Ouistreham

Ouistreham locks

Coat of arms

Ouistreham

Location within Normandy region

Ouistreham

Coordinates: 49°17′N 0°16′W / 49.28°N 0.26°WCoordinates: 49°17′N 0°16′W / 49.28°N 0.26°W

Country

Ouistreham

Caen la Mer

Government

• Mayor (2014-)

Romain Bail

Area¹

9.95 km² (3.84 sq mi)

Population (2008)²

9,322

• Density

940/km² (2,400/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

14488 /14150

Website

http://ouistreham-rivabella.fr/

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Ouistreham (French pronunciation: [wistʁe.am]) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandie 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 is about the mouth of the Canal de Caen à la Mer.

The name Ouistreham derives from ouistre - 'oyster' and Saxon ham= 'village'. It has been a trading port since the Middle Ages. The harbour is now a part of "Port de Caen-Ouistreham". Since the beginning of the 20th century, it has been a bathing beach on the "Riva Bella".

On 6 June 1944, No. 4 Commando landed at Ouistreham (Sword Beach) and fought their way to Pegasus Bridge, with the 177 Free French of the No. 10 (Inter-Allied) Commando given the honour of spearheading the advance. The assault on Ouistreham was featured in the movie The Longest Day, although the film location for Ouistreham was at the nearby village of Port-en-Bessin.

The port of Ouistreham has a scheduled cross-Channel ferry service to Portsmouth, operated by Brittany Ferries.

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Wikipedia