Criel-sur-Mer | |
|---|---|
 The cliffs at Criel-sur-Mer | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Criel-sur-Mer  | |
  Criel-sur-Mer  Criel-sur-Mer | |
| Coordinates:50°01′00″N1°19′06″E / 50.0167°N 1.3183°E /50.0167; 1.3183 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Normandy |
| Department | Seine-Maritime |
| Arrondissement | Dieppe |
| Canton | Eu |
| Intercommunality | CC Villes Sœurs |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2020–2026) | Alain Trouessin[1] |
Area 1 | 21.12 km2 (8.15 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 2,592 |
| • Density | 120/km2 (320/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 76192 /76910 |
| Elevation | 0–106 m (0–348 ft) (avg. 15 m or 49 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Criel-sur-Mer is acommune in theSeine-Maritimedepartment in theNormandyregion in northernFrance.
Criel-sur-Mer is a town offarming,tourism andlight industry situated in the valley and at the mouth of the riverYères, some 12 miles (19 km) northeast ofDieppe. The commune is served by the D16, D940 and the D925 roads. As with much of this coastline, hugechalk cliffs look out over theEnglish Channel. At Criel, they rise to 107m.
Victims of coastal erosion, the chalk cliffs are regularly trimmed, forcing the authorities to ban construction, or even to expropriate the residents near the cliff. The cliffs lose more than one meter per year and erosion now threatens the houses.
Criel had its first mention in 1059, as “Criolium”. First cited in 1326, the port was still operating in 1584, but has since closed.
In the 19th century, an amateur archeologist, Father Cochet, found traces of aGallo-Roman site.[3]
It was thechef-lieu of a canton during theFrench Revolution.
Criel remained essentially a village of fishermen and farmers until the arrival of the railway in 1872. The existence of the railway station helped establish two elegant seaside resorts here, one near the mouth of theYères and the other at the suburb of Mesnil-Val.[3] This was the golden age of the Normandy beach resort, that served as the prototype forTrouville,Cabourg andDeauville. In 1902, Criel took the name of Criel-sur-Mer.
The casino was lost in a storm in 1914 and the railway station did not survive theFirst World War.
Tourism really took off with the advent of paid leave in 1936. AlongsideLe Tréport, Criel was the nearest beach to Paris, easily accessible in the 1950s.
Between 1950 and 1972, an industry developed exploiting the pebbles from the beach, for use either in the pharmaceutical industry or crushed for roads.
In 2005, an English residential activity company named Kingswood began using Chateau de Chantereine as a base for its study tours. Since then, hundreds of children each year visit the chateau and its surrounding towns such as Dieppe, Eu and Le Treport as part of their studies. Many local schools have formed partnerships with UK schools with the support of Kingswood.
| The arms of Criel-sur-Mer are blazoned : Argent, 3 ducks gules 1 & 2.[4] |
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 1,927 | — |
| 1975 | 2,108 | +1.29% |
| 1982 | 2,155 | +0.32% |
| 1990 | 2,452 | +1.63% |
| 1999 | 2,670 | +0.95% |
| 2007 | 2,741 | +0.33% |
| 2012 | 2,764 | +0.17% |
| 2017 | 2,680 | −0.62% |
| Source: INSEE[5] | ||
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