Falaise , town (1993 est. pop. 8,387), Calvados dept., N France, in Normandy. Once an important textile center, the town is now an agricultural marketplace and manufactures cheeses and household appliances. William I of England (William the Conqueror) was born in Falaise at the castle of the first dukes of Normandy. The town also has a château (12th-13th cent.) built on a promontory and housing a dungeon. Falaise was a key point in the Normandy campaign of World War II and was heavily damaged.