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Calvados is one of the original 83 departments created during theFrench Revolution on 4 March 1790, in application of the law of 22 December 1789. It had been part of theformer province ofNormandy. 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 Armada that sank by the rocks nearArromanches-les-Bains in 1588. It is more likely, however, that the nameCalvados was derived fromcalva dorsa, meaningbare backs, in reference to two sparsely vegetated rocks off its shore.[5]
After the allied victory atWaterloo the department was occupied byPrussiantroops between June 1815 and November 1818.
Calvados belongs to the region ofNormandy and borders the departments ofSeine-Maritime (maritime border),Eure,Orne andManche. To the north is theBaie de la Seine, part of theEnglish Channel. On the east, the riverSeine forms the boundary with Seine-Maritime. Calvados includes theBessin area, thePays d'Auge and the area known as the "Suisse normande" ("Norman Switzerland").
The most notable places in Calvados includeDeauville and the formerly elegant 19th-centurycasino resorts along the coast.
Agriculture dominates the economy of Calvados. The area is known for producingbutter, cheese,cider, andCalvados, theapplespirit that takes its name from the area.
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 Council signed aTwinning Charter in 1971 to develop links with the English county ofDevon.[6]
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]
TheBayeux Tapestry is on display inBayeux and makes the city one of the most-visited tourist destinations in Normandy.
Juno Beach Centre atCourseulles-sur-Mer, Calvados, commemorates theD-Day landing of theCanadian liberation forces atJuno Beach during World War II in 1944. Thecult of SaintThérèse de Lisieux brings large numbers of people onpilgrimage toLisieux, where she lived in a Carmelite convent. Every September, Deauville hosts the Festival of the American Movie and the beach resort ofCabourg hosts 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 language is known asAugeron. It is spoken by a minority of the population.
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'Évêque cheeses.
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.
Aquatic sports are often played on the coasts and beaches, for example, kite surfing and beach volleyball.Stade Malherbe Caen is a professional football team fromCaen, who currently play inLigue 2.
^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.
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