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, includingGustave Courbet,Eugène Boudin,Claude Monet andJohan Jongkind. They all met at La Ferme Saint Siméon, which is now a five-star hotel, and created the "Saint Siméon gathering", contributing to the appearance of theImpressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has abell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest wooden church in France.
The first written record of Honfleur is a reference byRichard III, Duke of Normandy, in 1025. By the middle of the 12th century, the city represented a significant transit point for goods fromRouen to England.
Located on the estuary of one of the principal rivers of France with a safe harbour and relatively rich hinterland, Honfleur profited from its strategic position from the start of theHundred Years' War. The town's defences were strengthened byCharles V in order to protect the estuary of the Seine from attacks by the English. This was supported by the nearby port ofHarfleur. However, Honfleur was taken and occupied by the English in 1357 and from 1419 to 1450. When under French control, raiding parties often set out from the port to ransack the English coasts, including partially destroying the town ofSandwich, inKent, England, in the 1450s.
At the end of the Hundred Years' War, Honfleur benefited from the boom in maritime trade until the end of the 18th century. Trade was disturbed during the wars of religion in the 16th century. The port saw the departure of a number of explorers, in particular in 1503 ofBinot Paulmierde Gonneville to the coasts ofBrazil. In 1506, local man Jean Denis departed forNewfoundland island and the mouth of theSaint Lawrence. An expedition in 1608, organised bySamuel de Champlain, founded the city ofQuebec in modern-day Canada.
After 1608, Honfleur thrived on trade with Canada, theWest Indies, the African coasts and theAzores. As a result, the town became one of the five principal ports for theslave trade in France. During this time the rapid growth of the town saw the demolition of its fortifications on the orders ofColbert.
Honfleur harbour, now, a busy tourist spot
The wars of theFrench Revolution and theFirst Empire, and in particular the continental blockade, caused the ruin of Honfleur. It only partially recovered during the 19th century with the trading of wood from northern Europe. Trade was however limited by the silting up of the entrance to the port and development of the modern port atLe Havre. The port however still functions today.
After theNormandy landings, Honfleur was liberated together by the British army – 19th Platoon of the 12th Devon's, 6th Air Landing Brigade, the Belgian army (Brigade Piron) on 25 August 1944[3] and the Canadian army without any combat.
Mentioned asHuneflet in 1025;Hunefloth in 1051-66;Hunefleth in 1082-87;Honneflo in 1198; Honnefleu in 1255;Honflue in 1246;Honeflo[u] in 1256;Honnefleu in 1588, up to the 16th century.[4][5]
Port d'Honfleur
Traditional pronunciation: [ɦɔ̃'flø] or [xɔ̃'flø]/ [xɔ̃fjø][6] with theh strongly aspirated, like in 'loch'. It is lost nowadays.
The marker-fleur, formerly-fleu which is widespread in Normandy (Cf.Barfleur,Vittefleur,Harfleur, Crémanfleur, Fiquefleur andLa Gerfleur stream), which means 'stream, river running into the sea', was still in use in the 13th century as written in a documentle fleu de Lestre, meaning "theLestre river".[7]
It could come from a word of Old Norse originflodh[5] (i.e.flóð), compare Old Englishflōd (>flood), which means 'estuary', 'branch of the sea', combined withflói 'river running into the sea' for the meaning.[8] But according to its numerous old mentions and those ofBarfleur in-fleth, it is more probably the OEflēot 'run of water',[9][6] that can be found in the English place-names in-fleet, such asAdlingfleet,Marfleet,Ousefleet, combined very often with a male's name.
The elementHon- seems to come from an Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-Scandinavian) given nameHuna[5] or the NorseHúni, variant formHúnn,[6] which is also found close to Honfleur in Honnaville, homonym of the Honneville at Saint-Georges-du-Mesnil.[6][5] Such a connection between two close place-names can be noted regularly in theNorman toponymy.[5] They are, in any case, close places: Crémanfleur / Crémanville;Barfleur (formerBarbefleu) / Barbeville,[5] etc. The-ville element is almost always combined with a personal name.
The similarity with the name of Bay ofHúnaflói in Iceland is likely a coincidence.[10]
Honfleur is in theNormandépartement ofCalvados in the traditional district ofpays d'Auge. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of theSeine, across fromLe Havre and very close to the exit of thePont de Normandie (nicknamed by the locals "Honfleur bridge"). The town is at the eastern extremity of the 40 km (25 mi) coastline called theCôte Fleurie (Flowery Coast).
Like most of northern France, Honfleur has anoceanic climate with warm summers, cool winters, rain all year round and few extremes of temperature.[11]
The population has hovered between 7,400 and 10,000 since 1793.[12][13] As of 2017[update], Honfleur had 7,425 inhabitants,[13] who are calledHonfleurais.[14]
Bell tower of the Church of Saint Catherine, Honfleur
The church is dedicated toSaint 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 theHundred Years' War.[15][16] It was built on the model of a market hall,[15] 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. 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,[15] whosevault was like the wooden vaults of modestGothic churches. This second part was more round, and did not look like a ship's hull. In the 16th century, four supplementarybays were added to both naves.[15]
The famous "Axe masters" of the naval yards of the city created this building.[15] The bays for the choir, were redone in the 19th century.[16] The church is partially covered inchestnut shingles, which are calledessentes.[15] Theneo-Norman porch was built following the model of rural Normandy churches in the 1920s.[15]
The classical organ comes from the parish church of St Vincent ofRouen,[15] and the Renaissance balcony is decorated with musicians. Stained glass from the 19th century decorates the windows of the east choir. The building lacks atransept; statues of saints, including two local ones:Saint Marcouf etSaint Thérèse of Lisieux are the unique marks of lateral chapels. There is also a painting depicting theMartyrdom of Saint Denis of the Nativity.
Église Saint-Léonard(St. Leonard's Church), with a flamboyant Gothic style façade and one bay that escaped the fire[17] set by the calvinists in 1562. The rest of the building was rebuilt in the 17th.[17] The interior is entirely painted in murals, including the visible wooden vaulting.[17]
The salt barns are two barns that remain out of three originals, one having been destroyed by fire. These two buildings contained 10,000 tonnes (11,000 tons) of salt for preserving the catch of this important fishing port. They were constructed in the 17th century, after the citizens received permission fromColbert.[17] The bulk of the salt came fromBrouage. The walls were constructed with great blocks of chalky limestone and wooden vaulting, which, being constructed by naval carpenters, evoke the hulls of vessels of the 17th century.[17]
Chapelle de Grâce (Grace Chapel) was reconstructed after the cliff collapsed. On the exterior, one can seepilgrimage carillon of 24 bells.
Le cotreSainte-Bernadette, the last crayfishing sloop which is still in shape to sail. It belongs to theLa chaloupe d'Honfleur (Honfleur Sloop) association. It was enrolled as a historic monument of France (monuments historiques) as of 18 October 1983.
Église Saint-Étienne is now the Maritime MuseumThe farmhouse of Saint-Siméon, were Impressionist painters stayed
The Eugène Boudin museum is the main museum in Honfleur.[18]Église Saint-Étienne (St. Stephen's Church) is an old parish church in Gothic style, dating in part to the 14th and 15th centuries.[17] It is the oldest church in the city. It is constructed ofchalk withflint and ofCaen stone, the city of Honfleur being located at the border of those two calcareous rock formations. The bell tower is covered with a façadeessentage of chestnut wood. Today, it has become the Maritime Museum.[17]
Honfleur’s skies and landscapes once inspired artists, includingClaude Monet andEugène Boudin. The Boudin Museum guides the visitor through art history.[19]La Forge is the house of Florence Marie, who was an artist. It also contains a garden and her art. There are different types of art including paintings, sculptures, and mosaïques. Marie's artistic eye is shown through the decorations on display at his house.[20][21]
^Jean Adigard des Gautries], "Les noms de lieux du Calvados attestés entre 911 et 1066 (suite)" inAnnales de Normandie, 1953, Volume 3, Numéro 3-1, p. 26 (online)[1]
^abcdefFrançois de Beaurepaire (préface=Michel Tamine),Les Noms de lieux du Calvados (annoté par Dominique Fournier), Paris,L'Harmattan, 2022, p. 148-149-214-215.
^abcdDominique Fournier,Dictionnaire des noms de rues et noms de lieux de Honfleur, éditions de la Lieutenance, Honfleur 2006, p. 124 – 125.
^François de Beaurepaire,Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche, éditions Picard 1986, p. 46 – 74.
^René Lepelley,Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de communes de Normandie, Presse Universitaire de Caen / éditions Charles Corlet 1993, p. 58.
^Albert Dauzat etCharles Rostaing,Dictionnaire étymologiques des noms de lieux en France, éditions Larousse 1968, p. 354.
^Renaud, Jean, 1947- (1989).Les Vikings et la Normandie. [Rennes]: Editions Ouest-France. p. 168.ISBN2737302587.OCLC21971210.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
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