Millennium of Caen / Inauguration / France / 20 March 2025
Let’s go out together! The oldest written reference to the city of Caen dates back to 1025. The year 2025 marks the 1000th year since that writing. The city of Caen has decided to celebrate this 1,000-year history with various events in 2025. I would like to introduce the first event, which took place on 20 March 2025. We are on the ramparts of Château de Caen. Usually, the flags of Normandy, France and the European Union fly. These flags with various colours appeared in mid-March 2025. This signifies the fire show “Incandescences”, which we will see later in this video and another. We see Saint-Pierre Church. At 19:14 on 20 March 2025, the bells of Saint-Pierre Church ring. Why do church bells ring at the odd hour of 19:14? It represents the time of sunset in Caen on this day. According to the leaflet of the programme of the Millennium of Caen, “730 people took part in the original experience created by artist Joanne Leighton and the WLDN company. For a year, they took turns in the shelter-object perched on the heights of the Château, at sunrise and sunset, to observe – and feel – the city. Gathered for the final act of this performance, the Watchwomen and Watchmen will take part in the inaugural evening on 20 March.” Three music bands – La Banda Jojo, Café Calva Caennexion and Les Fêlés de la Caisse – set off earlier at 18:30 from different parts of the city toward Saint-Pierre church in front of the Château de Caen. It is 19:25. A band is almost arriving in front of Saint-Pierre church. It is 19:40. According to the pamphlet of the programme, “Echoing the ringing of churches that once punctuated the daily lives of the inhabitants, a vibrant wave rises from the bell towers along the coast, resonates across the sky of the 48 communes of Caen la Mer, then rings the bells of the Saint-Pierre church.” Caen la Mer is a French urban intercommunal structure. The headquarters are located in Caen. It consists of 48 communes. To celebrate the millennium of Caen, 20 churches in Caen la Mer are joining forces. The bells of the churches in the coastal communes are rung, and then the bells of the churches in the inland communes are rung one after another. Finally, the church bells of Saint-Pierre in Caen will ring in front of us. The sound waves of church bells are propagated to all communes of Caen la Mer. It is 19:46. We see a drone over the château. It appears that a television crew is using a drone to film the event. The bells of Saint-Pierre Church have not yet rung. It is 19:50. Bells ring! ??? It’s not the bells ringing of Saint-Pierre church, but the bells ringing of the soundtrack accompanying the projection of the monumental fresco on the ramparts. Now the bells of Saint-Pierre Church are ringing. The wave of bells ringing has finally arrived in Caen. Two different kinds of bells ring almost simultaneously, which can be confusing. This is the projection of the monumental fresco on the ramparts. According to the leaflet of the programme, “The fresco drawn by the illustrator B959 is based on the adventures and misadventures of Caen, its characters, monuments and emblematic landscapes, as well as anecdotes and little stories that are forgotten or overtold.” I am not in a perfect position to see the entire fresco projection. However, later on, by chance, we will be able to see a projection of the fresco in a good location. It’s true! It’s a dinosaur! The numbers represent the thousand years from 1025 to 2025. Caen was mentioned in 1025 as “Cadomus”. The names of the production team are listed. The area between the church and the château is crowded with people. It is 20:00. The church bells ring again. ??? !!!!! We are in a great position to see the fireworks. How lucky! ??? !!! A picture of bells remains projected onto the castle wall. If you look closely, you can see small animated videos being projected. The show of « Incandescence » is held inside the ramparts. A music band is performing in front of Saint-Pierre church. This band is Café Calva Caennexion. We head from the south side of the château, through the west side and then to the north side. Another band is marching along playing music. We come to the front of the band line. This band is La Banda Jojo. We walk along the west side of the château again. ??? !!! The projection of the fresco has begun again. This time, we see the projection on the western wall. It’s time for two music bands to start playing, so we hurry on. We are coming to the north side of the château. The band has already started playing. We are on “Esplanade de la Paix” (Peace Square) between the Château de Caen and the University of Caen. The band in front of us performs here in the square, and the other band performs on campus. The two locations are 125 m (137 yd) apart. Another band will be performing on the university campus. Although I can only show a small part of the music, I hope you enjoy the atmosphere of an outdoor concert. There will be a 25 minute break. We return to Esplanade de la Paix (Peace Square). Fireworks are shot off from the château. According to the leaflet of the programme, “On the Peace Square, nearly 200 students from Normandy music schools will play a varied repertoire highlighting brass and percussion.” We return to the University campus. This music band is the Regional University Choir and Orchestra of Caen Normandy. We go again to Esplanade de la Paix (Peace Square). This is the last time we’ll walk between the two bands. We have walked this route back and forth four times. Simply calculated, we walked 1000 m (1094 yd). We, the audience, seem to have become healthier by walking. Perhaps that was the organisers’ intention. Thank you for watching. I will also introduce the spectacle “Incandescences” that took place within the castle walls in the next video. Please look forward to it. Please click the “Like,” “Subscribe,” and “Bell” buttons if you like this video and this channel!
The city of Caen in Normandy, France, celebrates its millennium in 2025. To be precise, the oldest known reference to the city of Caen in surviving documents was written in 1025, marking a thousand years since then. In that 1025 document, the city was called Cadomus.
To commemorate the millennium since the earliest written reference, the city of Caen decided to hold a millennium celebration in 2025, and has been holding a number of events since March. This video shows the first event, which served as the opening ceremony.
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