Caen

Caen, city in northern France, capital of Calvados Department, on the Orne River, and linked by canal with the nearby English Channel, in Normandy (Normandie). Caen is a seaport, a farm-trade center, and a manufacturing city; products include textiles, lace, electronic equipment, and processed food.

The city retains several fine buildings despite suffering heavy damage in World War II (1939-1945). Especially noteworthy are two examples of 11th-century Norman Romanesque architecture—the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (Men's Abbey), founded by William the Conqueror, and the Abbaye-aux-Dames (Women's Abbey), founded by William's wife, Matilda. Both structures were later restored and altered and no longer house abbeys. Other landmarks in Caen include the Church of Saint Pierre, a chiefly Gothic structure with Renaissance embellishments; an 11th-century castle; and a 16th-century mansion. The city is the site of the University of Caen, founded in 1432 by Henry VI of England.

Caen became important in the early 10th century with the establishment of the duchy of Normandy. It was a favored city of William the Conqueror in the 11th century. Control of Caen changed several times during phases of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453). Caen was captured and held for a time in 1346 by troops under Edward III of England, claimant to the French crown. Seized by Henry V of England in 1417, the city remained under English rule until 1450, when it was retaken by the French. Caen was a Protestant stronghold during the Reformation, and it declined after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685, which had assured French Protestants of many rights. During the French Revolution (1789-1799) the city was a center of the Girondin faction (see Girondins). In World War II the Germans made Caen a major point of resistance following the Allied invasion of Normandy in 1944, and much of the city was destroyed in heavy fighting. Population (2005 estimate) 109,200.