What is Le Havre?

Commune of Le Havre
View of the beach of Le Havre and a part of the rebuilt city
Location
Coordinates
Time Zone	CET (GMT +1)
Administration
Country	France
Arrondissement	Le Havre
Canton	Chief town of 9 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération havraise
Mayor	Antoine Rufenacht
Statistics
Altitude	0 m–105 m
Population (1999)	190,905
- Density (1999)	4,066/km
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	76351/ 76600, 76610, 76620
Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret*
UNESCO World Heritage Site
State Party	France
Type	Cultural
Criteria	ii, iv
Reference	1181
Region	Europe and North America
Inscription History
Inscription	2005  (29th Session)
* Name as inscribed on World Heritage List. † Region as classified by UNESCO.

Le Havre is a city in Normandy, northern France, on the English Channel, at the mouth of the Seine.

Population of the city (commune) at the 1999 census was 190,905 inhabitants (186,700 inhabitants as of February 2004 estimates). Population of the whole metropolitan area (aire urbaine) at the 1999 census was 296,773 inhabitants.

It was the port-of-call for French ocean liners making the Transatlantic crossing (cf Cruise ship). Le Havre is known as "La Porte Océane". It is the largest city in Normandy before Rouen. It is the largest export port in France.

Le Havre has been classified as a World Heritage Site since July 2005. The city has one university and a strong sporting heritage, with “Le HAC”, the oldest professional association football club in France.

Administration

Le Havre is a commune and a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Maritime département. Le Havre is the largest commune in both the Haute-Normandie region and the Seine-Maritime department, yet is the capital or préfecture of neither, both honors belonging to Rouen. (The only other city in metropolitan France in a similar situation is the city of Reims.) In its support, Rouen does have many more large suburbs than does Le Havre, making its metropolitan area much more populous than Le Havre's.

The current mayor of Le Havre is Antoine Rufenacht.

History

The city was founded in 1517, when it was named Franciscopolis after Francis I of France, and subsequently named Le Havre-de-Grâce ("Harbor of Grace"; hence Havre de Grace, Maryland). Le Havre simply means the harbour or the port. Its construction was ordered to replace the ancient harbours of Honfleur and Harfleur whose utility had decreased due to silting. The history of the city is inextricably linked to its harbour. In the 18th century, as trade from the West Indies was added to that of France and Europe, Le Havre began to grow. On 19 November 1793, the city changed its name to Hâvre de Marat and later Hâvre-Marat in honor of the recently deceased Jean-Paul Marat, who was seen as a martyr of the French Revolution. By early 1795, however, Marat's memory had become somewhat tarnished, and on January 13, 1795, Hâvre-Marat changed its name once more to simply Le Havre, its modern name.

During the 19th century, it became an industrial center. The city was devastated during the Battle of Normandy in World War II: 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes were totally destroyed. The center was rebuilt in modernist style by Auguste Perret. It was designated UNESCO World Heritage Sites in 2005.

Geography

Le Havre is bordered by the towns of Montivilliers, Harfleur, Gonfreville-l'Orcher. The Seine River separates Le Havre from Honfleur. To the east lies the Pont de Normandie.

Climate

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Avg high °C (°F)	6 (43)	6 (43)	8 (47)	10 (50)	13 (56)	16 (61)	18 (65)	18 (66)	17 (63)	13 (57)	9 (49)	7 (45)	12 (54)
Avg low temperature °C (°F)	3 (39)	3 (38)	5 (42)	7 (45)	10 (51)	12 (55)	15 (60)	15 (60)	13 (57)	11 (52)	7 (45)	5 (41)	9 (49)
''Source: Weatherbase

Main sights

An old house in Le Havre.

Church of St. Joseph, Le Havre.

Downtown Le Havre.

Le Havre/Seine/Honfleur.

Le Havre was heavily bombed during the Second World War. Many historic buildings were lost as a result.

Churches

• Cathedral : the first stone of the building was laid in 1536. It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Havre.
• Church of St. Joseph, one of the most recognized symbols of the city. The belltower is one of the tallest in France, rising to a height of 106 metres. It was designed by Auguste Perret.
• Church of St. Michel
• Church of St. Vincent [Eglise St. Vincent:http://catholique-lehavre.cef.fr/3_les_paroisses_du_diocese/3_23_sainte_therese_des_ponts_de_seine/3_23_1_images_sainte_therese_des_ponts_de_seine/Eglise%20St%20Vincent%20de%20St%20Vincent%20Cramesnil.JPG
• Church of St. François [Eglise St. François:http://catholique-lehavre.cef.fr/3_les_paroisses_du_diocese/3_21_saint_yves_de_la_mer/3_21_1_images_saint_yves_de_la_mer/Eglise%20St%20Fran%E7ois%20du%20Havre.JPG
• Church of St. Anne [Eglise St. Anne:http://catholique-lehavre.cef.fr/3_les_paroisses_du_diocese/3_21_saint_yves_de_la_mer/3_21_1_images_saint_yves_de_la_mer/Eglise%20Ste%20Anne%20du%20Havre.JP
• Church of St. Marie
• St. Michel d'Ingouville chapel (15th century) [St. Michel Chapel:http://catholique-lehavre.cef.fr/3_les_paroisses_du_diocese/3_21_saint_yves_de_la_mer/3_21_1_images_saint_yves_de_la_mer/Chapelle%20St%20Michel%20d'Ingouville%20au%20Havre.JPG
• Graville Abbey, a monastery dedicated to Sainte Honorine, set in grounds on the northern bank of the Seine River.

Museums

• Musée des Beaux-Arts André Malraux : this museum houses a collection of art spanning the past five centuries, the impressionist paintings collections are the second most extensive in France after theses of Orsay Museum in Paris. There are paintings by Claude Monet and other artists who lived and worked in Normandy. Some of the paintings are from Eugène Boudin,Eugène Delacroix, Gustave Courbet, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Georges Seurat, Raoul Dufy, Alfred Sisley. One of the museum's latest purchases is Vague, par temps d'orage by Gustave Courbet. The collection of Olivier Senn (1864-1959), given to the museum in 2004, contains more than 205 paintings.
• Musée du Vieux Havre
• Musée d'histoire naturelle (Museum of Natural History)

Others

• The Shipowner home (18th century)
• The former tribunal (18th century)
• The town Hall : the modern belfry contains offices
• The "Volcan", cultural center built by Oscar Niemeyer
• Square St. Roch
• Japanese Garden

Transport

Taxi: [1] 11 tourist tours (English and Spanish drivers speaking).

Le Havre has well developed national road, rail and air links (Octeville airport) and is two hours by train from Paris. Local transport is based primarily on an extensive bus network. The city has plans for a tram network. A ferry service to Portsmouth in the United Kingdom runs from the Terminal de la Citadelle. The service is operated by LD Lines.

Miscellaneous

Twin towns

Sister cities/Twin towns include:

• - Dalian, China
• - Pointe-Noire, Republic of the Congo
• - Saint Petersburg, Russia
• - Southampton, United Kingdom
• - Tampa, Florida, United States

Births

Le Havre was the birthplace of:

• Georges de Scudéry (1601-1667), novelist, dramatist and poet
• Madeleine de Scudéry (1607-1701), writer
• Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737-1814), writer and botanist
• Charles Alexandre Lesueur (1778-1846), naturalist, artist and explorer
• Casimir Delavigne (1793-1843), poet and dramatist
• Gabriel Monod (1844-1912), historian
• Louis Bachelier (1870-1946), mathematician
• Raoul Dufy (1877-1953), painter
• André Caplet (1878-1925), composer and conductor
• René Coty (1882-1962), French president (1954-1959)
• Arthur Honegger (1892-1955), composer, a member of Les Six
• Thomas Roberts (1893-1976), Roman Catholic archbishop
• Jean Dubuffet (1901-1985), artist
• Raymond Queneau (1903-1976), poet and novelist
• Tristan Murail (1947 - ), composer
• Jerome Soligny (1959 - ), songwriter and journalist
• Laurent Ruquier (1963 - ), journalist

External links

• Official website (English/French/German/Spanish)
• Visitor center
• Port Authority
• Businesses and craftsmen
• Le Havre on the World Heritage photos
• Pictures of Le Havre. The sultan's elephant in Le Havre on october 2006. Pictures & videos
• Pictures of Le Havre. Town, Niemeyer & Auguste Perret Architecture, portuary zone

•  • [ e] World Heritage Sites in France

Abbey Church of Saint-Savin sur Gartempe Amiens Cathedral Roman and Romanesque Monuments, Arles Papal Palace, Episcopal Ensemble and Avignon Bridge, Avignon Belfries of Belgium and France (with ) Bordeaux, Port of the Moon Bourges Cathedral Canal du Midi Gulf of Porto (Calanche of Piana • Gulf of Girolata • Scandola Reserve) Carcassonne Cathedral of Notre-Dame, Former Abbey of Saint-Remi and Palace of Tau, Reims Chartres Cathedral Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay Le Havre Loire Valley between Sully-sur-Loire and Chalonnes Lyon Mont-Saint-Michel and its Bay Fontainebleau Palace and Park Palace and Park of Versailles Paris – Banks of the Seine Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrire and Place d'Alliance, Nancy Pont du Gard Prehistoric Sites and Decorated Caves of the Vzre Valley Provins Pyrnes – Mont Perdu (with ) Routes of Santiago de Compostela Roman Theatre and its Surroundings and the "Triumphal Arch" of Orange Royal Saltworks of Arc-et-Senans Saint-milion Strasbourg – Grande le Vzelay Church and Hill