1025
- First mention in a text of the word Cadomus, one of the ancient forms of the name of the town of Caen
- A wealthy rural estate, a port, a fair and the first elements of a town
1066
- Construction of the Château (Castle), the Abbaye-aux-Hommes (Men’s Abbey) and the Abbaye-aux-Dames (Women’s Abbey)
- William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, becomes King of England
- Caen becomes a city of major political and economic influence
1105
- Henry I succeeds William and assumes the throne of England and the Duchy of Normandy.
- Construction of the Exchequer, the great palace hall at the heart of the castle
1204
- Philip Augustus, King of France, proclaims the confiscation of the French domains of John Lackland, King of England, and seizes Normandy by force of arms.
- Caen remained an important and prosperous centre of royal power in a region directly attached to the French crown.
1346
- During the Hundred Years' War, Edward III, King of England, took and burnt the town, but gave up the idea of laying siege to the castle.
- The town continued to be an important administrative and military centre in the face of internal unrest and the threat of English raids
1432
- Caen was one of the strongholds of "English France" (1417-1450)
- Foundation of the University, one of the first in Europe, dedicated to training the Norman elite to serve the English king
1562
- Religious and civil wars
- The Protestants lay siege to the castle and take over the town
- The tombs of William and Matilda are plundered and the Abbaye-aux-Hommes is ruined
1652
- Foundation of the Academy of Caen
- A place for literary and scholarly debate in a regional intellectual capital: the Norman Athens
1793
- The city undergoes revolution! The castle was condemned to destruction due to the opposition of the people of Caen to the regime of “the Terror”. In fact, only the keep and the Saint-Pierre gate were damaged.
- The new authorities of the Republic and then the Empire took over the town, which retained its military role in the face of the threat posed by Great Britain.
1857
- Inauguration of the Caen canal, the result of painstaking work, linking the port to the sea and contributing to modern maritime trade.
- Harbour basins and commercial and industrial facilities sketch out the future of the peninsula
1913
- Founding of Société Métallurgique de Normandie: the "workers' fortress" in counterpoint to the medieval fortress
- The port and its canal ensure the flow of ore and coal from the large factory, supplies for the conurbation and exports of industrial and agricultural products
1944
- Bombing partly destroys the town
- Despite the price paid by civilian victims, D-Day remains a symbol of freedom
- Then the city began its reconstruction
- Caen becomes regional capital
