Caen

Administrative centre of Calvados département and of the Basse-Normandie region, France, on the River Orne, 200 km/124 mi from Paris; population (1999) 114,000, conurbation 199,400. It is a busy port, connected by 11 km/7 mi of canal to the English Channel. The town is also a business centre, with ironworks, manufacturing, electrical, and electronic industries, and produces a building stone that has been used widely since the 11th century. In World War II Caen was one of the main objectives of the D-Day landings and was finally captured by British forces on 9 July 1944 after five weeks' fighting, during which it was badly damaged. Despite this, the town retains many historic buildings, especially churches. The central part of the town was rebuilt in the 1950s.

The town is situated in a fertile plain, the Campagne de Caen, a prosperous agricultural and horse-breeding district. The local Caen stone was used to build the cathedrals of Cologne, Winchester, and Canterbury, as well as Henry VII's Chapel at Westminster Abbey.