View of Honfleur harbour, Port d'Honfleur, Église Saint-Étienne, church, and bell tower, muséede la marine, Honfleur, Calvados, Normandie, France
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. The church is dedicated to Saint Catherine of Alexandria as evidenced by a wooden sculpture above the porch of the bell tower which separates the two naves. She is shown holding a wheel and a sword. The first nave is the oldest part of the building, dating to the second half of the 15th century, constructed right after the Hundred Years' War. It was built on the model of a market hall, using naval construction techniques, which gives the impression of an upside-down ship's hull. Then the bell tower was built a good distance away, so that parishioners would not be burnt in case of a fire. Indeed, the bell tower did draw lightning strikes due to its height and its position on the side of a hill. In the late 15th century, a second nave was added, whose vault was like the wooden vaults of modest Gothic churches. This second part was more round, and did not look like a ship's hull. In the 16th century, four supplementary bays were added to both naves. The famous "Axe masters" of the naval yards of the city created this building without using any saws, just like their Norman ancestors (who can be seen in action in the Bayeux Tapestry), and like the Vikings before them.
Size: 6960px × 4640px
Location: Honfleur, Calvados, Normandie, France
Photo credit: © DV TRAVEL / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: bell, boudin, calvados, church, claude, courbet, de, dhonfleur, eugène, france, gustave, harbor, harbour, honfleur, impressionists, johan, jongkind, la, marine, maritime, monet, museum, musé, normandie, normandy, port, saint-Étienne, sainte-catherine, st, stephens, tower, wooden, Église
