 The city was devastated during the Battle of Normandy when 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes were totally destroyed before its capture in Operation Astonia.The center was rebuilt in a modernist style by Auguste Perret.The name of the town was attested in 1489, even before it was founded by François I in the form "le Hable de Grace" then "Ville de Grace" in 1516, two years before its official founding.