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Le Havre means “the harbor” or “port.”
And that is its significant role still today.
The city sits at the mouth of the Seine river on the shore of the English Channel.
Once the gateway to Paris from the sea, ocean traffic can now navigate up the river as far as Rouen.
Ancient History.
Although signs show humans here circa 400,000 BC., and during the Neolithic period (10,000–4,500 BC), the picture is incomplete.
There are signs of Celts and Roman towns along the estuary, but details pre 800 B.C. are vague.
Not so Ancient Le Havre.
Graville Abbey first appears in writings circa the 9th century, but it is not on the river. It sits on a hillside to the east.
The village of Leure and its small port dates to circa 1040 A.D., but it only services the local area.
Around the same time, William Malet, a member of the Companions of William of Normandy, starts collecting land here. He builds a castle near the abbey and a fortification about one mile to the east on higher ground.
There are hamlets nearby of fisherman and farmers inland from the river.
During the Hundred Years War (1337 to 1453,) the English sack the small ports of Leurre and Harfleur. They are now parts of Le Havre.
Charlemagne did not sleep here, and there are no stories of Joan of Arc.
How can that be? There is history all around this place.
Simple, much of the area along the river was nothing but marshland and mudflats in those days.
A Start.
King Francis I drains the area and establishes a port circa 1517. This harbor is more for a place to put warships to fend off an English attack. With a port, a town soon follows, Franciscopolis. Wonder where they got the name?
It is not an overnight success. Boats can sail past to reach Rouen and Paris, so it only serves the local area.
Like everywhere in Northern France, it has its fair share of wars. The port has conflicts with the British and storms, both coming off the English Channel. Rats arriving on ships and mosquitos from the nearby wetlands bring numerous health epidemics.
Goods from the “New World” begin arriving in the new port by the middle of the century. Wanting to get in on a good thing, Rene Goulaine de Laudonniere sets sail from the harbor during 1564. His goal is to create the first permanent French colony in the New World.
An escape from the religious persecution by the Catholic rulers is another reason.
He finally establishes a colony at Fort Caroline near present-day Jacksonville, Florida. Within a year, the Spanish will attack and claim the fort.
War of Religions.
King Francis I, tolerates the initial spreading of French Protestants, Huguenots.
Circa 1534, the Protestants begin denouncing the Catholic Mass. Now they are a threat to the kingdom of France’s stability.
The French Catholics begin rounding up the heretics, and soon the jails are overflowing.
To offer a “speedy” trial, the French set up a special court in nearby Rouen just for heretics by 1545.
No matter the caliber of offense, most cases end with the Protestant burning on the gallows. The court gets the charming nickname, “La Chambre Ardente,” the fiery chamber.
By 1547, Henry II takes control of the French throne and increases the persecution. French Protestantism spikes. No longer a religious war, it is the French King against everyone else.
Very destructive civil conflicts begin popping up all over France. When Henry II suddenly died in 1559, the gasoline hits the fire.
By 1562 the reformers attack Le Havre, taking the city. They loot the city and expel many Catholics. The French retaliate and, by the next year, have control of the town. They destroy the English fort and construct a new citadel. The French build additional fortifications and begin construction of a canal between Harfleur and the Seine river.
The 1600s.
The Protestant Reformation experiences more success in Northern France, and by 1600, they build a Protestant church in Le Havre. The church will last for 85 years until Louis XIV takes the throne, and the Catholics fight back.
It will be 100 years until Le Havre has another Protestant place of worship.
During this time, Cardinal Richelieu, then governor of the city, fortifies Le Havre. He strengthens the walls and builds a fortress and arsenal. By the middle of the 1600s, Jean-Baptiste Colbert will develop the port even more.
By the late 1600s, the port is importing exotic products from the New World, including sugar, tobacco, cotton, and coffee.
Long Before the Americans.
The great cash-making import is slaves from West Africa. From Le Havre, they ship the slaves to French Haiti (Saint-Domingue) and Louisiana. The French will send almost 800,000 Africans to Haiti. This amount is nearly double the number of slaves the British will import to the colonies (later the United States.)
In the early 1700s, Michel Dubocage, will sail from Le Havre and explore and map parts of the Pacific Ocean. His ship, Discovery, reaches Clipperton Island, approximately 600 miles off the Mexican coast, before he turns back.
At the same time, Captain Jean-Baptiste d’Après de Mannevillette sails from Le Havre. Working for the East India Company, he maps the coasts of India and China.
Circa 1749, Louis XV, and his mistress, Madame de Pompadour, visit the city as she wishes to see the sea. Their lengthy and extravagant visit almost bankrupts the city’s finances.
Circa 1759, the city is the staging point for a French invasion of Britain. Unfortunately, the British get wind and attack Le Havre port (Raid on Le Havre), destroying most of the supplies.
Despite these economic setbacks, the city continues to grow.
A Tobacco Factory opens to process the raw leaf from the colonies. The shipyards continue to expand, and the city builds a new arsenal and a commodity exchange.
Circa 1786, king Louis XVI approves plans to almost quadruple the size of the city. Soon Le Havre is the second largest port in France. Then “stuff” hits the fan.
Le Havre 1789.
Le Havre remains a critical port to France during the French Revolution. It supplies Paris and Northern France with food. It is also a front line against any British aggression.
The fighting, insurrections, and economic stagnation affect all areas of France.
During the Reign of Terror (circa 1792,) they ban Catholicism and transform the catholic churches into Temples of Reason. This government-sponsored atheistical religion was to replace Christianity with ideals of reason, virtue, and liberty.
Circa 1793, the city changes its name to Havre de Marat to honor Jean-Paul Marat. He is a martyr of the French Revolution. Within two years, Marat’s reputation becomes tarnished, and the city changes its name to Le Havre,
By 1804, the new republic of the Revolution falls, and the First French Empire, under Napoleon, begins.
A country, already reeling from the war between the throne and people, now finds itself at war against Europe.
The Napoleonic Wars will go on until 1814 and again for 100 days in 1815.
With the Congress of Vienna, Europe settles down and begins rebuilding.
The rest of the 1800s.
Le Havre quickly outgrew its walls, and the older neighborhoods became slums. They were ripe for epidemics of cholera, typhoid fever, and other contagious diseases that would sweep through the crowded wards.
Maritime prosperity keeps the metropolitan part of the city growing. It is also pulling more people from less affluent areas looking for work. As a port, it is drawing the jobless of other countries.
The city would receive a new stock exchange, commercial harbor basin, and City Hall. Services including streetlights (gas), sewage works, and the rubbish collection also enhance the city’s allure.
And there were the effects of the Industrial Revolution,
The harbor gets a steam dredge circa 1831, and two years later, a local develops the first ship propeller. By 1848, there are railroads allowing Le Havre to deliver their imports to the rest of the country quickly. New docks and warehouses to accommodate the rail traffic go up.
However, many local industries without a tie to the port, do not thrive.
Le Havre The Roaring 1900s.
By the turn of the century, Le Havre was becoming the seaside resort for wealthy Parisians and nearby Rouen. Seeking the benefits of minerals in the seawater, they began building marine baths, similar to a pool, along the beach. The rich would require beach huts overlooking the baths.
Along the seaside boulevard, there were soon yacht clubs, casinos, and summer “cottages” for the super-rich. These additions are creating two very separate classes. The Socialist party becomes very strong.
The First World War.
One must remember the significant difference between WWI and WWII was the addition of airplanes and smarter, stronger ships. The human toll in Le Havre during the First World War was heavy, around 6,000 dead. But they did not die in Le Havre; most of them were locals who went off to war. In this war, the front was much further north and east.
The Belgium government, fleeing the Nazi occupation, sets up its headquarters in Le Havre.
The post-war period in Le Havre was not good for anyone. Pensioners lose their savings to significant inflation. Small businesses cannot recover. Factories and the port are about the only employers able to stay open. But they are doing so by a shoestring.
Shortages and high prices lead to numerous strikes, which leads to the growing labor movement.
After the war, the ports of northern Europe give Le Havre serious competition. The port stops growing. It replaces some of its lost revenue when oil refineries east of Le Havre begin exporting oil.
The “French Line”.
Compagnie Générale Transatlantique has been a player in Le Havre harbor since 1861. That was the year the French government gave them the mail contract to America and French ports in the Caribbean. It also came with a healthy annual subsidy. By 1886, they have the crossing to New York down to seven days and have the Mediterranean mail contract. By 1894, they begin transporting passengers.
In the war, they convert all of their vessels into warships, hospital vessels, or troopships. By the end of the war, a third of their fleet is underwater.
The SS France returns from being a hospital ship, then an American troopship, and begins transatlantic sailings. Although not the largest or fastest ships at sea, the “French Line” ships are the most glamourous. Big sisters SS Ile de France, (1927) and the S.S. Normandie (1935.) The government subsidy keeps the Le Havre – New York ships running, even during the American depression.
Le Havre in World War II.
Le Havre suffers greatly. In the spring of 1940, German forces occupy the town and port. Many locals flee their homes.
They start preparing the harbor for the naval invasion of the United Kingdom, Operation Sealion.
They build the Festung Le Havre, a line of pillboxes, bunkers, and batteries extending towards the Atlantic Wall.
Daily life in Le Havre becomes unbearable with shortages, censorship, and the German anti-Semitism. On top of this, British bombers are attacking as this is a German target, not a French town. The Le Havre resistance will play a significant role in supplying the British with intelligence and sabotage against the Germans.
By the end of the war, bombings by the Allies will number 132. Tremendous destruction occurs in September 1944 when the British Royal Air Force flattens most of the commercial area. At the same time, British and Canadian forces approach by land. The idea is to seize the port from the Nazis as one of four major supply ports for the Allies.
As they pull out, the Nazis destroy the port infrastructure and sink ships, making navigation impossible.
The Le Havre tally from WWII is numbing.
5,000 dead,
75,000 to 80,000 suffering injuries,
Bombing destroys more than 12,500 buildings.
We Can Rebuild It.
Using much of the rubble as a landfill, they begin with a blank slate.
Using classicism as the influence on style, they build the new town of concrete on a grid. Three boulevards form almost a triangle around it.
UNESCO gives the new city World Heritage status.
Le Havre Today.
The port remains one of the largest employers in the city. Petrochemicals are also large employers.
The good news, the city has been diversifying the work sectors, and there are many more today.
Tourism is not its most prominent industry, but there is plenty to see and do. Le Havre is a great place to base yourself.
What is in Le Havre for me?
See & Hear.
Visitors can stroll the wide rocky beach admiring the skyline and listening to the waves.
Another option is to sit in a square, listening to life happening all around you.
Taste & Smell.
Le Havre is in Normandy. There are incredible dishes and local products to smell and taste.
Feel.
Sip a glass of Calvados from the nearby apple orchards. Or some local cider with a piece of Camembert.
Watch the shadows growing longer across the hillside or the English Channel.
You are contemplating your day of nearby castles, local camembert, and William the Conqueror.
There may be better ways to end your afternoon, but this one doesn’t suck.
Should-see in Le Havre.
If there was nothing remaining after WWII, why go to Le Havre at all?
Yes, a lot of the pre-1942 buildings are missing, but not all.
However, they have the technology, and they rebuild. Between 1945 to 1964, the locals create a new city with a modular grid. They do this by pushing the use of prefabrication and concrete to new levels.
The UNESCO site: Le Havre from the City Hall. Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret, validates their success.
The site begins at the Porte Océane near the seafront, where the Boulevard François 1er meets the grand Avenue Foch. The avenue stretches east from the sea to the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville. The boulevard angles off to the southeast at a 45° angle from the Avenue Foch.
From the Place de l’Hôtel de Ville, the Rue de Paris runs directly south, making up the third (east) side of the triangle. It meets the Boulevard François 1er at the Port Center.
The Triangle.
Start where Avenue Foch meets the English Channel. With your back to the water, look up Avenue Foch to the east. Two apartment buildings frame the avenue near where a port gate once stood.
Every building you can see should be a cement tan with white trim. These are all part of the new city. As you walk along the tree-lined avenue, notice the buildings are not identical. Although from the same style, they are of different heights, lengths, and shapes to avoid the cookie-cutter look.
Square Saint-Roch – will be on your left a few blocks up. Part of the new city design was green space. At the time of construction, Le Havre became one of the greenest cities in France.
Place de l’Hôtel de Ville – This is the town hall square and the “center” for much of Le Havre. The garden, to the right (south), was part of the original design. However, excavations for an underground parking garage (1990) and the tramway (2012) change today’s appearance.
City Hall of Le Havre – sits approximately on the site of the previous city hall. It consists of two parts, including a tower holding the administrative offices. The lower, wider section hosts receptions and other public events.
Do not mention the 1987 addition on the north side to a local.
Walking South on Rue de Paris.
Le Volcan and Bibliothèque Oscar Niemeyer – are an arts center and public library by architect Oscar Niemeyer. The original buildings date from the 1970s.
Muséum d’Histoire Naturelle (Natural History) – has a collection dating from 1837. The objects in the collection date hundreds of years earlier. The building, one block east of Rue de Paris, is one of the few in this area to survive. The permanent collection will probably appeal more to younger people. The second floor is only accessible by stairs, and as of 2016, all labels were only in French.
Detour.
Hotel Dubocage Bléville – on an island just east of the Natural History Museum is a maritime museum. In the home of Michel Dubocage, a navigator, pirate, and merchant, the collection includes models, prints, plans, paintings, and more. The house is delightful, and it provides for the history of Le Havre and its port.
The Muséee Maison de l’Armatur – on the same island, does not look like much from the outside. Don’t let that fool you. This house of a shipowner takes you into 18th century Le Havre. The home, by itself, is impressive. Also, it is an art and history museum.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame – is a block south of the natural history museum fronting on Rue de Paris. Previously a parish church dating from the 16th century, it is the oldest building in central Le Havre. The belltower dates from circa 1520, and the church organs date to 1637. They are a gift from the town governor at that time, Cardinal de Richelieu.
Le Havre Port Area.
Esplanade Nelson Mandela – is at the end of Rue de Paris. Here, a large grassy area takes up the place where 1831 Fort Montlus once stood. From here, you can see across to the Terminal Croisière (cruise terminal.)
Here is the location of Catène de Conteneurs de Vincent Ganivet. This art installation using shipping containers is a nod to the commercial port.
Port Center – Haropa Place – is a welcome center for the port. Here you can learn more information on the workings of the port or arrange a tour of the port areas. Unfortunately, the tours and websites are only in French.
Museum of Modern Art André Malraux (MUMA) – is a block west of the Port Center on the Chaussée John Kennedy. The collection, dating from 1845, lost most of its statuary in the bombing. Thanks to hiding them off property, more than 1500 paintings survive. This move is essential as the museum has the second most important collection of French Impressionist paintings in France.
In 1845, the Monet family would move from Paris to Le Havre with their five-year-old son Claude. The father’s idea is for his son to go into the family’s ship-chandling business. Claude has other ideas and is soon selling his charcoal drawings. When he can, he moves to Paris to be part of the art scene. Returning to Le Havre circa 1872, Monet creates a series of port paintings in his developing style using light. Two years later, he will present one of these paintings, Impression, Sunrise, at a show in Paris. Many give this painting credit for the name of the new artistic style, Impressionism.
Walking North on Boulevard François 1er.
Église Saint-Joseph – with its cement spire reaching 350 feet in the air, is the beacon of the new city. It is also a memorial to the more than 5000 civilians lost in the war. They hand blow the stained glass for the windows.
Les Halles Centrales – is a block east of Saint Joseph’s. This central market is perfect for enjoying a progressive lunch.
North of the Triangle
Quartier Saint-Vincent.
Another area heavily hit during the bombings, but this is not part of the cement city. Many of the facades are of red brick, but there is little symmetry. The area is a culinary destination, as there is a wide range of restaurants throughout the neighborhood. Along the waterfront are several restaurants, many offering various takes on seafood.
Villa Maritime – is one of the few beach “cottages” surviving from circa 1890. The structure will become a museum and later a restaurant. Unfortunately, it has been sitting empty since 2016. The address is 66 Boulevard Albert 1er, across from the beach.
Château des Gadelles – is another circa 1894 cottage. Behind and up the hill from Villa Maritime, it is currently not open to the public.
Both houses had German artillery “nests” due to their view of the coast.
Les Jardins Suspendus – sits in the former 1844 Fort of Sainte-Adresse at the top of the hill. Here, more than 3000 species of plants grow in gardens and greenhouses. You can also tour the remains of the fort.
Chapelle Notre-Dame des Flots – is a charming 1859 church sitting near the cliff of Sainte-Adresse, just north of town. The small church holds no more than 50 parishioners at a time, but it has a grand feel.
East of the Triangle.
Abbey Museum Graville – another ten minutes east, this site sits on the ground of that original 9th-century abbey. The present-day buildings date to the 11th and 13th centuries, hence the Gothic style. The museum includes documents from the abbey’s history and an impressive collection of religious art. There are also scale models showing life in the area over hundreds of years.
Harfleur.
Eglise Saint-Martin – is another ten minutes east. This catholic church in the flamboyant Gothic style includes architecture from the 13th to 16th centuries. The spire towers over the neighborhood, and the stained-glass windows are contemporary.
Chateau d’Orcher – dates from the 1200s and sits on a cliff almost 300 feet high with Seine River views. King Henry V gifts the estate to Falstaff, for victory in the siege of nearby Harfleur. Today, the same family since 1735 owns this private property. The grounds are open to the public from April through November. In July, they offer castle tours in the afternoon.
Even Further Afield of Le Havre.
The charming village of Honfleur is across the river from Le Havre.
Caen is just over an hour’s drive by car west. Bayeux is closer to 90 minutes with traffic.
Both of these towns are excellent bases for those wishing to visit Omaha and the other D-Day landing beaches.
Caen is also an excellent base for those wishing to follow the Camembert or cider (Calvados) trails.
Rouen is just over an hour’s drive to the east.
As you can see, Le Havre makes an excellent base for this corner of France.