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Deauville is a commune of the Calvados département, in the Basse-Normandie région, in France. With its racecourse, harbour, marinas, conference center, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the queen of the Norman beaches.
History The first reference to Deauville is in 1060. At this time the village was called A Enilla and was more of a fishing hamlet than a village. A Enilla comes from the Germanic Auwja Auwa meaning wet meadow. The village was originally up on the hill and a few houses were built next to the St Laurent chapel. Thanks to its situation near the coast, the village had a small harbour on the river Touques of little importance. Deauville or Dauville owes it all to the Duc de Morny. He described the village thus: Cité calme, aux rue désertes, elle forme avec Trouville, animée et bruyante, un contraste absolu. Mais ce manque de vie n'est, en réalité, qu'apparent, car des magnifiques propriétés, de même que les délicieux jardins qui les entourent, sont entretnus avec un soin on ne peut plus raffiné. In 1855 land was being bought at 5 centimes/m²; in 1862 the same land was worth 1 Franc/m². The buyer had indeed bought marsh land and sold constructible land. It was in 1858 that doctor Oliffe, who owned a villa in Trouville, decided to create a town of pleasure on the deserted sand dunes. In 1862 the first stone of today's Deauville was laid. The duc bought 2.4 square kilometres of marsh land and dunes for 800,000 Francs. The Touques was still unchannelled but during the Second Empire the low tides permitted the construction of walls. In the 1860s visits by Napoleon III made the coast of Normandy adjacent to Deauville fashionable, and soon speculators developed the infrastructure necessary to accommodate members of the Imperial court and the growing Parisian bourgeoisie. The railway arrived at Trouville-sur-Mer in 1863. Using the station called Trouville, passengers could reach Deauville in 6 hours from Paris. The locked harbour was dug up in 1866. Morny, who had influence at Court, managed to persuade the aristocracy that staying on the coast would benefit their health. Land was bought and large villas, sometimes even palaces, were built. A casino and hotels soon followed and rich tourists came in their numbers. Deauville hardly suffered during the First World War. It was during World War II with the German Occupation that Deauville saw most of its leisure proprieties confiscated for use by the occupying force. During the 1960s, Deauville started to accept less fortunate visitors. It still is now a haven for the rich and famous as well as holiday makers. Home to the Hippodrome de la Touques racecourse, the countryside around Deauville is the main horse breeding region in France and home to numerous stud farms. As a result, the city is twinned with Lexington, Kentucky, the most important locale for American horse breeding. The important Ventes de Deauville yearling auction is held in mid-August each year at Deauville. Twinnings Deauville is twinned with: Events Photos | ||||||||
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