Fountain in Honfleur, Fontaine des Moulières, (moules harvesters) Calvados, Normandie, France
This fountain, located at the roundabout in front of the Media Library, is the work of sculptor Jean-Marc de Pas. “Les moulières” refers to the women who collected mussels by the kilo, often at the risk of their lives. Honfleur wished to pay tribute to those who, for decades, worked hard in the estuary and on the Ratier sandbank to feed their families. Dressed, summer and winter alike, in long pleated dresses made of cloth, with scarves on their heads to protect them from the wind or the sun, or dressed in men's clothes, these women, often mothers of large families, gathered mussels bent over for long, exhausting days, using a knife called an “étique” – a knife with a round wooden handle and an ivy leaf-shaped blade, sharpened on one side – every day, and then loaded them into jute bags aboard flat-bottomed boats. This extremely difficult and perilous profession gradually disappeared over time, finally dying out in 1977. Honfleur is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from Le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honfleur are called Honfleurais. It is especially known for its old port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted frequently by artists. There have been many notable artists, including, Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind. They all meet at La Ferme Saint Siméon, which is now a 5-star hotel, and create the "Saint Siméon gathering" contributing to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest wooden church in France.
Size: 6300px × 4200px
Location: Honfleur, Calvados, Normandie, France
Photo credit: © DV TRAVEL / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: calvados, des, dhonfleur, fontaine, fountain, france, harbor, harbour, harvesters, honfleur, moules, moulières, normandie, normandy, port
