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Seine-Maritime () is a
department of France In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. Ninety-s ...
in the
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...
of northern
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...
, and includes the cities of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
and
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inférieure. It had a population of 1,255,633 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 76 Seine-Maritime
INSEE


History

;1790 - Creation of the Seine-Inférieure department :The department was created from part of the old province of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
during the
French revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...
, on 4 March 1790, through the application of a law of 22 December 1789. ;1815 - Occupation :After the victory at Waterloo of the coalition armies, the department was occupied by British forces from June 1815 till November 1818. ;1843 – Railways and industry :In Rouen, Elbeuf, and
Bolbec Bolbec () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Its inhabitants are called ''Bolbécais'' or ''Bolbécaises''. Geography A farming, quarrying and light industrial town situated at the heart ...
, the number of textile factories is increasing. Metallurgy and naval construction as well. ;1851 - A republican department :Following President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte's 1851 Coup d'état, Seine-Inférieure was one of several departments placed under a state of emergency (literally, in French, '' state of siege)'' following fears of significant resistance to the new government. ;
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
:In 1942, during occupation by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...
, two Allied raids, the Bruneval and Dieppe, took place at towns of the channel coast of Seine-Inférieure.


Heraldry


Geography

The department can be split into three main areas: * The Seine valley. The Seine flows through the provincial capital
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
. * The chalk plateau Pays de Caux, with its abrupt coastline (the
Alabaster Coast Alabaster is a mineral or rock that is soft, often used for carving, and is processed for plaster powder. Archaeologists and the stone processing industry use the word differently from geologists. The former use it in a wider sense that includes ...
). * The Norman Pays de Bray, with its hills and
bocage Bocage (, ) is a terrain of mixed woodland and pasture characteristic of parts of Northern France, Southern England, Ireland, the Netherlands and Northern Germany, in regions where pastoral farming is the dominant land use. ''Bocage'' may a ...
landscape.


Administration

The département was created in 1790 as Seine-Inférieure, one of five departements that replaced the former
province A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions out ...
of
Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...
. In 1800 five
arrondissements An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements' ...
were created within the département, namely
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
,
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
, Dieppe, Neufchatel and Yvetot, although the latter two were disbanded in 1926. On 18 January 1955 the name of the département was changed to Seine-Maritime, in order to provide a more positive-sounding name and in-keeping with changes made in a number of other French departements.


Principal towns

The most populous commune is
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
; the prefecture
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 7 communes with more than 20,000 inhabitants:


Demographics

Previously lacking a demonym, the inhabitants of Seine-Maritime (as the department had been renamed in 1955) chose, following a public consultation, to be identified in official documents as "Seinomarins" (males) and "Seinomarines" (females).


Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Bertrand Bellanger, elected in 2019.


Presidential elections 2nd round


Current National Assembly Representatives


Transport

In 1843 the railway from
Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...
reached the region. The département is connected to the adjacent
Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Tancarville and Pont de Normandie bridge crossings of the
Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/ Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributa ...
.


Culture

'' Madame Bovary'' by
Gustave Flaubert Gustave Flaubert ( , , ; 12 December 1821 – 8 May 1880) was a French novelist. Highly influential, he has been considered the leading exponent of literary realism in his country. According to the literary theorist Kornelije Kvas, "in Flauber ...
is set in Seine Maritime. The novel ''La Place'' by
Annie Ernaux Annie Thérèse Blanche Ernaux (; born 1 September 1940) is a French writer, professor of literature and Nobel laureate. Her literary work, mostly autobiographical, maintains close links with sociology. Ernaux was awarded the 2022 Nobel Prize ...
largely takes place in Seine-Maritime and describes events and changes that take place in relation to French society in the 20th century especially in relation to the rural population. The first story of the long-running series ''
Valérian and Laureline ''Valérian and Laureline'' (french: Valérian et Laureline), also known as ''Valérian: Spatio-Temporal Agent'' (french: Valérian, agent spatio-temporel) or just ''Valérian'', is a French science fiction comics series, created by writer Pierr ...
'' is set in Seine-Maritime, with the character Laureline originating from the area. Cauchois is the dialect of the Pays de Caux, and is one of the most vibrant forms of the
Norman language Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...
beyond Cotentinais.


Tourism

File:Rouen Cathedral as seen from Gros Horloge 140215 4.jpg, Notre-Dame of
Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population ...
File:Blockhaus Fécamp (3) 0018.JPG, Element of the
Atlantic Wall The Atlantic Wall (german: link=no, Atlantikwall) was an extensive system of coastal defences and fortifications built by Nazi Germany between 1942 and 1944 along the coast of continental Europe and Scandinavia as a defence against an anticip ...
near Fécamp File:LeHavre.jpg, Entirely destroyed during
World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
,
Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very ...
has been rebuilt in modernist style File:L'Aiguille et la Porte d'Aval-Etretat-Normandie.jpg, Limestone cliffs of Étretat


See also

*
Arrondissements of the Seine-Maritime department The 3 arrondissements of the Seine-Maritime department are: # Arrondissement of Dieppe, ( subprefecture: Dieppe) with 343 communes. The population of the arrondissement was 237,203 in 2016. # Arrondissement of Le Havre, (subprefecture: Le Havre ...
*
Cantons of the Seine-Maritime department A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...
* Communauté de communes d'Yères et Plateaux *
Communes of the Seine-Maritime department The following is a list of the 708 communes of the French department of Seine-Maritime. The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Departmental Council website
*
Prefecture website
*
Communes 76
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Normandy States and territories established in 1790