Deauville

Deauville is a commune of the Calvados in Basse-Normandie.

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. Deauville owes it all to the Duc de Morny. It was in 1858 that doctor Oliffe 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. In the 1860ís, 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. 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. The construction of Deauville's racecourse (called Hippodrome de la Touques) followed quickly. 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 occuppying force. During the 1960ís, Deauville started to accept less fortunate visitors. It still is now a haven for the rich and famous as well as holiday makers.

With its racecourse, harbour, marinas, conference center, villas, Grand Casino and sumptuous hotels, Deauville is regarded as the queen of the Norman beaches.

LINK : http://www.deauville.org/en/