Ouistreham
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| Commune of Ouistreham | |
| Location | |
| Longitude | 00°14,7 N |
| Latitude | 49°20, N |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Basse-Normandie |
| Department | Calvados |
| Arrondissement | Caen |
| Canton | Ouistreham |
| Mayor | André Ledran |
| Statistics | |
| Population² (1999) |
8,759 |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 14488/ 14150 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Ouistreham is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France.
Ouistreham is a small port with fishing boats, leisure craft. It serves as the port of the city of Caen.
Contents |
[edit] History
The name Ouistreham derives from the Saxon Waster Ham, or "western village", and it has been a trading port since the Middle Ages ; now the harbour is a part of "Port de Caen-Ouistreham".
Since the beginning of the 20th century, it is a bathing beach on the "Riva Bella".
On June 6, 1944, the only French forces involved in the D-Day landings (177 men of the Commando Kieffer) disembarked at Ouistreham (Sword Beach).
[edit] Tourist sites
- Musée du Mur de l'Atlantique (literally the Museum of the Atlantic Wall)
- Musée du Débarquement n° 4 Commando (museum)
[edit] Transportation
The port of Ouistreham has a scheduled cross-Channel ferry service to Portsmouth, operated by Brittany Ferries.
[edit] Miscellaneous
Ouistreham is twinned with the West Sussex village of Angmering
The assault on Ouistreham was featured in the movie The Longest Day.
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