Le Havre is a city in the
Seine-Maritime department of the
Haute-Normandie region in
France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the
river Seine on the
English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous
commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of
Rouen's. It is also the second largest
subprefecture in France (after
Reims). Its port is the second busiest in France (after that of
Marseille). Since 1974 it has been the
see of the diocese of Le Havre.
Le Havre was originally named
Franciscopolis after King
Francis I, who founded the city in 1517. A chapel known as
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ("Our Lady of Grace") existed at the site before the city was established, and the denomination lent its name to the port, to be called
Le Havre (or
Le Hable)
de Grâce ("the harbor of grace"). The shortened name
Le Havre, as used in modern times, simply translates as "the port" or "the harbor".
While under German occupation, the city was devastated in 1944 during the
Battle of Normandy in World War II; 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes destroyed, mainly by British air attacks. After the war, the center was rebuilt in the
modernist style by
Auguste Perret. Le Havre was honored with the
Legion of Honor award on 18 July 1949. It was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
Le Havre was once synonymous with urban gloom and greyness. The city's inhabitants have done much to change this; as a result of substantial improvements, Le Havre is now spoken of as the
Brasilia of France. .
Le Havre's
home port code is
LH.
Geography
Le Havre is the second largest
subprefecture in France, and the administrative center of the district bordering the
Sainte-Adresse commune.
Location
Le Havre is situated in the southwest of the
Pays de Caux region. The city is bordered by the seashore of the
English Channel to the west, the mouth of the Seine to the south, and the coast to the north. Historically, the Seine marked a natural boundary between
Haute-Normandie and
Basse-Normandie; the city of
Honfleur has often been referred to by the
Havrais as being "on the other coast." As a port city on an exposed marshy coast, Le Havre has long suffered from poor land links. New road connections have been built since; among the most notable is the
Pont de Normandie, which connects the two banks of the Seine and reduces traveling time between Honfleur and Le Havre to less than 15 minutes.
Geography
Le Havre is naturally separated into two areas by a
cliff.
- The ville basse, or lower city, comprises the port, the city center, and the peripheral regions. It was constructed on the ancient marshlands which were drained in the 16th century. The soil is composed of alluvium deposited by the river Seine. The city center, reconstructed after World War II, stands on approximately a meter (3.3 ft) of flattened rubble.
A road tunnel and
funicular railway ease transport between the lower and upper cities.
Climate
Demographics
The population of the Le Havre commune had 190,905 inhabitants in 1999, which makes it the 12th most populous city in
France and the most populous in
Haute-Normandie (although the total population of the greater Le Havre conurbation is smaller than that of
Rouen's). It has seen a drop in population, particularly from 1975 to 1982; during these years of industrial crisis the population fell by 18,494. During the 1980s the population continued to decrease, though less rapidly. Le Havre's city limit had a population of 248,547 in 1999 (25th in France) and the urban area had a population of 296,773. With 20% of the population less than 20 years old, the city of Le Havre is relatively young, even though the population is shrinking. The foreign-born population is estimated at 8,208, 4.3% of the population, also with a tendency to diminish. Due to the economic changes that had affected the city, the
CSP greatly evolved in the 1980s; between 1982 and 1999, the number of blue-collar workers decreased by a third (10,593). At the same time, the number of office workers and professionals increased by 24.5%, which partly explains the creation and development of the
University of Le Havre.
History
460px|thumb|left|View of the beach of Le Havre and a part of the rebuilt cityThe name
Le Havre simply means
the harbour or
the port. Le Havre was founded as a new port by royal command, partly to replace the historic harbors of
Harfleur and
Honfleur which had become increasingly impractical due to silting-up. The city was founded in 1517, when it was named
Franciscopolis after
Francis I of France, and subsequently named
Le Havre-de-Grâce ("Harbor of Grace") after an existing chapel of
Notre-Dame-de-Grâce ("our Lady of grace").
In the 18th century, Le Havre began to grow, as trade from the
West Indies was added to that of France and Europe. In 1759 the city was the staging point for a
planned French invasion of Britain - thousands of troops, horses and ships being assembled there - only for many of the barges to be destroyed in the
Raid on Le Havre and the invasion to be abandoned following the naval defeat at
Quiberon.
On 19 November 1793, the city changed its name to
Hâvre de Marat and later
Hâvre-Marat in honor of the recently deceased
Jean-Paul Marat, who was seen as a martyr of the
French Revolution. By early 1795, however, Marat's memory had become somewhat tarnished, and on January 13, 1795, the town's name became simply
Le Havre.
During the 19th century, it became an industrial centre.
The German-occupied city was devastated during the
Battle of Normandy in World War II: 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes were totally destroyed, mainly by British air attacks. Despite this, Le Havre became the location of one of the biggest Replacement Depots, or "Repple Depples" in the European Theatre of operations in WWII. Thousands of American replacement troops poured through the city before being deployed to combat operations. After the war, the centre was rebuilt in
modernist style by
Auguste Perret. It was designated a
UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2005.
UNESCO declared the city center of Le Havre a
World Heritage Site on 15 July 2005, in honoring the "innovative utilization of concrete's potential." The 133-hectare space that represents, according to UNESCO, "an exceptional example of architecture and town planning of the post-war era," is one of the rare contemporary World Heritage Sites in Europe.
Main sights
Le Havre was heavily bombed during the
Second World War. Many historic buildings were lost as a result.
Churches
- Le Havre Cathedral : the first stone of the building was laid in 1536. It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Havre.
- Church of St. Joseph, one of the most recognized symbols of the city. The belltower is one of the tallest in France, rising to a height of 106 metres. It was designed by Auguste Perret.
- Church of St. Vincent [Eglise St. Vincent:
- Church of St. François [Eglise St. François:
- Church of St. Anne [Eglise St. Anne:
- St. Michel d'Ingouville chapel (15th century) [St. Michel Chapel:
- Graville Abbey, a monastery dedicated to Sainte Honorine, set in grounds on the northern bank of the Seine River.
- Presbyterian Reform Church (Eglise Réformée), 47 rue Anatole France, built in 1857, bombed in 1941, the roof and ceiling was rebuilt in 1953 by two architects of the famous Auguste Perret office: Jacques Lamy and Gérard Dupasquier, Only one building in the town offering both: ancient and new Perret school architectures in the same building. Holy Office each Sunday morning at 10.30.
Museums
- Musée des Beaux-Arts André Malraux : this museum houses a collection of art spanning the past five centuries, the impressionist paintings collections are the second most extensive in France after those of the Orsay Museum in Paris. There are paintings by Claude Monet and other artists who lived and worked in Normandy. Some of the paintings are from Eugène Boudin,Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Raoul Dufy, Alfred Sisley. One of the museum's latest purchases is Vague, par temps d'orage by Gustave Courbet. The collection of Olivier Senn (1864-1959), given to the museum in 2004, contains more than 205 paintings.
- Musée d'histoire naturelle (Museum of Natural History)
Others
- The Shipowner home (18th century)
- The former tribunal (18th century)
- The town Hall : the modern belfry contains offices
Transportation
Le Havre has well developed national road, rail and air links (
Octeville airport) and is two hours by train from Paris, with services running to the
Gare du Havre. Local transport is based primarily on an extensive bus network. The city has plans for a tram network. A ferry service to
Portsmouth in the
United Kingdom runs from the Terminal de la Citadelle. The service is operated by
LD Lines.
Twin towns
Le Havre is
twinned, or has a
sister city relationship with:
People
Le Havre was the birthplace of:
- Eugenia DeLamare (1824-1907) - Guilherme Schüch - Wife - Baron Von Capanema
