Caen

Abbaye aux hommes

Caen

At the junction of the Orne river and the Odon river, Caen was born under the Norman ones who made a strengthened island. It is in the XIth century that the city took importance, with the duke Guillaume who raised two abbeys for his penitence there in order to cancel his excommunication.

Then he could marry with Mathilde of Flanders - a far cousin, in spite of the objections of the Pope. Mathilde, queen of England after the conquest of Guillaume, died in 1083 and was buried in the abbey of Ladies (Abbaye aux Femmes). In 1087, William the Conqueror was buried in the abbey of Men (Abbaye aux Hommes). These two abbeys made Caen a Benedictine city.

Tomb of William the GReat