The region has a long existence, but as an administrative region it was created in 1956 from two
departments:
Seine-Maritime and
Eure, when
Normandy was divided into the regions of
Lower Normandy and Upper Normandy. This division continued to provoke controversy, and many people continued to call for the two regions to be reunited. The two regions were finally merged on 1 January 2016. The name
Upper Normandy existed prior to 1956 and referred by tradition to territories which were included within the administrative region: the
Pays de Caux, the
Pays de Bray (but not that of
Picardy), the
Roumois, the Campagne of
Le Neubourg, the Plain of
Saint-André and the Norman
Vexin. Today, most of the
Pays d'Auge, as well as a small portion of the
Pays d'Ouche, are located in Lower Normandy.
Rouen and
Le Havre are its important urban centers. ==Major communities==