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![[Flag of Trouville]](../images/f/fr-14-tr.gif)
by Arnaud Leroy
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Trouville-sur-Mer is a city of 5,000 inhabitants located on the Channel. The city is separated from the neighbouring city of Deauville by the estuary of the river Touques, crossed by the pont des Belges. The bridge received its name as a tribute to the Belgian brigade who liberated the cities of Deauville and Trouville in 1944. The coast between Trouville and Cabourg is nicknamed Côte Fleurie, and is a succession of sea resorts, from east to west : Trouville, Deauville, Benerville, Blonville, Villers, Houlgate and Cabourg.
The name of Trouville is of Norse origin. The root trou- has
nothing to do with the French word trou (hole) and has been
interpreted as Thoruflr, literally Thor's wolf. The suffix -ville
comes from the Latin word villa, which designated a rural estate.
Therefore, Trouville can be understood as the "Thor's wolf's estate".
Trouville is divided into two distinct, but adjacent areas, the fishing port, built along the river Touques, and the sea resort, built along the sand beach.
In Normandy, the "industry" of sea bathing started in summer 1824 when
the duchess of Berry came to Dieppe with a rich and brilliant court.
Under the Second Empire (1852-1870), however, Dieppe was abandoned by
the jet-set, and Trouville, located in a less windy environment, was
elected "Queen of the Beaches". In fact, the local development of
Trouville started in the 1830s, when the English fad of sea bathing was
imported to Normandy. The oldest advertisement for Trouville dates back
to 1837, in the local newspaper Le Pays d'Auge. Sea bathing was
strictly regulated by a municipal decree in 1857: the beach was divided
into three sectors, those for women's and men's bathing being separated
by a mixed sector. The swimmers had to change their clothes in beach
huts provided by the municipality, whereas rich people had "bathing
machines" on casters. The railway station of Trouville-Deauville was
inaugurated in 1863; the journey from Paris to Trouville-Deauville
lasted 5 hours. In 1868, a center for hydrotherapy was built in the
gardens of the city hall. Deauville, built from scratch in 1859 by duke
of Morny, Napoléon's III half-brother, attracted several of the posh
customers of Trouville.
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