Dives-sur-Mer

Dives-sur-Mer (French pronunciation: [div syʁ mɛʁ] ^ⓘ, literally Dives on Sea; Norman: Dives sus Mé) is a commune in the Calvados department in Normandy in northwestern France.

Dives-sur-Mer
Commune
13th and 14th Century church in Dives-sur-Mer[2]
Coat of arms
Location of Dives-sur-Mer
Dives-sur-Mer Show map of France Dives-sur-Mer Show map of Normandy
Coordinates: 49°17′11″N 0°06′00″W
Country	France
Region	Normandy
Department	Calvados
Arrondissement	Lisieux
Canton	Cabourg
Intercommunality	CC Normandie-Cabourg-Pays d'Auge
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Pierre Mouraret[3]
Area 1	6.46 km2 (2.49 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[4]	5,129
• Density	790/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	14225 /14160
Elevation	0–135 m (0–443 ft) (avg. 4 m or 13 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

It was from the harbour of Dives-sur-Mer that William the Conqueror set out on the Norman Conquest of England in 1066. On the night before sailing to Pevensey Bay for battle, William and 475 barons and knights from Normandy, Flanders and Brittany attended Dives-sur-Mer church for Mass and prayers.

After much research in the 18th century, the French government placed a monumental plaque in the church listing by name all 475 companions of the Conqueror on that great mission. Book One of One Family's Journey Through Ten Centuries, by William Lilly, contains analysis at Appendix d, p. 1395 of the efforts to determine who those knights were. The medieval wooden market hall and the 13th-14th-century church are the main attractions of the town.

Population

Historical population

Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 370 —     1800 349 −0.83% 1806 409 +2.68% 1821 418 +0.15% 1831 589 +3.49% 1836 541 −1.69% 1841 518 −0.87% 1846 503 −0.59% 1851 539 +1.39% 1856 589 +1.79% 1861 656 +2.18% 1866 854 +5.42% 1872 826 −0.55% 1876 871 +1.34% 1881 1,001 +2.82% 1886 1,097 +1.85% 1891 1,441 +5.61% 1896 1,720 +3.60%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1901 3,450 +14.94% 1906 3,453 +0.02% 1911 3,614 +0.92% 1921 4,233 +1.59% 1926 4,460 +1.05% 1931 5,577 +4.57% 1936 5,300 −1.01% 1946 5,046 −0.49% 1954 5,893 +1.96% 1962 6,258 +0.75% 1968 6,299 +0.11% 1975 5,872 −1.00% 1982 5,508 −0.91% 1990 5,344 −0.38% 1999 5,812 +0.94% 2007 5,890 +0.17% 2012 5,867 −0.08% 2017 5,546 −1.12%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)[6]

Transport

Dives-sur-Mer is served by two stations on the railway line from Deauville to Dives-sur-Mer: Gare de Dives-Cabourg and the station Dives-sur-Mer-Port-Guillaume. Train services operate year-round at weekends as well as on weekdays during the summer season. Dives is also on line no. 20 of the Calvados bus company Bus Verts du Calvados.

Sport

SU Dives-Cabourg is a football club, that was formed in 1929 and plays at Stade André Heurtematte.^[7]

See also

• Communes of the Calvados department
• Church of Notre-Dame de Dives-sur-Merent