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Calvados (department)

Coordinates:49°02′N0°15′E/ 49.033°N 0.250°E/49.033; 0.250
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For the French cider brandy, seeCalvados.

Calvados
Department
From top down, left to right:Abbaye aux DamesinCaen,Bayeux's historic centre,Omaha Beachand timber framing house inBoissey
Flag of Calvados
Flag
Coat of arms of Calvados
Coat of arms
Location of Calvados in France
Location of Calvados in France
Coordinates:49°02′N0°15′E/ 49.033°N 0.250°E/49.033; 0.250
CountryFrance
RegionNormandy
PrefectureCaen
SubprefecturesBayeux
Lisieux
Vire-Normandie
Government
•President of the Departmental CouncilJean-Léonce Dupont[1](New Centre)
Area
1
• Total5,535 km2(2,137 sq mi)
Population
(2021)[2]
• Total700,633
• Rank34th
• Density130/km2(330/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1(CET)
• Summer (DST)UTC+2(CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-14
Department number14
Arrondissements4
Cantons25
Communes528
^1French Land Register data, which excludeestuaries,and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Calvados(UK:/ˈkælvədɒs/,US:/-doʊs,ˌkælvəˈdoʊs,ˌkɑːlvəˈ-/,French:[kalvados]ⓘ)[needs Norman IPA]is adepartmentin theNormandyregionin northwesternFrance.[3]It takes its name from a cluster of rocks off the Normandy coast. In 2019, it had a population of 694,905.[4]

History[edit]

Calvados is one of the original 83 departments created during theFrench Revolutionon 4 March 1790, in application of the law of 22 December 1789. It had been part of theformer provinceofNormandy.The name "Orne-Inférieure" was originally proposed, but it was ultimately called Calvados after a group of rocks off its coast.

One popular legend ascribes its etymology to theSalvador,a ship from theSpanish Armadathat sank by the rocks nearArromanches-les-bainsin 1588. It is more likely, however, that the nameCalvadoswas derived fromcalva dorsa,meaningbare backs,in reference to two sparsely vegetated rocks off its shore.[5]

After the allied victory atWaterloothe department was occupied byPrussiantroopsbetween June 1815 and November 1818.

On 6 June 1944, theAllied forceslanded on the beaches of theBay of the Seinein what became known as theBattle of Normandy.

Geography[edit]

Calvados belongs to the region ofNormandyand borders the departments ofSeine-Maritime(maritime border),Eure,OrneandManche.To the north is theBaie de la Seine,part of theEnglish Channel.On the east, the riverSeineforms the boundary with Seine-Maritime. Calvados includes theBessinarea, thePays d'Augeand the area known as the "Suisse normande" ( "Norman Switzerland" ).

The most notable places in Calvados includeDeauvilleand the formerly elegant 19th-centurycasinoresorts along the coast.

Economy[edit]

Agriculture dominates the economy of Calvados. The area is known for producingbutter,cheese,cider,andCalvados,theapplespiritthat takes its name from the area.

Politics[edit]

The President of the Departmental Council is the centristJean-Léonce Dupont,the former dominant figure of the right and centre in the department. The Conseil General of Calvados andDevon County Councilsigned aTwinning Charterin 1971 to develop links with the English county ofDevon.[6]

Party seats
Socialist Party 18
• Miscellaneous Right 18
• The Republicans 6
Left Radical Party 3
• New Centre 3
• MoDem 1

Presidential elections 2nd round[edit]

Election Winning Candidate Party % 2nd Place Candidate Party %
2022 Emmanuel Macron LREM 60.29 Marine Le Pen FN 39.71
2017[7] Emmanuel Macron LREM 67.11 Marine Le Pen FN 32.89
2012[8] François Hollande PS 53.12 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 46.88
2007 Nicolas Sarkozy UMP 51.20 Ségolène Royal PS 48.80
2002 Jacques Chirac RPR 83.95 Jean-Marie Le Pen FN 16.05

Current National Assembly Representatives[edit]

Constituency Member Party
Calvados's 1st constituency Fabrice Le Vigoureux La République En Marche!
Calvados's 2nd constituency Laurence Dumont Socialist Party
Calvados's 3rd constituency Sébastien Leclerc The Republicans
Calvados's 4th constituency Christophe Blanchet La République En Marche!
Calvados's 5th constituency Bertrand Bouyx La République En Marche!
Calvados's 6th constituency Alain Tourret La République En Marche!

Demography[edit]

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1791391,352—
1801451,836+1.45%
1806505,210+2.26%
1821492,613−0.17%
1831494,702+0.04%
1841496,198+0.03%
1851491,210−0.10%
1861480,992−0.21%
1872454,012−0.52%
1881439,830−0.35%
1891428,945−0.25%
1901410,178−0.45%
1911396,318−0.34%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1921384,730−0.30%
1931401,356+0.42%
1936404,901+0.18%
1946400,026−0.12%
1954442,991+1.28%
1962480,757+1.03%
1968519,695+1.31%
1975560,967+1.10%
1982589,559+0.71%
1990618,478+0.60%
1999648,385+0.53%
2006671,351+0.50%
2016693,679+0.33%
source:[9][10]

The inhabitants of Calvados are called "Calvadosiens" (male) and "Calvadosiennes" (female). In 2019, Calvados had 648,299 inhabitants, making it the 34th most populated French department.[4]

Age distribution in Calvados (2019):[11]

  • 75 years and older: 10.0%
  • 60–74 years old: 18.1%
  • 45–59 years old: 19.4%
  • 30–44 years old: 17.4%
  • 15–29 years old: 18.0%
  • 0–14 years old: 17.1%

Principal towns[edit]

The most populous commune isCaen,the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 6 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:[4]

Commune Population (2019)
Caen 106,230
Hérouville-Saint-Clair 22,555
Lisieux 20,038
Vire Normandie 16,590
Bayeux 12,682
Ifs 11,696

Culture[edit]

TheBayeux Tapestryis on display inBayeuxand makes the city one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Normandy.

Juno Beach CentreatCourseulles-sur-Mer,Calvados, commemorates theD-Daylanding of theCanadianliberation forces atJuno Beachduring World War II in 1944. Thecultof SaintThérèse de Lisieuxbrings large numbers of people onpilgrimagetoLisieux,where she lived in a Carmelite convent. Every September, Deauville hosts the Festival of the American Movie and the beach resort ofCabourghosts the Festival of the Romantic Movie. Annually, the city of Caen celebrates the festival of the electronical cultures called "Nordik Impakt" and the festival of Beauregard, just around Caen.

The local dialect of theNorman languageis known asAugeron.It is spoken by a minority of the population.

Tourism[edit]

Calvados is one of the most visited areas in France because of its seaside resorts which are among the most prestigious in France with their luxurious hotels, casinos, green countryside, manors, castles, the quiet, the chalk cliffs, the typical Norman houses, the history ofWilliam the Conqueror,Caen, Bayeux, Lisieux, the famous D-day beaches and numerous museums about the Second World War. Culinary specialties from the verdant countryside of Calvados are abundant:cider,calvados,camembert,andPont-l'Évêquecheeses.

One of the advantage of Calvados is to be fairly near large urban centers (Paris, Ile de France). Calvados is therefore often preferred for holidays and for weekends and sometimes considered as thecountryside of Paris.

Calvados, via the port ofOuistreham,is an entrance to the continent from Britain. There are two airports:Caen-CarpiquetandDeauville-Saint Gatien.The department of Calvados has several popular tourist areas: theBessin,the Plain ofCaen,theBocageVirois, theCôte de Nacre,theCôte Fleurieand thePays d'Auge.Several beaches of Calvados are popular for water sports, includingCabourgandMerville-Franceville-Plage.

Tourist capacity (2022):[11]

  • 10,200 hotel rooms
  • 14,410 camping sites
  • 12,795 other beds (tourist resorts, holiday villages, rural gites, youth hostels)

Second homes[edit]

As of 2019, 17.9% of available housing in the department were second homes.[11]

Municipalities with more than 20% of second homes
Communes with population over 2,000 and more than 20% of second homes in 2019[12]
Town Municipal population Percentage of
second homes
Villers-sur-Mer 2,543 83.0%
Cabourg 3,558 79.7%
Deauville 3,565 71.9%
Trouville-sur-Mer 4,603 67.4%
Merville-Franceville-Plage 2,186 57.9%
Courseulles-sur-Mer 4,196 52.2%
Bernières-sur-Mer 2,274 44.3%
Dives-sur-Mer 5,276 39.9%
Saint-Aubin-sur-Mer 2,237 39.5%
Hermanville-sur-Mer 3,110 31.7%
Luc-sur-Mer 3,213 30.1%
Lion-sur-Mer 2,536 29.8%
Honfleur 6,733 27.9%
Ouistreham 9,344 25.8%
Touques 3,731 25.0%

Sport[edit]

Aquatic sports are often played on the coasts and beaches, for example, kite surfing and beach volleyball.Stade Malherbe Caenis a professional football team fromCaen,who currently play inLigue 2.

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Répertoire national des élus: les conseillers départementaux".data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises(in French). 4 May 2022.
  2. ^"Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2021"(in French).The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies.28 December 2023.
  3. ^Chisholm, Hugh,ed. (1911)."Calvados".Encyclopædia Britannica(11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
  4. ^abcPopulations légales 2019: 14 CalvadosArchived11 November 2022 at theWayback Machine,INSEE
  5. ^Lepelley, René (1990).Calvados, qui es-tu, d'où viens-tu ou le nom énigmatique d'un département Français: Critique d'une tradition, hypothèses diverses, proposition d'interprétation.C. Corlet.
  6. ^"Twinning".Devon County Council.Archived fromthe originalon 19 October 2009.Retrieved8 December2009.
  7. ^"Résultats de l'élection présidentielle 2022 dans le Calvados".Le Monde.Archivedfrom the original on 12 April 2022.Retrieved12 April2022.
  8. ^"Résultats de l'élection présidentielle 2012: Calvados".Ministère de l'Intérieur.Archivedfrom the original on 17 September 2021.Retrieved12 April2022.
  9. ^"Historique du Calvados".Le SPLAF.Archivedfrom the original on 3 March 2016.Retrieved5 July2022.
  10. ^"Évolution et structure de la population en 2016".INSEE.Archivedfrom the original on 7 July 2022.Retrieved7 July2022.
  11. ^abcDossier complet, Population par grandes tranches d'âges, Tourisme en 2022, Catégories et types de logementsArchived11 October 2022 at theWayback Machine,INSEE, retrieved 7 July 2022.
  12. ^"Statistiques locales: Part des résidences secondaires, population municipale".INSEE.Archivedfrom the original on 29 January 2018.Retrieved6 July2022.

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related toCalvados.
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