the boundary with Seine-Maritime. Calvados includes the Bessin area, the Pays d'Auge, and the area known as the "Suisse normande" ("Norman Switzerland").
Calvados' most notable places include : Deauville and the formerly elegant 19th-century casino resorts of the coast.
On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces landed on the beaches of the Bay of the Seine in what became known as the Battle of Normandy.
CALVADOS History
Calvados is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from a part of the former province of Normandy. The name "Orne inférieure" was originally proposed for the department, but it was ultimately decided to call the area Calvados.
Its etymology is most likely derived from the Salvador, a ship from the Spanish Armada that sank by the rocks near Arromanches-les-bains in 1588. However, others insist that the name Calvados was derived from calva dorsa, meaning bare backs, in reference to two sparsely vegetated rocks off its shore.
On June 6, 1944, the Allied forces landed on the beaches of the Bay of the Seine in what became known as the Battle of Normandy.
CALVADOS Economy
Agriculture dominates the economy of Calvados. The area is known for producing butter, cheese, cider and the apple-based spirit that shares its name (see Calvados (spirit)).
CALVADOS Tourism
Calvados, via the port of Ouistreham, is an entrance to the continent from Britain. There are two airports: Caen-Carpiquet and Deauville-Saint Gatien. The department of Calvados has several popular tourist areas: the Bessin, the Plaine of Caen, the Bocage Virois, the Côte de Nacre, the Côte Fleurie and the Pays d'Auge. Several beaches of Calvados are popular for water sports, including Cabourg and Merville-Franceville-Plage.
Tourist capacity (2001):
7,818 hotel rooms
13,734 camping sites
1,176 beds (holiday villages)
619 rural gites
CALVADOS Culture
The Bayeux Tapestry is on display in Bayeux and makes the city one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Normandy. Juno Beach Centre at Courseulles-sur-Mer, Calvados, commemorates the D-Day landing of the Canadian liberation forces at Juno Beach during World War II in 1944. The cult of Saint Thérèse de Lisieux brings large numbers of people on pilgrimage to Lisieux, where she lived in a Carmelite convent. Every September, Deauville hosts the Festival of the American Movie and the beach resort of Cabourg hosts the Festival of the Romantic Movie Annually, the city of Caen celebrates the festival of the electronical cultures called "Nordik Impakt".
The local dialect of the Norman language is known as Augeron. It is spoken by a minority of the population
CALVADOS Administration
Department number : 14
Region : Basse-Normandie
Prefecture : Caen
Subprefectures : Bayeux, Lisieux, Vire
Arrondissements : 4
Cantons : 49
Communes : 706
