Ouistreham | ||
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Ouistreham locks
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Coordinates: 49°17′N 0°16′W / 49.28°N 0.26°WCoordinates: 49°17′N 0°16′W / 49.28°N 0.26°W | ||
Country | France | |
Region | Lower Normandy | |
Department | Calvados | |
Arrondissement | Caen | |
Canton | Ouistreham | |
Intercommunality | Caen la Mer | |
Government | ||
• Mayor (2014-) | Romain Bail | |
Area1 | 9.95 km2 (3.84 sq mi) | |
Population (2008)2 | 9,322 | |
• Density | 940/km2 (2,400/sq mi) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 14488 / 14150 | |
Website | http://ouistreham-rivabella.fr/ | |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
Ouistreham (French pronunciation: [wistʁe.am]) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.
Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft and a ferry-harbour. It serves as the port of the city of Caen. The town is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la Mer.
Contents
History
The name Ouistreham derives from ouistre - 'oyster' and Saxon ham= 'village'. It has been a trading port since the Middle Ages. The harbour is now a part of "Port de Caen-Ouistreham". Ouistreham is pronounced Wee-ss-tray-am or Wee-ss-truh-am.
Since the beginning of the 20th century, it has been a bathing beach on the "Riva Bella".
On 6 June 1944, No. 4 Commando landed at Ouistreham (Sword Beach) and fought their way to Pegasus Bridge, with the 177 Free French of the No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando given the honour of spearheading the advance.[1] The assault on Ouistreham was featured in the movie The Longest Day, although the film location for Ouistreham was actually at Port-en-Bessin.
![](https://web.archive.org/web/20150520111122im_/https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6f/Ouistreham.jpg/300px-Ouistreham.jpg)
Population
Historical population | ||
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Year | Pop. | ±% |
1793 | 854 | — |
1800 | 796 | −6.8% |
1806 | 1,050 | +31.9% |
1821 | 1,104 | +5.1% |
1831 | 1,162 | +5.3% |
1836 | 1,149 | −1.1% |
1841 | 1,359 | +18.3% |
1846 | 1,194 | −12.1% |
1851 | 1,133 | −5.1% |
1856 | 1,221 | +7.8% |
1861 | 1,259 | +3.1% |
1866 | 1,243 | −1.3% |
1872 | 1,249 | +0.5% |
1876 | 1,196 | −4.2% |
1881 | 1,222 | +2.2% |
1886 | 1,206 | −1.3% |
1891 | 1,194 | −1.0% |
1896 | 1,354 | +13.4% |
1901 | 1,688 | +24.7% |
1906 | 1,523 | −9.8% |
1911 | 1,574 | +3.3% |
1921 | 2,013 | +27.9% |
1926 | 2,220 | +10.3% |
1931 | 2,584 | +16.4% |
1936 | 2,790 | +8.0% |
1946 | 3,527 | +26.4% |
1954 | 4,342 | +23.1% |
1962 | 4,780 | +10.1% |
1968 | 5,223 | +9.3% |
1975 | 6,140 | +17.6% |
1982 | 6,310 | +2.8% |
1990 | 6,709 | +6.3% |
1999 | 8,674 | +29.3% |
2008 | 9,322 | +7.5% |
Sights
- Museum of the Atlantic Wall
- Musée du Débarquement n° 4 Commando (museum)
- Der Grosse Bunker (French: Le Grand Bunker) is an old German bunker from WW2 that was captured by the British in the D-Day invasion
The town is crossed by the EuroVelo 4 track.
Transportation
The port of Ouistreham has a scheduled cross-Channel ferry service to Portsmouth, operated by Brittany Ferries.
International relations
Twin towns – Sister cities
Ouistreham is twinned with:[2]
Angmering in England (since 1975)[2][3]
Braine-l'Alleud in Belgium[2]
Lohr am Main in Germany[2]
Cameroon in Cameroon[2]
See also
References
- ^ Dunning, James (2003). The Fighting Fourth - No. 4 Commando at War 1940-45. Stroud: Sutton Publishing. p. 133. ISBN 0-7509-3095-0.
- ^ a b c d e "National Commission for Decentralised cooperation". Délégation pour l’Action Extérieure des Collectivités Territoriales (Ministère des Affaires étrangères) (in French). Retrieved 2013-12-26.
- ^ "British towns twinned with French towns". Archant Community Media Ltd. Retrieved 2013-07-11.