Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy.

Geography

The region included three

departments Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

, Calvados, Manche and Orne, that cover the part of Normandy traditionally termed "Lower Normandy" lying west of the river Dives, the Pays d'Auge (except a small part remaining in Upper Normandy), a small part of the

Pays d'Ouche The Pays d'Ouche (, literally ''Land of Ouche'') is an historical and geographical region in Normandy. It extends from the southwest of Évreux up to Bernay, Eure, Bernay and Beaumont-le-Roger as a northern limit, and down to L'Aigle and to Gacé i ...

(the main part remaining in Upper Normandy), the Norman

Perche Perche () (French: ''le Perche'') is a former province of France, known historically for its forests and, for the past two centuries, for the Percheron draft horse breed. Until the French Revolution, Perche was bounded by four ancient territorie ...

, and part of the "French"

. It covers 10,857 km², 3.2 percent of the surface area of France.(Northcutt, 1996, p. 181) The traditional districts of Lower Normandy include the Cotentin Peninsula and La Hague, the Campagne de

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Bocage, the

Bessin Bessin () is an area in Normandy, France, corresponding to the territory of the Bajocasses, a Gallic tribe from whom Bayeux, its main town, takes its name. History The territory was annexed by the count of Rouen in 924. The Bessin corresponds t ...

, and the Avranchin.

History

:''Regions relating to Lower Normandy: Gallia Lugdunensis, Neustria, and Normandy.'' The traditional province of Normandy, with an integral history reaching back to the 10th century, was divided in 1956 into two regions: Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. During the Roman era, the region was divided into several different city-states. That of

Vieux Vieux may refer to: Places *Vieux, Calvados, in the Calvados department, France *Vieux, Tarn, in the Tarn department, France *Vieux-Bourg, in the Calvados department, France *Vieux-Fumé, in the Calvados department, France *Vieux-Pont-en-Auge, in ...

was excavated in the 17th century, revealing numerous structures and vestiges bearing testimony to the prosperity of the

Norman Norman or Normans may refer to: Ethnic and cultural identity * The Normans, a people partly descended from Norse Vikings who settled in the territory of Normandy in France in the 10th and 11th centuries ** People or things connected with the Norm ...

conquests devastated the region. Much of the territory of Lower Normandy was added to the Duchy of Normandy in the 10th century. In 1066, Duke William Il of Normandy conquered England. He was buried in Caen. After his death, Normandy went to his eldest son and England went to his second son, separating the two possessions. The victory of

Tinchebray Tinchebray () is a former Communes of France, commune in the Orne Departments of France, department in the Lower Normandy regions of France, region in north-western France. On 1 January 2015, Tinchebray and six other communes merged becoming one c ...

in 1106 gave Normandy to the kings of England again. Nearly one hundred years later, in 1204, King

Philip II Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

of France conquered the region, apart from the Channel Islands. Then, during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, it was regained by the Plantagenets. However, the French recovered the mainland part of the region between 1436 and 1450. By 1453, the French monarchy controlled much of modern France apart from

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, which remained in English hands. During the Second World War, the main thrust of

Operation Overlord Operation Overlord was the codename for the Battle of Normandy, the Allies of World War II, Allied operation that launched the successful invasion of German-occupied Western Front (World War II), Western Europe during World War II. The operat ...

was focused on Lower Normandy. The beaches of Calvados were the site of the

D-Day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

landings in June 1944. Lower Normandy suffered badly during the War, with many of its towns and villages being destroyed or badly damaged during the Battle of Normandy.

Economy

The region's economy is heavily agricultural, with livestock and dairy farming, textiles and fruit production among its major industries. The region is the leader in France in the sectors of butter, fromage frais, soft cheeses, cider apples, cider, leeks, turnips, and flax. The region also breeds more horses than any other in France. The western part of the region is used mainly for farming, because of the prairies.

Iron ore Iron ores are rocks and minerals from which metallic iron can be economically extracted. The ores are usually rich in iron oxides and vary in color from dark grey, bright yellow, or deep purple to rusty red. The iron is usually found in the fo ...

is mined near Caen. Tourism is also a major industry. The region has direct ferry links to England (via the port of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

and Caen

Ouistreham Ouistreham () is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy 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 borders the mo ...

Culture

In addition to

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, Normandy has its own regional language,

. It is still in use today in Lower Normandy, with the dialects of the Cotentin more in evidence than others. Lower Normandy has also been the home of many well-known French authors, including Guy de Maupassant,

Marcel Proust Valentin Louis Georges Eugène Marcel Proust (; ; 10 July 1871 – 18 November 1922) was a French novelist, critic, and essayist who wrote the monumental novel ''In Search of Lost Time'' (''À la recherche du temps perdu''; with the previous Eng ...

Jules Barbey d'Aurevilly Jules-Amédée Barbey d'Aurevilly (2 November 1808 – 23 April 1889) was a French novelist and short story writer. He specialised in mystery tales that explored hidden motivation and hinted at evil without being explicitly concerned with anythin ...

. Notable Norman language authors connected especially with Lower Normandy include

Alfred Rossel Alfred may refer to: Arts and entertainment *''Alfred J. Kwak'', Dutch-German-Japanese anime television series * ''Alfred'' (Arne opera), a 1740 masque by Thomas Arne * ''Alfred'' (Dvořák), an 1870 opera by Antonín Dvořák *"Alfred (Interlu ...

Louis Beuve Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

, and

Côtis-Capel Côtis-Capel (22 January 1915 – 30 October 1986) was the pen name of Albert Lohier, a Norman language poet. He was from La Hague and wrote in the Haguais dialect of Cotentinais Cotentinais is the dialect of the Norman language spoken in t ...

. In terms of music, composer

Erik Satie Eric Alfred Leslie Satie (, ; ; 17 May 18661 July 1925), who signed his name Erik Satie after 1884, was a French composer and pianist. He was the son of a French father and a British mother. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire, but was an und ...

also hailed from this region. In the visual arts, Jean-François Millet was a native of La Hague. Eugène Boudin was born in Honfleur and

Fernand Léger Joseph Fernand Henri Léger (; February 4, 1881 – August 17, 1955) was a French painting, painter, sculpture, sculptor, and film director, filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of cubism (known as "tubism") which he gradually ...

in Argentan. Important events include

Deauville Asian Film Festival The Deauville Asian Film Festival (the Festival du film asiatique de Deauville) takes place annually in Deauville, France since 1999 and focuses on Asian cinema. A film competition was added to the festival in 2000 and a video competition in 2002. ...

and Deauville American Film Festival.

Major communities

Alençon Alençon (, , ; nrf, Alençoun) is a commune in Normandy, France, capital of the Orne department. It is situated west of Paris. Alençon belongs to the intercommunality of Alençon (with 52,000 people). History The name of Alençon is firs ...

Argentan Argentan () is a commune and the seat of two cantons and of an arrondissement in the Orne department in northwestern France. Argentan is located NE of Rennes, ENE of the Mont Saint-Michel, SE of Cherbourg, SSE of Caen, SW of Rouen and N ...

Avranches Avranches (; nrf, Avraunches) is a commune in the Manche department, and the region of Normandy, northwestern France. It is a subprefecture of the department. The inhabitants are called ''Avranchinais''. History By the end of the Roman period, t ...

Bayeux Bayeux () is a Communes of France, commune in the Calvados (department), Calvados Departments of France, department in Normandy (administrative region), Normandy in northwestern France. Bayeux is the home of the Bayeux Tapestry, which depicts ...

References

*Northcutt, Wayne; ''The Regions of France, A Reference Guide to History and Culture''; 1996; Greenwood Press; *Some of the content of this article comes from the equivalent French-language Wikipedia article.

External links

Normandy
- Official French website (in English) * * {{Coord, 49, 00, N, 1, 00, W, region:FR_type:adm1st, display=title Geography of Normandy Former regions of France NUTS 2 statistical regions of the European Union 1956 establishments in France States and territories established in 1956 2015 disestablishments in France States and territories disestablished in 2015