Deauville

Deauville (French pronunciation: [dovil] ) is a commune in the Calvados department, Normandy, northwestern France. Major attractions include its harbour, race course, marinas, conference centre, villas, Grand Casino, and hotels. The first Deauville Asian Film Festival took place in 1999. As the closest seaside resort to Paris, Deauville is one of the most notable seaside resorts in France. The city and its region of the Côte Fleurie (Flowery Coast) have long been home to the French upper class's seaside houses and is often referred to as the Parisian riviera.
Since the 19th century, the town of Deauville has been a fashionable holiday resort for the international upper class. In France, it is perhaps most well-known for its role in Proust's In Search of Lost Time.
The history of Deauville can be traced back to 1060, when seigneur Hubert du Mont-Canisy controlled the land, which was previously known as Auevilla. In 1066, Hubert du Mont-Canisy left to follow William the Conqueror to England.
Until 1860, Deauville was led by a series of mayors and slowly gained renown for its horse farming and for cultivating sainfoin. Duc Charles Auguste Louis Joseph de Morny, the half brother of the emperor Napoleon III, transformed Deauville into a more travelled resort on request of his wife Sofia Sergeyevna Trubetskaya and her friend, art collector Konstantin Rudanovsky. Before the death of the Duc in 1865, certain key investments were made that would transform Deauville's history, including a railway from Paris to Deauville, the Deauville hippodrome, and a small casino. Within three years, over forty villas were constructed in the surrounding area, and 200 rooms, as well as other accommodations, were finalized in the Grand Hotel. the Duc de Morny also established the construction of a church and a school in 1863. In the same year, "La Terrasse" was created. La Terrasse was a complex for hydrotherapeutic baths and other cures, as well as a 1,800-metre promenade along the seaside.
Following the Duc's death, Deauville grew gradually, but it was not until the early 20th century when Désiré le Hoc and Eugene Cornuché, pushed Deauville into another period of transformation and development. The still-famous Normandy Barrière and Royal hotels and the casino opened in the years 1911 and 1913. Renovations were carried out and extensions were made to the hippodrome, telephone lines were set up, the sales of yearlings saw historic highs, and up to 62 English and French yachts occupied the basin. During these years many luxury boutiques opened in the streets of Deauville, including Coco Chanel's first shop; many stores from Paris decided it was worthwhile establishing themselves in the up-and-coming resort.
During World War I, wounded soldiers would be cared for in Deauville's hotels and casino. The war also took a heavy toll on Deauville's blossoming market and trade sector, as merchants were forced to dedicate many of their products to the war effort.
The combination of the national financial crisis and World War II ensured Deauville would not regain its stature as a resort town until the 1950s. During the Second World War, the German Army occupied Deauville. Villas, hotels, and the casino were all occupied or used to some extent by the German forces. Following the invasion of allied forces on D-Day, the German troops were pushed out of Deauville and Normandy.
Following the war, Deauville leaned into its reputation for myth and exclusivity. Michel d'Ornano was established as the new mayor and Lucien Barriere succeeded his uncle Francois André at the head of the Hotels and Casinos of Deauville, and the town again became a centre for high society and celebrities. With scenes of award-winning movies being filmed in Deauville (such as Claude Lelouch's "un Homme et une Femme") and consistent celebrity traffic, the town has renewed its status as an emblematic resort town of Europe.
The first reference to Deauville was in 1060. At this time the village was called A Enilla and resembled a fishing hamlet. "A Enilla" comes from the Germanic "Auwja Auwa", meaning wet meadow. The village was originally up on a 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 of little importance on the river Touques.
Deauville owes its greater prominence to the Duc de Morny. He described the village as: 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 de magnifiques propriétés, de même que les délicieux jardins qui les entourent, sont entretnus avec un soin on ne peut plus raffiné. In English: "A quiet town, with deserted streets, it forms a complete contrast with the busy and noisy Trouville. But this lack of life is, in reality, only apparent, because the magnificent properties, and their delicious gardens, are maintained with a care that could not be more refined."
In 1855 land was being bought at 5 centimes/m; in 1862 the same land was worth 1 franc/m, representing the transition from marsh to buildable land.
It was in 1858 that doctor Oliffe, who owned a villa in Trouville, decided to create a "town of pleasure" on the sand dunes and in 1862 the first stone of today's Deauville was laid.
Together with banker Armand Donon, the duc bought 2.4 square kilometres of marsh 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 Trouville station, passengers could reach Deauville in six hours from Paris. Morny, who had influence at Court, had a hand in persuading the aristocracy that staying on the coast would benefit their health. Land was bought and large villas or even palaces were built. A casino and hotels soon followed, and rich tourists came in numbers. A common old joke among locals is that the wealthy bourgeoisie Frenchmen would keep their wife in Deauville and their mistress in Trouville, making light of the disparate socioeconomic statuses of Trouville, being a working class fishing village and Deauville, being home to exclusive shops and expensive real estate.
The locked harbour was excavated in 1866.
Deauville was left mostly unscathed during the First World War. It was during World War II and German Occupation that Deauville saw most of its leisure properties confiscated for use by the occupying force.
During the 1960s, Deauville started to see more mass-market visitors. Nonetheless, the town and the surrounding coastline still contain high-profile seaside resorts, haven for the rich and famous as well as for the more discreet families of French high society such as the Rothschilds, who own a Norman manor near Deauville. Today, Deauville is easily accessible from Paris, in large part due to the extension of highway A132. From 26–27 May 2011, Deauville hosted the 37th G8 summit.
In an effort to prolong the summer season, Lucien Barriere and Michel d'Ornano agreed to sponsor Lionel Chouchan and Andre Halimi's idea of a film festival that specifically promoted American films, including both big-budget and independent features.
The festival was established in 1975 and The Reincarnation of Peter Proud was the first film to be shown in the festival's history. Since then, the festival has continued to promote American cinematography and bring American and European stars to Normandy. The festival, not known for its competitive nature, began to hand out awards in 1995. In 2014 the Festival celebrated its 40th year.
Home to the Deauville-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 and County Kildare in Ireland, both of which are world leaders in breeding thoroughbred racehorses. The important Ventes de Deauville yearling auction is held in mid-August each year at Deauville.
Deauville is internationally known for its horse culture, its famous tracks, Yearling sales and its multiple Group One annual races. The two famous tracks of Deauville are Deauville la Touques and Clairefontaine: these tracks are active during the months of January, July, August, October, and December.
The three most important races that occur in Deauville ever year are Le Maurice de Gheest, Le Jacques le Marois, and Le Morny. More recently, Le Prix d'Astarte, (Prix Rothschild) and Le Prix Romanet have gained more prestige in the racing world. Le Grand Prix de Deauville, though not a Group One race, remains very prestigious; since its origin the winner's names and emblems are posted on the walls of the grand hall of the race track.
Today Deauville also hosts competitions other than racing. These competitions include polo tournaments, horse shows, and the European Championship of Miniature Horses.
Weekend Wives, 1928
The Prix de Deauville for songs and books are awarded in April annually. The song prize was a notable event in the late 1940s and 1950s. The prix littéraire de la Ville de Deauville in 2016 was awarded to Virginie Despentes.
Deauville is twinned with: