The Ornavik project aims to educate as many people as possible about how the region came into being. It traces the historical stages through which the Normandy region, now reunified, passed from the granting of Normandy's lands to Rollo the Viking in 911 to William the Conqueror's victory at Hastings in 1066. Reconstructions and experimental archaeology bring the 10-hectare Ornavik park to life.

From the mid-9th century onwards, the Franks suffered numerous Viking raids. Scandinavian warriors arrived on the banks of the Seine and, as their attacks continued and the seasons passed, settled in Frankish territory. Faced with this threat, the Frankish king Charles the Simple proposed negotiating with the leader Rollo the Walker. These negotiations resulted in the Treaty of Saint-Clair-Sur-Epte, which was signed in the autumn of 911. This treaty appointed Rollo as Count of Rouen. Thus, Normandy, literally ‘land of the men of the North’, was born. The Norman territory then corresponded approximately to ‘Upper Normandy’.

Normandy expanded over generations, adding the former Lower Normandy to Viking territory. Rollo's descendants pledged allegiance to the King of France and became dukes. This allowed them to retain considerable power over their territory. The Duchy of Normandy reached its peak in the 11th century when, in October 1066, William the Bastard seized the English crown and became known as ‘the Conqueror’. Many reminders of this remarkable period can still be seen today: the Bayeux Tapestry, the castle and two abbeys in Caen, the Church of Notre-Dame in Dives-Sur-Mer, and the Falaise Castle.