Carpiquet

Carpiquet (French pronunciation: [kaʁpikɛ] ^ⓘ) is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Caen – Carpiquet Airport is located in Carpiquet.

Carpiquet
Commune
The church in Carpiquet
Location of Carpiquet
Carpiquet Show map of France Carpiquet Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°11′11″N 0°26′36″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Caen
Canton	Caen-2
Intercommunality	CU Caen la Mer
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pascal Sérard[1]
Area 1	5.88 km2 (2.27 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[2]	3,266
• Density	555/km2 (1,440/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14137 /14650
Elevation	45–74 m (148–243 ft) (avg. 64 m or 210 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

Carpiquet is on the western side of the Caen metropolitan area. The town is divided into four distinct areas:^[3]

• the town centre;
• the commercial area along the Ligne de Paris - Caen and Route nationale 13 to the north;
• the Bellevue area to the east;
• the Caen - Carpiquet Airport to the west.

History

Unidentified Canadian Infantry in the bombed out Medieval Eglise St. Martin in Carpiquet, near Caen, July 12, 1944. Photo: Ken Bell

The Carpiquet Airport was one of the objectives of the 3rd Canadian Infantry Division during the Normandy Campaign.^[4] The village was fought over between June and July 1944 in several battles with the 12th SS Panzer Division Hitlerjugend and 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler, notably during the Battle for Caen.^[5] It and the airport were finally taken in early July during Operation Windsor.^[6]

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±% p.a.
1968	1,315	—
1975	1,207	−1.22%
1982	1,650	+4.57%
1990	1,519	−1.03%
1999	1,861	+2.28%
2007	2,140	+1.76%
2012	2,387	+2.21%
2017	2,607	+1.78%
Source: INSEE[7]

Points of interest

National heritage sites

The Commune has two buildings and areas listed as a Monument historique^[8]

• Église Saint-Martin 12th century church listed as a monument in 1927.^[9]
• Double entrance door remains of a 14th century door way.^[10]

Economy

Chalair Aviation, an airline, has its head office on the grounds of Caen – Carpiquet Airport in Carpiquet.^[11]

Sport

Carpiquet has a swimming pool, the aquatic center Sirena, which has a 25metre pool and features such as waterslides.^[12]

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Carpiquet is twinned with North Baddesley, United Kingdom.^[13]

See also

• France portal

• Communes of the Calvados department