Caen is a commune of northwestern France. It is the préfecture of the Calvados département and the capital of the Basse-Normandie (Lower-Normandy) region. The city has a population of 115 000 inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 199 490[1]. Its inhabitants are called the caennais (and caennaise(s) for women). It is located 15 km (6 m) inland from the English Channel.Caen is known for its historical buildings built during the reign of William the Conqueror, who was buried here, and for the Battle for Caen; heavy fighting that took place in and around Caen during the Battle of Normandy in 1944, destroying much of the town. The castle, Château de Caen, built circa 1060 by William the Conqueror, who successfully conquered England in 1066, is one of the largest medieval fortresses of Western Europe. It remained an essential feature of Norman strategy and policy. At Christmas 1182 a royal court celebration for Christmas in the aula of Caen Castle brought together Henry II and his sons, Richard the Lionheart and John Lackland, receiving more than a thousand knights. Caen Castle, along with all of Normandy, was handed over to the French Crown in 1204. The castle saw several engagements during the Hundred Years' War (1346, 1417, 1450) and was in use as a barracks as late as World War II. Today, the castle serves as a museum that houses the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Caen (Museum of Fine Arts of Caen) and Musée de Normandie (Museum of Normandy) along with many periodical exhibitions about arts and history .