is a town and
Commune in the
Seine-Maritime ''
Département '' of
Haute-Normandie (eastern
Normandy ),
France .
Population of the city (commune) at the
1999 census was 34,653 inhabitants (''Dieppois''), whereas the whole metropolitan area (''
Aire Urbaine '') had 81,419 inhabitants.
A
Port on the
English Channel , famous for its
Scallop s, with a regular ferry service to
Newhaven, East Sussex , Dieppe also has a popular
Beach , a
15th Century Castle and the
Church es of St. Jacques and St. Remy.
Dieppe belongs to the
Pays De Caux region.
First recorded as a small
Fishing settlement in
1030 , Dieppe was an important prize fought over during the
Hundred Years' War . Dieppe housed the most advanced French school of
Cartography in the 16th century, and was the premiere port of the kingdom in the 17th century. On
July 23 ,
1632 300
Colonists headed for
New France departed Dieppe. At the
Revocation Of The Edict Of Nantes in 1685, Dieppe lost 3000 of its citizens, who fled abroad. Dieppe was an important target in wartime; the town was largely destroyed by
Anglo -
Dutch naval bombardment in
1694 . Rebuilt after
1696 , it was popularised as a seaside resort following the first visit in
1824 of the widowed
Duchess Of Berry , daughter-in-law of
Charles X . She encouraged the building of the recently-renovated municipal theater, the ''Petit-Theatre'' (1825), associated above all others with
Camille Saint-Saëns .
On
August 19 ,
1942 , during the
Second World War , it was the site of the
Dieppe Raid , a bloody landing by
Allied soldiers, mainly
Canadian .
The Castle, which survived the 1694 bombardment, contains an exhibition space and a museum with a strong maritime collection, a rich collection of the 17th and 18th century
Ivory carvings, including lacy folding fans, for which Dieppe was known, and the furnishings and papers of Camille Saint-Saens. The castle's interior courtyard is picturesque.
