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SEE LE HAVRE

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Table of Contents:
 NEW ARCHITECTURE.
OLDER ARCHITECTURE.
THE REST OF LE HAVRE.

As you will see, Le Havre has a link to water.
Le Havre sits where the Seine flows into the English Channel.

Le Havre is lucky to have any architecture from pre-WWII due to its proximity to the English coast. Somehow, Gothic cathedrals and abbeys still stand. There are a few Belle Epoche jewels remaining, and you may see a little dash of French Art Nouveau.

With the bombing in WWII and firestorms from the explosions, it is incredible the number of buildings remaining. Estimates say that 12,500 of the cities buildings did not survive WWII.

A few blocks further, and buildings hundreds of years old barely get a scratch.
The port and commercial area of Le Havre does not survive the war.

At the time, it was the majority of the city. Since that time, the city has been constantly growing, predominantly eastward, due to the English Channel and Seine River as borders.

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See Le Havre’s New Architecture.

New means something different to everyone. The Pont de Normandie dates from 1988. That’s new.

The bridge cuts the drive to Honfluer in half. That's new.
Pont de Normandie.

In the early 1980s, architect Oscar Niemeyer finishes the dream of Auguste Perret. He makes the Place Gambetta an artistic and cultural center.

It take 20 years and a new architect to finish this project.
Le Volcan and the Bibliothèque (library) are almost all curves.

 

Belgian architect Auguste Perret, at the age of 70, receives the project to build a new city in the ashes. As you will see, Le Havre earns the UNESCO World Heritage Site status.

After the war, reinforced concrete was still new to many.
Many of the buildings are multipurpose. Concrete is the connecting element in all of them.

 

By applying different details with the cement, it keeps the buildings from looking like copies.
The facades are all concrete, but they are not identical.

 

A good example of two concrete structures looking nothing alike.

The spire of the church rises over 350 feet.
A church and an office building contrast and complement each other.

 

See Le Havre's new buildings inside. The interiors are cement as well.
The interior of Église Saint-Joseph.

 

The colors from the hand-blown stained glass adds to the perception.
At different angles, it is hard to tell the walls are all cement.

 

Take a walk to See Le Havre's grand Avenue.
All the buildings along Avenue Foch are of cement.

 

You will See Le Havre structures of the new city are easy to identify.
The Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) is also part of the new city.

 

As you walk around the city, you will see Le Havre’s new ends just east of the city hall. From here, north and east, there are several sections that were not casualties of the war.

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See Le Havre’s Older Architecture.

Many great buildings, as well as Belle Epique mansions, were not so lucky. The ones remaining give you a glimpse of the stylish city Le Have was pre-war.

How surreal to have one side of the street standing, and the other missing.
The building of the sub-prefecture is one block east of the City Hall.

 

I have to think a higher power was watching out for the church.
When the dust settles, Cathédrale Notre-Dame is still standing.

 

Unfortunately, none of them are open to the public.
The 1890 Villa Maritime is one of the last grande cottages along the shore.

When you find one of the old houses or buildings, it’s like finding a quarter or a special seashell.

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See Le Havre’s Other Attractions.

The school of French Impressionism began in Le Havre. The name comes from the title of a Claude Monet canvas, Impression Sunrise, dating from 1873.

The painting is of the Le Havre harbor.

The Musée d’art moderne André Malraux – MuMa – is home to the most impressive collection of French Impressionists in France, after the Musée d’Orsay. The collection includes pieces by hometown favorite, Claude Monet.

He does many paintings in and around Le Havre.
Monet’s garden and lily pond are at his home in Giverny.
The nearby Normandy coast, fishing villages, and the medieval town of Honfleur have also been the subjects of many artists.
In the old day, location of your changing room was almost as important as the location of your house.
Private changing rooms along the beach.

 

You will See Le Havre takes its parks seriously.
Le Havre has many green spaces for relaxing.

 

The Germans would also use houses along the shore as lookouts.
German bunkers are still visible along the coast, especially near the lighthouse.

So even with a few chapters missing, the story of Le Harve is interesting. It is a great base for exploring Normandy.

Come see Le Havre.

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