Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inféri ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the

estuary An estuary is a partially enclosed coastal body of brackish water with one or more rivers or streams flowing into it, and with a free connection to the open sea. Estuaries form a transition zone between river environments and maritime environment ...

of the

river Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

on the

Channel Channel, channels, channeling, etc., may refer to: Geography * Channel (geography), in physical geography, a landform consisting of the outline (banks) of the path of a narrow body of water. Australia * Channel Country, region of outback Austral ...

southwest of the

Pays de Caux The Pays de Caux (, , literally ''Land of Caux'') is an area in Normandy occupying the greater part of the French ''département'' of Seine Maritime in Normandy. It is a chalk plateau to the north of the Seine Estuary and extending to the cliffs ...

, very close to the

Prime Meridian A prime meridian is an arbitrary meridian (a line of longitude) in a geographic coordinate system at which longitude is defined to be 0°. Together, a prime meridian and its anti-meridian (the 180th meridian in a 360°-system) form a great c ...

. Le Havre is the most populous commune of Upper Normandy, although the total population of the greater Le Havre

conurbation A conurbation is a region comprising a number of metropolises, cities, large towns, and other urban areas which through population growth and physical expansion, have merged to form one continuous urban or industrially developed area. In most ca ...

is smaller than that of

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...

. After

Reims Reims ( , , ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne. Founded by ...

, it is also the second largest

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

in France. The name ''Le Havre'' means "the harbour" or "the port". Its inhabitants are known as ''Havrais'' or ''Havraises''. The city and port were founded by

King Francis I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

in 1517. Economic development in the Early modern period was hampered by

religious wars A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, conflicts with the English, epidemics, and storms. It was from the end of the 18th century that Le Havre started growing and the port took off first with the slave trade then other international trade. After the 1944 bombings the firm of

Auguste Perret Auguste Perret (12 February 1874 – 25 February 1954) was a French architect and a pioneer of the architectural use of reinforced concrete. His major works include the Théâtre des Champs-Élysées, the first Art Deco building in Paris; the C ...

began to rebuild the city in concrete. The oil, chemical, and automotive industries were dynamic during the

Trente Glorieuses ''Les Trente Glorieuses'' (; 'The Glorious Thirty') was a thirty-year period of economic growth in France between 1945 and 1975, following the end of the Second World War. The name was first used by the French demographer Jean Fourastié, who ...

(postwar boom) but the 1970s marked the end of the golden age of

ocean liner An ocean liner is a passenger ship primarily used as a form of transportation across seas or oceans. Ocean liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes (such as for pleasure cruises or as hospital ships). Ca ...

s and the beginning of the economic crisis: the population declined, unemployment increased and remains at a high level today. Changes in years 1990–2000 were numerous. The right won the municipal elections and committed the city to the path of reconversion, seeking to develop the

service sector The tertiary sector of the economy, generally known as the service sector, is the third of the three economic sectors in the three-sector model (also known as the economic cycle). The others are the primary sector (raw materials) and the second ...

and new industries (

Aeronautics Aeronautics is the science or art involved with the study, design, and manufacturing of air flight–capable machines, and the techniques of operating aircraft and rockets within the atmosphere. The British Royal Aeronautical Society identifies ...

Wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s). The

Port 2000 The Port of Le Havre is the Port and port authority of the French city of Le Havre. It is the second-largest commercial port in France in terms of overall tonnage, and the largest container port, with three sets of terminals. It can accommodate a ...

project increased the container capacity to compete with ports of northern Europe, transformed the southern districts of the city, and ocean liners returned. Modern Le Havre remains deeply influenced by its employment and maritime traditions. Its

port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

is the second largest in France, after that of

Marseille Marseille ( , , ; also spelled in English as Marseilles; oc, Marselha ) is the prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône and capital of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region. Situated in the camargue region of southern Franc ...

, for total traffic, and the largest French

container A container is any receptacle or enclosure for holding a product used in storage, packaging, and transportation, including shipping. Things kept inside of a container are protected on several sides by being inside of its structure. The term ...

port. In 2005,

UNESCO The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international cooperation in education, arts, sciences and culture. It ...

inscribed the central city of Le Havre as a

World Heritage Site A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for h ...

because of its unique post-WWII reconstruction and architecture. The André Malraux Modern Art Museum is the second of France for the number of

impressionist paintings Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. The city has been awarded two flowers by the National Council of Towns and Villages in Bloom in the Competition of cities and villages in Bloom.

Geography

Location

Le Havre is located west of

on the shore of the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

and at the mouth of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

. Numerous roads link to Le Havre with the main access roads being the

A29 autoroute The A 29 is a major toll motorway in Normandy and Picardy, northwestern and northern France. The road is also part of European route E44. From its western interchange with the A28 autoroute until its junction with the A26 autoroute, part of the ...

from

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; pcd, Anmien, or ) is a city and commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme department in the region of Hauts-de-France. In 2021, the population of ...

and the

A13 autoroute Autoroute 13, or ''L'Autoroute de Normandie'' links Paris to Caen, Calvados. The motorway starts in Paris at the Porte d'Auteuil, a former gate of the Paris walls, and ends at Mondeville's Mondeville 2 (Porte de Paris) exchange junction on the ...

from Paris linking to the

A131 autoroute The A131 Autoroute starts at in the outskirts of Le Havre and ends near Bourneville-Sainte-Croix close to exit 26 on the A13. It is operated by the Société des Autoroutes de Paris Normandie (SAPN). Its total length is . Apart from the Pont ...

Administratively, Le Havre is a commune in the

region in the west of the department of

. The urban area of Le Havre corresponds roughly to the territory of the

Agglomeration community of Le Havre The Agglomeration community of Le Havre ( French: ''Communauté de l'agglomération havraise'') is a former ''communauté d'agglomération'', an intercommunal structure, centred on the city of Le Havre. It is located in the Seine-Maritime departm ...

(CODAH) which includes 17 communes and 250,000 people. It occupies the south-western tip of the natural region of

where it is the largest city. Le Havre is sandwiched between the coast of the

from south-west to north-west and the estuary of the Seine to the south.

Geology and terrain

Le Havre belongs to the

Paris Basin The Paris Basin is one of the major geological regions of France. It developed since the Triassic over remnant uplands of the Variscan orogeny (Hercynian orogeny). The sedimentary basin, no longer a single drainage basin, is a large sag in the cr ...

which was formed in the

Mesozoic The Mesozoic Era ( ), also called the Age of Reptiles, the Age of Conifers, and colloquially as the Age of the Dinosaurs is the second-to-last era of Earth's geological history, lasting from about , comprising the Triassic, Jurassic and Cretaceo ...

period. The Paris Basin consists of

sedimentary rocks Sedimentary rocks are types of rock that are formed by the accumulation or deposition of mineral or organic particles at Earth's surface, followed by cementation. Sedimentation is the collective name for processes that cause these particles t ...

. The commune of Le Havre consists of two areas separated by a natural cliff edge: one part in the lower part of the town to the south including the harbour, the city centre and the suburbs. It was built on former

marshland A marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous rather than woody plant species.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p Marshes can often be found at ...

and

mudflat Mudflats or mud flats, also known as tidal flats or, in Ireland, slob or slobs, are coastal wetlands that form in intertidal areas where sediments have been deposited by tides or rivers. A global analysis published in 2019 suggested that tidal fl ...

s that were drained in the 16th century.Claire Étienne-Steiner, Frédéric Saunier, ''Le Havre a port with new towns'', Paris, éditions du patrimoine, 2005, p. 21 The soil consists of several metres of

alluvium Alluvium (from Latin ''alluvius'', from ''alluere'' 'to wash against') is loose clay, silt, sand, or gravel that has been deposited by running water in a stream bed, on a floodplain, in an alluvial fan or beach, or in similar settings. Alluv ...

or silt deposited by the

. The city centre was rebuilt after the Second World War using a metre of flattened rubble as a foundation.Isabelle Letélié, ''Le Havre, unusual itineraries'', Louviers, Ysec éditions, 2010, p. 14 The upper town to the north, is part of the cauchois

plateau In geology and physical geography, a plateau (; ; ), also called a high plain or a tableland, is an area of a highland consisting of flat terrain that is raised sharply above the surrounding area on at least one side. Often one or more sides ha ...

: the neighbourhood of Dollemard is its highest point (between

above sea level Height above mean sea level is a measure of the vertical distance (height, elevation or altitude) of a location in reference to a historic mean sea level taken as a vertical datum. In geodesy, it is formalized as ''orthometric heights''. The comb ...

). The plateau is covered with a layer of

flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolin, Al2 Si2 O5( OH)4). Clays develop plasticity when wet, due to a molecular film of water surrounding the clay par ...

and a fertile

silt Silt is granular material of a size between sand and clay and composed mostly of broken grains of quartz. Silt may occur as a soil (often mixed with sand or clay) or as sediment mixed in suspension with water. Silt usually has a floury feel when ...

.J. Ragot, M. Ragot, ''Guide to Nature in the Pays de Caux'', 2005, p. 6 The bedrock consists of a large thickness of

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Chalk ...

measuring up to deep.P. Auger, G. Granier, ''The Guide to Pays de Caux'', 1993, p. 33 Because of the slope the coast is affected by the risk of landslides.''Information on Nature and scenery in the estuary of the Seine''
Carmen, Haute-Normandie, consulted on 19 July 2012

Climate

Due to its location on the coast of the Channel, the climate of Le Havre is

temperate In geography, the temperate climates of Earth occur in the middle latitudes (23.5° to 66.5° N/S of Equator), which span between the tropics and the polar regions of Earth. These zones generally have wider temperature ranges throughout t ...

oceanic Oceanic may refer to: *Of or relating to the ocean *Of or relating to Oceania **Oceanic climate **Oceanic languages **Oceanic person or people, also called "Pacific Islander(s)" Places * Oceanic, British Columbia, a settlement on Smith Island, ...

. Days without wind are rare. There are maritime influences throughout the year. According to the records of the meteorological station of the Cap de la Heve (from 1961 to 1990), the temperature drops below on 24.9 days per year and it rises above on 11.3 days per year. The average annual sunshine duration is 1,785.8 hours per year. Precipitation is distributed throughout the year, with a maximum in autumn and winter. The months of June and July are marked by some thunderstorms on average 2 days per month. One of the characteristics of the region is the high variability of the temperature, even during the day.P. Auger, G. Granier, ''The Guide to Pays de Caux'', 1993, p. 42 The prevailing winds are from the southwest sector for strong winds and north-north-east for breezes, snowstorms occur in winter, especially in January and February. Photojanvier2005CLG 002

The absolute speed record for wind at Le Havre – Cap de la Heve was recorded on 16 October 1987 at . The main natural hazards are floods, storms, and

storm surge A storm surge, storm flood, tidal surge, or storm tide is a coastal flood or tsunami-like phenomenon of rising water commonly associated with low-pressure weather systems, such as cyclones. It is measured as the rise in water level above the n ...

s. The lower town is subject to a rising

water table The water table is the upper surface of the zone of saturation. The zone of saturation is where the pores and fractures of the ground are saturated with water. It can also be simply explained as the depth below which the ground is saturated. T ...

.''Nature and Scenic information the estuary of the Seine''
Carmen, Haute-Normandie, consulted on 19 July 2012 The lack of watercourses within the commune prevents flooding from overflows. Le Havre's beach may rarely experience flooding known as "flooding from storms". These are caused by the combination of strong winds, high waves, and a large

tidal range Tidal range is the difference in height between high tide and low tide. Tides are the rise and fall of sea levels caused by gravitational forces exerted by the Moon and Sun and the rotation of Earth. Tidal range depends on time and location. ...

Environment

A study by ''Aphekom'' comparing ten large French cities showed that Le Havre is the least polluted urban commune of France. Le Havre is also the third best city in France with more than 100,000 inhabitants for air quality. A

Carbon accounting Greenhouse gas accounting or Carbon accounting is a framework of methods to measure and track how much greenhouse gas (GHG) an organization emits or takes actions to reduce. Corporations, cities and other groups use these techniques to help li ...

showed in 2009 that the municipality ejected some 32,500 tonnes of CO₂ per year. In 2011 the average annual emissions of

sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a toxic gas responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is released naturally by volcanic activ ...

by industry was between three micrograms per cubic metre in the centre of Le Havre to twelve micrograms per cubic metre in the district of Caucriauville.''Results of Measurements in 2011''
, Air Normand, consulted on 20 July 2012 The municipality has set a target to reduce emissions of CO₂ by 3% per year.''Fight against Changing Climate''
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 20 July 2012 To achieve this

solar panel A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a photo ...

s have been installed on several municipal buildings (city hall, hanging gardens). Since 2008, Le Havre has been part of the network of

Energy Cities Energy Cities is the European Association of local authorities in energy transition. It represents 1000 towns and cities in 30 countries. From 2017 to 2020, Energy Cities is under the Presidency of the City of Heidelberg (DE). Energy Cities was e ...

and, in this context, it applies the steps of

Agenda 21 Agenda 21 is a non-binding action plan of the United Nations with regard to sustainable development. It is a product of the Earth Summit (UN Conference on Environment and Development) held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action age ...

and an Environmental Approach to Urban Planning. The city has received many awards of eco-labels several times (Energy of the Future label in 2009–2011, sustainable Earth label in 2009). Since 1998, Le Havre's beach has received the Blue Flag yearly thanks to its range of facilities, which extend over 30,000m.The Beach at Le Havre has nothing new in being certified Pavillon bleu
, consulted on 20 July 2012 Le Havre has kept extensive green areas (750 hectares or 41m per inhabitant): the two largest areas are the Montgeon Forest and Rouelles Park which are both located in the upper town. The gardens of the Priory of Graville and the hanging gardens offer views of the lower city. In the city centre, Saint-Roch Square and the City Hall Gardens provide the people with urban recreation areas. Various

ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) consists of all the organisms and the physical environment with which they interact. These biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and energy flows. Energy enters the syste ...

s are represented in the Beach Gardens and the Hauser Park (caves). Finally, the Plateau of Dollemard was classified as a "Sensitive Natural Area" of the department in 2001 to protect its landscape and ecosystems on the cliff. The streets are lined with 13,000 trees of 150 different varieties.Preservation of biodiversity, ecosystems and natural environments
, consulted on 12 March 2015

Transport

For a long time Le Havre has exploited the strengths of its coastal location but also suffered from its relative isolation. This is why the accessibility of the city has been improved with the harbour highway A131 (E05) which links Le Havre to the

over

Tancarville Bridge The Tancarville Bridge (Pont de Tancarville in French) is a suspension bridge that crosses the Seine River and connects Tancarville (Seine-Maritime) and Marais-Vernier (Eure), near Le Havre. The bridge was completed in 1959 at a cost of 9 billio ...

. The city is one hour from

and one and a half-hour from

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

.Communication Network
, Le Havre Development, consulted on 20 July 2012 More recently the

(E44) has connected Le Havre to the north of France and passes over the Normandy Bridge which makes

(in the north-east) two hours away and

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,TER Ter or TER may refer to: Places * River Ter, in Essex, England * Ter (river), in Catalonia * Ter (department), a region in France * Torre (river), (Slovene: ''Ter''), a river in Italy * Ter, Ljubno, a settlement in the Municipality of Ljubno ob S ...

network was modernized with the creation of the LER line in 2001 and direct services to Fécamp in 2005. Thirteen Corail trains of the Paris–Le Havre line link

Le Havre station Le Havre station ( French: ''Gare du Havre'') is the main railway station located in Le Havre, Seine-Maritime, France. The station was opened on 22 March 1847 and is located on the Paris–Le Havre railway. The train services are operated by SNCF. ...

with Bréauté-Beuzeville, Yvetot,

and Paris Saint-Lazare station. In addition there is a

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

daily service to Le Havre: it has connected the city to

since December 2004 serving Rouen,

Mantes-la-Jolie Mantes-la-Jolie (, often informally called Mantes) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region of north-central France. It is located to the west of Paris, from the centre of the capital. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefe ...

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, Massy,

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

Avignon Avignon (, ; ; oc, Avinhon, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal or , ; la, Avenio) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Vaucluse Departments of France, department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region of So ...

Aix-en-Provence Aix-en-Provence (, , ; oc, label= Provençal, Ais de Provença in classical norm, or in Mistralian norm, ; la, Aquae Sextiae), or simply Aix ( medieval Occitan: ''Aics''), is a city and commune in southern France, about north of Marseille. ...

, and Saint Charles station in Marseille. There are also local services from Le Havre station to Rolleville and Fécamp.

Le Havre-Graville station Le Havre-Graville is a station serving the Graville-Sainte-Honorine quarter of the city of Le Havre. Services are mainly regional rail. It is situated on the Paris–Le Havre railway and the Lézarde Express Régionale line to Rolleville. It is ...

in the eastern part of the city is served by trains to Rolleville. No direct rail link connects Le Havre and

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Green Bus). There is a Gray Coach to Étretat and Fécamp and there is VTNI for destinations in the Seine valley and Rouen who provide inter-urban services on behalf of the Department of

. Finally, the company AirPlus provides a shuttle service to the railway stations and airports of Paris. Ferry Le Havre 2007

For air transport, there is Le Havre Octeville Airport which is located north of Le Havre at the town of

Octeville-sur-Mer Octeville-sur-Mer (, literally ''Octeville on Sea'') is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France and is twinned with Bourne End (Bucks) in United Kingdom since 2003 and with Furci Siculo (Sicily) in Italy since 2010. ...

and managed by CODAH. The main destination is the

Transport hub A transport hub is a place where passengers and cargo are exchanged between vehicles and/or between transport modes. Public transport hubs include railway stations, rapid transit stations, bus stops, tram stops, airports and ferry slips. F ...

. Many holiday destinations are offered each year (

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

, Balearic Islands, Portugal, Greece,

Bulgaria Bulgaria (; bg, България, Bǎlgariya), officially the Republic of Bulgaria,, ) is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern flank of the Balkans, and is bordered by Romania to the north, Serbia and North Macedon ...

, etc.) through local travel agencies that charter aircraft. There is also the Flying club Jean Maridor at the airport. The Channel maritime links with

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most dens ...

in southern England with

P&O Ferries P&O Ferries is a British shipping company that operates ferry, ferries from United Kingdom to Ireland, and to Continental Europe (France, Belgium and the Netherlands). The company was created in 2002 through mergers and acquisitions within P&O ...

ended on 30 September 2005 to be taken over by

LD Lines LD Lines was a French shipping company, with both roro freight and passenger ferry operations. It was a subsidiary of Louis Dreyfus Armateurs (LDA), which engages in building, owning, operating, and managing vessels. LD Lines operated ferry ...

who have changed the configuration. Two services to Portsmouth are provided daily from the Terminal de la Citadelle. The link to Ireland was moved to the port of

Cherbourg Cherbourg (; , , ), nrf, Chèrbourg, ) is a former commune and subprefecture located at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula in the northwestern French department of Manche. It was merged into the commune of Cherbourg-Octeville on 28 Feb ...

. Crossing times to Portsmouth vary from five hours and thirty minutes to eight hours. Popular alternative routes going to areas close to Le Havre include Newhaven to Dieppe, and

Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...

Urban transport

Alstom Citadis 302 n°010 LiA - Hôtel de Ville

The city and the metropolitan area has a dense transport network. This solves the problem of a break between the lower town and the upper town and the two parts of the city are connected by long boulevards, winding roads, many stairs, a

funicular A funicular (, , ) is a type of cable railway system that connects points along a railway track laid on a steep slope. The system is characterized by two counterbalanced carriages (also called cars or trains) permanently attached to opposite en ...

, and finally the Jenner tunnel. The CODAH transport network is called ''Lia''''Who are we?''
CODAH, consulted on 27 July 2012 and is operated by the ''Ocean Port Transport company'' (CTPO), a subsidiary of

Veolia Transport Veolia Transport (formerly Connex and CGEA Transport) was the international transport services division of the French-based multinational company Veolia until the 2011 merger that gave rise to Veolia Transdev. Veolia Transport traded under the ...

. The overhaul of the bus network in 2008 helped to ensure a better service for all the towns in the metropolitan area. The CTPO operates a bus network consisting of 19 regular urban routes and six evening routes called the "Midnight Bus". The Le Havre urban area is served by 165 vehicles and 41 regular bus routes with an average of 100,000 passengers per day. From January 2011 there has been a regular shuttle service specific to the Industrial Zone and Port of Le Havre, thus adding to the cross-estuary service of VTNI. Since 1890 the funicular has provided a link between the upper town and the lower town in four minutes with a cable car.''Mobility Guide 2011''
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 20 July 2012 Le Havre had a tramway system from 1894 until it closed in 1957. More recently a new tramway system, with 23 stations and of route,''The Key Numbers''
(French), accessed on 20 July 2012 was built, and opened on 12 December 2012. The first part of the line connects the beach to the station climbing to the upper town through a new tunnel near the Jenner tunnel then it splits into two: one link going to Mont-Gaillard, the other to Caucriauville. Finally, since 2001 Le Havre agglomeration has operated the LER, a TER line connecting the Le Havre station to

Rolleville Rolleville () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village with some light industry, by the banks ...

passing through five other

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

railway stations of the urban area. From 2005, development work for

Segregated cycle facilities Cycling infrastructure is all infrastructure cyclists are allowed to use. Bikeways include bike paths, bike lanes, cycle tracks, rail trails and, where permitted, sidewalks. Roads used by motorists are also cycling infrastructure, except wher ...

have increased including a connection to the Greenway which promises to be an important network of quality. Between 2007 and 2011, the total length of cycle paths has doubled to in total length.''Annual Report on sustainable development for the city of Le Havre 2010–2011''
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 20 July 2012 It is possible to rent bicycles through agencies of the Océane bus or from the town hall (Vel-H) which has them on hand. Finally, 140 taxis work in Le Havre and serve 25 stations.

Layout

Lower city

City rebuilt after 1945

Largely destroyed during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, the city was rebuilt according to the plans of the architect

between 1945 and 1964. Only the

City Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

and the Church of Saint Joseph (107m-high) were personally designed by Auguste Perret. In commending the reconstruction work

listed the city of Le Havre on 15 July 2005 as a

. This area of 133 hectares is one of the few inscribed contemporary sites in Europe. The architecture of the area is characterized by the use of precast concrete using a system of a modular frame of 6.24 metres and straight lines.Isabelle Letélié, ''Le Havre, unusual itineraries'', Louviers, Ysec éditions, 2010, p. 31 Another notable architectural work of the central city is that of the ''House of Culture'' built in 1982 by the Brazilian architect

Oscar Niemeyer Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho (15 December 1907 – 5 December 2012), known as Oscar Niemeyer (), was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture. Niemeyer was ...

and nicknamed "the Volcano" because of the shape of the building.Isabelle Letélié, ''Le Havre, unusual itineraries'', Louviers, Ysec éditions, 2010, p. 32 From 2012, this place was refurbished both inside and outside with fairly significant changes approved by the architect including greater openness to the outside of the plaza. The Notre Dame and Perrey neighbourhoods are mainly residential. Les Halles is one of the commercial hubs of the city. The Saint Francis neighborhood was also rebuilt beginning in 1950 but in a radically different architectural style: the buildings are brick and have pitched

slate Slate is a fine-grained, foliated, homogeneous metamorphic rock derived from an original shale-type sedimentary rock composed of clay or volcanic ash through low-grade regional metamorphism. It is the finest grained foliated metamorphic rock. ...

roofs. This is the restaurant district and the fish market.

Neighbourhoods

To the east and north of the rebuilt central city are a stretch of old neighbourhoods (Danton, Saint-Vincent, Graville, Massillon, etc.) which were spared the bombings of World War II. The buildings, usually in brick, dated to the 19th and the first half of the 20th centuries. The shops are concentrated along several major roads in the Rond-Point neighbourhood. During the 1990s and 2000s, these neighborhoods have seen major redevelopments, particularly in the context of an OPAH: improvement of habitat by rehabilitation or reconstruction, creation of public facilities, and revitalization of business.''An old centre in course of renovation''
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 20 July 2012 At the end of the 20th century and beginning of the 21st century, the area around the railway station has undergone a major transformation. As the station is the gateway to the city with the main avenues intersecting here. New buildings have sprung up (

University of Le Havre Le Havre Normandy University ( French: Université Le Havre Normandie) is a French university located in Le Havre. Along with five other schools, Le Havre Normandy University is a member of Normandy University, an association of universities and h ...

, the conservatory, headquarters of the SPB (Provident Society Bank), and of

CMA CGM CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France The name ...

, Novotel, Matmut, new CCI) some of which were designed by renowned architects. The bus station, certified ''NF'' since 2005, has been refurbished. North of the station, another construction project in place of the dilapidated island of Turgot-Magellan will be opened in 2013, including of office space and an eight-storey hotel, complete with shops on the ground-floor.

Southern districts

The southern districts of Le Havre are mainly used for industrial and port activities. There are buildings in brick from the 19th century, large developments (Chicago, Les Neiges), worker estates, SMEs, warehouses, dock and port facilities, and transport infrastructure. The southern districts have for some years experienced profound change due to European funding. It is revitalizing areas neglected by industrial and port activities by developing tertiary activities. Thus, the docks have been completely transformed into sports and entertainment complexes ( Dock Océane), a mall (Docks Vauban), and an exhibition hall (Docks Café).

Les Bains Des Docks Les Bains Des Docks (The Bath by the docks) is an Aquatic Center in the city of Le Havre, France. It was designed by award winning architectural firm Ateliers Jean Nouvel as part of an effort by Le Havre to revitalize its docks and warehouse di ...

was designed by the architect Jean Nouvel. At the end of 2012 students from Sciences-Po Europe Asia and from INSA integrated new buildings next to the ISEL (Higher Institute of logistics studies) and the future ENSM (Ecole Nationale Supérieure Maritime).''Parks and Gardens of Le Havre''
, Sciences Po and INSA, consulted on 20 July 2012 The new medical axis around the new ''Clinic des Ormeaux'' was built in the neighbourhoods where many homes are planned with the aim of promoting social mix. The ''City of the Sea and of Sustainable Development'' (Odyssey 21) will be organized around a metal tower one hundred metres high designed by Jean Nouvel: the project was suspended in 2007 but the work should finally begin in 2013.Pierre Gras, ''The time of ports. Decline and recovery of port cities (1940–2010)'', Tallandier, 2010, 298 p. p. 238 The municipality has to attract some 300,000 visitors per year.Pierre Gras, ''The time of ports. Decline and recovery of port cities (1940–2010)'', Tallandier, 2010, 298 p. p. 239

Upper town

The upper town is composed of three parts: the "coast", the suburban districts of the plateau, and large peripheral housing estates. The neighbourhoods on the "coast" (the Dead Cliff) are residential – more prosperous in the western part (Les Ormeaux, Rue Felix Faure) and more modest to the east (St. Cecilia, Aplemont). The Jenner tunnel passes under the "coast" and connects the upper town to the lower town. It is also on the coast that there are two

fortifications A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

of the city, Forts Sainte-Adresse and Tourneville, and the main cemetery (Sainte-Marie cemetery). With the demise of the military functions of the city, the forts are gradually being converted: Fort Sainte-Adresse houses the ''Hanging Gardens'' and Fort Tourneville hosted the Tetris project in 2013 – an axis of contemporary music with concert halls and rehearsal studios.''Tourneville Fort''
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 20 July 2012 To the north of the "coast" suburban districts such as Rouelles, Sainte-Cecile, la Mare au Clerc, Sanvic, Bleville, and Dollemard were developed during the first half of the 19th century. In their extension North-west between Bleville and Octeville airport a new area is being developed: "Les Hauts de Bleville". This eco-district made up of housing units to HQE standards, a Joint Development Area (ZAC), and a school should have a total of 1,000 housing units. The peripheral suburbs of the commune grew in the postwar period. These are large

housing estate A housing estate (or sometimes housing complex or housing development) is a group of homes and other buildings built together as a single development. The exact form may vary from country to country. Popular throughout the United States a ...

s in Caucriauville, Bois de Bleville, Mont-Gaillard, and Mare-rouge where a disadvantaged population is concentrated. In October 2004 the National Agency for Urban Renewal (ANRU) signed with the municipality of Havre the first agreement to finance the rehabilitation of these areas. This finance agreement provides more than 340 million euros for the housing estates in the northern districts, where about 41,000 people reside. This development extends the budget for the ''Grand Projet de Ville'' (GPV). It allows the demolition and rebuilding of more than 1,700 homes.

History

The Place Gambetta and docks, Havre, France-LCCN2001698147

When founded in 1517, the city was named ''Franciscopolis'' after

Francis I of France Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

. It was subsequently named ''Le Havre-de-Grâce'' ("Harbor of Grace"; hence

Havre de Grace, Maryland Havre de Grace (), abbreviated HdG, is a city in Harford County, Maryland, Harford County, Maryland. It is situated at the mouth of the Susquehanna River and the head of Chesapeake Bay. It is named after the port city of Le Havre, France, which ...

). Its construction was ordered to replace the ancient harbours of

Honfleur 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 Honf ...

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 The West Indies is a subregion of North America, surrounded by the North Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea that includes 13 independent island countries and 18 dependencies and other territories in three major archipelagos: the Greater A ...

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 Jean-Paul Marat (; born Mara; 24 May 1743 – 13 July 1793) was a French political theorist, physician, and scientist. A journalist and politician during the French Revolution, he was a vigorous defender of the ''sans-culottes'', a radical ...

, who was seen as a martyr of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...

. By early 1795, however, Marat's memory had become somewhat tarnished, and on 13 January 1795, Hâvre-Marat changed its name once more to simply Le Havre, its modern name. During the 19th century, it became an industrial center. At the end of World War I Le Havre played a major role as the transit port used to wind up affairs after the war. The city was devastated during the Battle of Normandy when 5,000 people were killed and 12,000 homes were totally destroyed before its capture in Operation Astonia. The center was rebuilt in a modernist style by

Toponymy

The name of the town was attested in 1489, even before it was founded by

François I Francis I (french: François Ier; frm, Francoys; 12 September 1494 – 31 March 1547) was King of France from 1515 until his death in 1547. He was the son of Charles, Count of Angoulême, and Louise of Savoy. He succeeded his first cousin once ...

in the form ''le Hable de Grace'' then ''Ville de Grace'' in 1516, two years before its official founding.François de Beaurepaire (pref. Marianne Mulon), ''The names of Communes and former parishes of Seine-Maritime'', Paris, A. et J. Picard, 1979, 180 p., , , p. 92-93 The learned and transient name of ''Franciscopolis'' in tribute to the same king, is encountered in some documents then that of ''Havre Marat'', referring to

during the

but was not imposed. However it explains why the complementary determinant ''-de-Grace'' was not restored. This qualifier undoubtedly referred to the Chapel of Notre Dame located at the site of the cathedral of the same name. The chapel faced the Chapel Notre Dame de Grace of

across the estuary. The common noun ''havre'' meaning "port" was out of use at the end of the 18th or beginning of the 19th centuries but is still preserved in the phrase '' havre de paix'' meaning "safe haven". It is generally considered a loan from Middle Dutch from the 12th century. A Germanic origin can explain the "aspiration" of the initial ''h''. New research however focuses on the fact that the term was attested very early (12th century) and in Norman texts in the forms ''Hable'', ''hafne'', ''havene'', ''havne'', and ''haule'' makes a Dutch origin unlikely. By contrast, a Scandinavian etymology is relevant given the old Scandinavian ''höfn'' (genitive ''hafnar'') or ''hafn'' meaning "natural harbour" or "haven" and the phonetic evolution of the term '' étrave'' which is assuredly of Scandinavian origin is also attested in similar forms such as ''estable'' and probably dates back to the ancient Scandinavian ''stafn''.

Heraldry

Politics and administration

Le Havre is one of two sub-prefectures of Seine-Maritime and the second largest

in France after

. It is the capital of the

Arrondissement of Le Havre The arrondissement of Le Havre is an Arrondissements of France, arrondissement of France in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy Regions of France, region. It has 149 Communes of France, communes. Its population is 3 ...

which includes 149 communes. It is also the largest member of the Le Havre Seine Métropole. Sous pref

Since 2015, the city of Le Havre is divided over six Cantons, some of which also cover neighbouring communes. For the parliamentary elections, Le Havre spans two constituencies: the

seventh Seventh is the ordinal form of the number seven. Seventh may refer to: * Seventh Amendment to the United States Constitution * A fraction (mathematics), , equal to one of seven equal parts Film and television *"The Seventh", a second-season epi ...

(former cantons I, V, VI, and VII) and the eighth (former cantons II, III, IV, VIII, IX).

Political trends and results

Several politicians have spent part of their lives in the city: Jules Lecesne (1818–1878),

Jules Siegfried Jules Siegfried (12 February 1837 – 26 September 1922) was a French politician. He served as a member of the Chamber of Deputies from 1885 to 1897, and from 1902 to 1922. Siegfried was active in the social Protestant movement, as were other ...

(1837–1922), and

Félix Faure Félix François Faure (; 30 January 1841 – 16 February 1899) was the President of France from 1895 until his death in 1899. A native of Paris, he worked as a tanner in his younger years. Faure became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for Se ...

(1841–1899) were elected as municipal councillors and MPs. A pool, a shopping centre and a street have been named after

René Coty Jules Gustave René Coty (; 20 March 188222 November 1962) was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president of the Fourth French Republic. Early life and politics René Coty was born in Le Havre and studied at th ...

from Le Havre, who served as President of the French Republic from 1954 to 1959. Christine Lagarde (born 1956) attended high schools in Le Havre before becoming Minister of the Economy and Director-General of the

International Monetary Fund The International Monetary Fund (IMF) is a major financial agency of the United Nations, and an international financial institution, headquartered in Washington, D.C., consisting of 190 countries. Its stated mission is "working to foster globa ...

in 2011. Since 23 October 2010 the

mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

has been Édouard Philippe ( UMP). He also holds the presidency of the CODAH and has held a seat in the National Assembly for the 7th district of Seine-Maritime since 2012.''Édouard Philippe''
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 24 July 2012 He succeeded

Antoine Rufenacht Antoine Rufenacht (11 May 1939 – 5 September 2020) was a French right-wing ( The Republicans) politician and former mayor of Le Havre. He took the mayoral seat from Daniel Colliard ( PCF) at the municipal election of 1995 and was reelecte ...

(UMP), who was mayor of Le Havre for fifteen years before resigning, as the head of the municipality. The city of Le Havre has long been the strongest bastion of the

Communist Party of France The French Communist Party (french: Parti communiste français, ''PCF'' ; ) is a political party in France which advocates the principles of communism. The PCF is a member of the Party of the European Left, and its MEPs sit in the European Unit ...

, who directed it from 1956 to 1995.Pierre Gras, ''The time of Ports. Declin and recovery of Port Cities (1940–2010)'', Tallandier, 2010, 298 p. (), p. 47 Overall, the inhabitants of Le Havre in the 7th electoral district (city centre and western neighbourhoods) tend to vote for the right while those of the 8th electoral district (eastern neighbourhoods) tend to choose the candidate of the left. For example, in the presidential election of 2007, the 7th electoral district voted for Nicolas Sarkozy (UMP) by 55.05% against 44.95% for Ségolène Royal (PS) while in the 8th electoral district 55.02% voted for the Socialist candidate.''Results of Legislative Elections for 2012 Seine-Maritime 7th electoral district''
L'Express, consulted on 24 July 2012
L'Express, consulted on 24 July 2012 However, the results of the 2012 presidential elections gave the PS wins in both districts with a smaller margin in the 7th (Hollande: 51.71% / Sarkozy: 48.29%) than in the 8th (Hollande 64.21% / Sarkozy: 35.79%).

Municipal administration

The number of inhabitants in Le Havre is between 150,000 and 199,999 so the number of councillors is 59 members. The

, 41 aldermen and 17 deputies form the

council A council is a group of people who come together to consult, deliberate, or make decisions. A council may function as a legislature, especially at a town, city or county/shire level, but most legislative bodies at the state/provincial or natio ...

of Le Havre elected in 2008.The Municipal Council
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 24 July 2012 It meets on average once a month at the town hall. The debates are generally public except for certain proceedings. Le Havre has experienced many territorial extensions by annexing neighbouring communes: *1852: Ingouville and parts of Graville-l'Eure and Sanvic *1919: all of Graville-Sainte-Honorine *1953: Bleville *1955: all of Sanvic *1971: part of Harfleur (a district of Caucriauville) *1973: Rouelles (with the status of associated commune, 3,184 inhabitants in 2006)

Mayors

Public institutions and services

The Le Havre Palace of Justice is located on the Boulevard de Strasbourg. With its annex, it includes a high court, a juvenile court, and a commercial court. The city also has a Labour Court and District Court. Among the legal services offered there are legal aid services and the application of penalties. Le Havre depends on the

Court of Appeal A court of appeals, also called a court of appeal, appellate court, appeal court, court of second instance or second instance court, is any court of law that is empowered to hear an appeal of a trial court or other lower tribunal. In much of t ...

of Rouen. The prison, which dates from the Second Empire, was completely destroyed in 2012. The new prison for Le Havre was completed in 2010 at

Saint-Aubin-Routot Saint-Aubin-Routot () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography It is a farming village in the Pays de Caux, situated some east of Le Havre, on the D01515 road, in the valley of the Bolbe ...

east of the Le Havre agglomeration. It has an area of 32,000 m2 on a site of 15 hectares and can accommodate 690 people. The ''Hospital Group of Havre'' is a public health facility managed by a supervisory board chaired by the

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

of Le Havre. Its main structures are Flaubert Hospital (the oldest, located downtown), the Monod Hospital (in

Montivilliers Montivilliers ( or ) is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. Geography A large light industry, light industrial and farm ...

), the Pierre Janet Hospital (psychiatry), the house for adolescents, day hospitals, and seniors' residences. It is the largest employer in the CODAH. Built in 1987, the Jacques Monod Hospital offers a full range of care in medicine, surgery, gynecology, obstetrics, pediatrics, geriatrics, mental health follow-up care, rehabilitation, reintegration, and public health. Finally, there are several private clinics that offer complete care: the private clinic of the Estuary groups together the old clinics of ''Petit Colmoulins'' and François I. The private clinic of Ormeaux is located in the neighbourhood of Eure. During the first half of the 20th century, the 129th regiment of infantry of the line was stationed at Le Havre and left an important mark on the city so a street was named after them. The 74th Infantry Regiment of commandos was present from 1963 to 1976. Finally, Le Havre is the godmother city for BPC Mistral. The ceremony was held at the City Hall on 15 November 2009, during a stopover at the Building.

National politics

For elections to the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

, Le Havre is divided between Seine-Maritime's 7th and 8th constituency. They are currently represented by Agnès Firmin-Le Bodo and

Jean-Paul Lecoq Jean-Paul Lecoq (born 13 October 1958) is a member of the National Assembly of France. He represents Seine-Maritime's 8th constituency and is a member of the French Communist Party. In the 2020 French municipal elections, Lecoq was the lead Comm ...

Twin towns and sister cities

Le Havre is twinned with: *

Dalian Dalian () is a major sub-provincial port city in Liaoning province, People's Republic of China, and is Liaoning's second largest city (after the provincial capital Shenyang) and the third-most populous city of Northeast China. Located on the ...

, China *

Magdeburg Magdeburg (; nds, label=Low Saxon, Meideborg ) is the capital and second-largest city of the German state Saxony-Anhalt. The city is situated at the Elbe river. Otto I, the first Holy Roman Emperor and founder of the Archdiocese of Magdebur ...

, Germany *

Saint Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

, Russia *

Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...

, England, United Kingdom *

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

, United States

Demographics

Le Havre experienced a population boom in the second half of the 19th century. Subsequently, the population drain of the

First World War World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

was offset by the annexation of the town of Graville (the city gained 27,215 people between 1911 and 1921). During the

the population decreased significantly (a loss of 57,149 people between 1936 and 1946) because of the exodus and bombings. After the war the commune saw its population increase until 1975. Since then population has decreased again, especially between 1975 and 1982: during these years of industrial crisis the population fell by 18,494 people. The trend continued in the 1980s although at a slower pace. The current policy of the municipality is to build new housing to attract new residents with the goal of exceeding 200,000 inhabitants, a level that was reached in the 1960s. The population of the commune of Le Havre was 191,000 inhabitants in 1999 which placed the city at 12th place among the most populated cities in France and in the first place in

. In 2018 INSEE counted 169,733 people living in the commune of Le Havre, while the

urban area An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities, t ...

of Le Havre had 234,945 inhabitants and the

metropolitan area A metropolitan area or metro is a region that consists of a densely populated urban agglomeration and its surrounding territories sharing industries, commercial areas, transport network, infrastructures and housing. A metro area usually com ...

of Le Havre had 337,086 inhabitants.Comparateur de territoire
INSEE, consulted on 16 June 2022 Between 2012 and 2017, the

birth rate The birth rate for a given period is the total number of live human births per 1,000 population divided by the length of the period in years. The number of live births is normally taken from a universal registration system for births; populati ...

was 14.3 per thousand and the

mortality rate Mortality rate, or death rate, is a measure of the number of deaths (in general, or due to a specific cause) in a particular population, scaled to the size of that population, per unit of time. Mortality rate is typically expressed in units of de ...

was 10.4 per thousand: even though the Rate of natural increase is positive it does not compensate for the clearly negative net migration rate (-0.7%).Dossier complet: Commune du Havre (76351)
INSEE, 2020, consulted on 14 August 2020 In 2017 19% of Le Havre's population was under 15 years old and 39% were under 30 years old, which was above the average for metropolitan France.Evolution and Structure of the Population 2017
INSEE 24% of men and 26% of women were over 60 years old. The most populous quarters are the city centre, Sanvic, Caucriauville, Anatole France/Danton and Côte Ouest/Ormeaux.Recensement de la population: Chiffres clés 2013 - Le Havre
, AURH In 2009 the foreign population was estimated at 8,525 persons or 4.8% of the population. 12,148 immigrants lived in Havre, or 6.8% of the urban population.Le Havre (76351 – Commune) – Immigration
INSEE, consulted on 26 July 2012 Most had North African (5060) or African (3114) origins.Le Havre (76351 – Commune) – Immigration
consulted on 26 July 2012 With the economic changes that have affected the city, the ''Professions and Socio-professional categories'' (PCS) have changed dramatically since the 1980s: between 1982 and 1999, the number of workers has declined by about a third (−10,593), their share of the active labour force was 16% in 1982 and 12.5% in 1999. The population of workers is concentrated in the southern suburbs close to the port and the industrial zone. At the same time the numbers of executives and intellectual professions increased by 24.5%, which is explained in part by the creation and development of the

. In 2017 the city had a lower proportion of managers and intellectual occupations than the national average (14.4% against 18.1%). The proportion of workers (22.5%) was higher than the national average (19.9%). Going from 16.7% to 21.7% of the labour force, the rate of unemployment has increased between 2007 and 2017, and it remains higher than in the rest of the country (13.9%). The proportion Le Havre people in short-term employment (CDD and interim work) is higher than the national average. Finally, the proportion of Le Havre people with a degree from higher education dramatically increased from 17.3% in 2007 to 23.2% in 2017 against 29.9% for entire France.

Education

Schools

Le Havre is located in the

Academy of Rouen An academy ( Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of secondary or tertiary higher learning (and generally also research or honorary membership). The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy ...

. The city operates 55

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...

s (254 classes) and 49 communal primary schools (402 classes).The Schools
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 26 July 2012 The department manages 16 colleges and the region of

manages 9 schools. The Jules Valles college in Caucriauville is classified as a ''sensitive institution'' and eleven colleges are in a priority education zone (ZEP). A ''boarding school of excellence'', the Claude Bernard college, opened in 2011. The first college in Le Havre dates to the 16th century, the high school François I was founded during the Second Empire and is the oldest in Le Havre. The philosopher

Jean-Paul Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was one of the key figures in the philosophy of existentialism (and phenomenology), a French playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and litera ...

(1905–1980) and

Raymond Aron Raymond Claude Ferdinand Aron (; 14 March 1905 – 17 October 1983) was a French philosopher, sociologist, political scientist, historian and journalist, one of France's most prominent thinkers of the 20th century. Aron is best known for his 19 ...

(1905–1983) taught there. The writer Armand Salacrou (1899–1989) studied in this institution.

Public junior high schools (''collèges'')

* Collège Claude Bernard * Collège des Acacias * Collège Descartes * Collège Eugène Varlin * Collège Gérard Philipe * Collège Guy Moquet * Collège Henri Wallon * Collège Irène Joliot-Curie * Collège Jacques Monod * Collège Jean Moulin * Collège Jules Vallès * Collège Léo Lagrange * Collège Raoul Dufy * Collège Romain Rolland * Collège Théophile Gautier * Collège Marcel Pagnol

Private junior high schools

* Collège du Sacré Cœur * Collège Saint-Joseph * Collège Les Ormeaux * Collège Montesquieu

Public sixth-form colleges/senior high schools

Lycée Claude Monet In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Lycée général et technologique Porte-Océane In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Lycee Porte Océane
Academy of Rouen website, consulted on 5 July 2010 *

Lycée François I In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

* Lycée général et technologique Robert SchumanRobert Schuman School
, Academy of Rouen website, consulted on 5 July 2010 *

Lycée Jules Siegfried In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Jules Siegfried School of Le Havre
, Academy of Rouen website, consulted on 5 July 2010

Private sixth-form colleges/senior high schools

Lycée Saint-Joseph In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Public vocational high schools

Lycée technique et professionnel Françoise de Grâce In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Lycée professionnel Jules Lecesne In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(Hotel trades and services) *

Lycée professionnel Jules Siegfried In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(Electronic and Mechanical trades) *

Lycée professionnel Antoine Laurent de Lavoisier In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(Transport and Logistics – Metallic structures – automobiles) *

Lycée professionnel Auguste Perret In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(Housing trades) *

Lycée professionnel Claude Monet In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(Accounting – Secretarial) *

Lycée professionnel Porte Océane In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

(Accounting – Secretarial) * Lycée professionnel Robert Schuman (Industry)

Private vocational high schools

Lycée professionnel Germaine Coty In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

* Lycée professionnel Saint Vincent de Paul *

Lycée professionnel Jeanne d'Arc In France, secondary education is in two stages: * ''Collèges'' () cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 15. * ''Lycées'' () provide a three-year course of further secondary education for children between ...

Special schools and higher education

In 2011 there were approximately 12,000 students in all disciplines in Le Havre. Opened in 1986, the

is recent, medium-sized and well located: the largest campus is virtually in the centre of the city near railway and

tram A tram (called a streetcar or trolley in North America) is a rail vehicle that travels on tramway tracks on public urban streets; some include segments on segregated right-of-way. The tramlines or networks operated as public transport are ...

stations.A hospitable university
, University of Le Havre, consulted on 26 July 2012 The campus includes a University Library (2006), a gym, several dining halls with student housing, a structure incorporating a theatre, an orientation service, and student associations. In 2010–2011, 6,914 students were enrolled including 5,071 undergraduates, 1,651 Masters students, and 192 postgraduate students.
Ministry of Higher Education and Research, consulted on 26 July 2012 The university also trains 317 engineering students including the Logistical Studies Higher Education Institute (ISEL). It offers 120 Diplomas of State prepared by the Faculty of Science and Technology, Faculty of International Affairs, and the Faculty of Arts and Humanities. Many courses are offered are related to the port operations, logistics, industry, and

sustainable development Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The des ...

. Twelve languages are taught and 17% of students are foreigners.International
, University of Le Havre, consulted on 26 July 2012 The University of Le Havre is also a research centre with nine laboratories. It works in partnership with other higher education institutions (

INSA Rouen The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) professional organization based in Arlington Virginia for public and private sector members of the United States Intelligence Community. History ...

, IEP, IUFM, and Normandy University). The

University Institutes of Technology The University Institutes of Technology or IUT (french: Instituts Universitaires de Technologie) are parts of the university system in France. The IUT were created in 1966. There are 108 IUTs which are attached to 80 universities including the on ...

of Le Havre occupies two main sites: one in the upper town in the Caucriauville-Rouelles district which was opened in 1967 and another in the Eure district since 2011. The IUT has a total of 1,881 students divided into ten departments preparing for the DUT. There is also a branch of the teacher training institute of Rouen (IUFM) for two courses (CAPET of technology and CRPE school teacher). In addition there is a large number of specialized higher education institutions covering a wide range of different areas. Founded in 1871, the ''École Supérieure de Commerce du Havre'', one of the oldest in France, has merged with ''Sup Europe'' and ''l'IPER'' to create the ''

Normandy Business School Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

'' in 2006. This school had over 2,800 students on its five campuses (Le Havre,

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

and

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

) in 2015. Since the 2007 school year, the Institute of Political Studies of Paris opened a Euro-Asia cycle in Le Havre. The ''National School of The Merchant Marine'' trains Officers of the First Class for the Merchant Marine: currently located at Sainte-Adresse, it will move to the ''Bassin Vauban'' in 2015 in a building that will house 1,000 students. The National Higher School of Petrol and Motors (ENSPM) is a school for specialist petroleum engineers, petrochemists, and engine makers. The ITIP (National Institute for International Transportation and Ports) prepares students for careers in the multimodal transport and port business. The (Institut national des sciences appliquées, National Institute of Applied Sciences of Rouen) (INSA) opened a branch in Le Havre in 2008 with a civil engineering and sustainable construction department. The SPI (Axis of Science for the Engineer) is expected to reopen in 2012 in a new building in the Eure district. In the arts, the Conservatory of Departmental Radiance

Arthur Honegger Arthur Honegger (; 10 March 1892 – 27 November 1955) was a Swiss composer who was born in France and lived a large part of his life in Paris. A member of Les Six, his best known work is probably ''Antigone'', composed between 1924 and 1927 to ...

is attended by 1,680 students (music, dance and drama). The ''Graduate School of Art of Le Havre'' (ESAH) offers several degrees and preparation for competition. Finally 800 people study in paramedical and social schools mostly in the IFSI (Institute of Training in Nursing) which has approximately 600 students.

Sports

The city of Le Havre has some of the oldest sports clubs in France: the ''Le Havre Rowing Society'' (1838), the ''Regatta Society of Le Havre'' (1838), and ''Le Havre Athletic Club'' (1872), doyen of French football and rugby clubs. The city also hosted the

sailing Sailing employs the wind—acting on sails, wingsails or kites—to propel a craft on the surface of the ''water'' (sailing ship, sailboat, raft, windsurfer, or kitesurfer), on ''ice'' (iceboat) or on ''land'' (land yacht) over a chosen cour ...

events for the

1900 As of March 1 ( O.S. February 17), when the Julian calendar acknowledged a leap day and the Gregorian calendar did not, the Julian calendar fell one day further behind, bringing the difference to 13 days until February 28 ( O.S. February 15), 2 ...

and

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

, respectively. Le Havre is dominated by three professional sports teams: the first is the Le Havre AC football team who played in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. A ...

for the last time in 2008–2009 and is currently in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

. Its training centre is well-reputed for having trained a number of international French players, including Vikash Dhorasoo,

Julien Faubert Julien Alex Thomas Faubert (born 1 August 1983) is a professional footballer who represented both France and Martinique internationally. He plays as a right winger or midfielder. Faubert started his footballing career in France with Cannes befor ...

Jean-Alain Boumsong Jean-Alain Boumsong Somkong (born 14 December 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a defender. He began his senior career with French club Le Havre in 1997 before joining AJ Auxerre in 2000. His performances at Auxerre ...

Lassana Diarra Lassana Diarra (born 10 March 1985) is a French former professional footballer. His predominant position was as a defensive midfielder but he could also play in a more advanced role and has played at right back, which he occasionally has done f ...

, and Steve Mandanda. The second major sports team is Saint Thomas Basketball who represent the city in

LNB Pro A The LNB Pro A, currently known for sponsorship reasons as Betclic Élite, is the top-tier men's professional basketball league in France. The competition has existed since 1921. Since 1987, the Ligue Nationale de Basket has governed the league. ...

. Thirdly the HAC women's team who play in the first division with many international players in its ranks. The team won their first major national title, the Coupe de France for women's handball in 2006. ''Le Havre Rugby athletic club'' plays in

Fédérale 3 Fédérale 3 is the seventh division of rugby union in France. The competition involves 226 clubs in 21 pools of 8, and winners can progress up into higher division of competition. The competition above Fédérale 3 is Fédérale 2 and above that, ...

(equivalent to fifth division). The Hockey Club of Le Havre played at the fourth level nationally (Division 3) for the 2008–2009 season. The team is nicknamed the "Dock's du Havre". The maritime side of the city is found in many sports: for example, the tradition of sailing is old. On 29 July 1840 the first French pleasure boat

regatta Boat racing is a sport in which boats, or other types of watercraft, race on water. Boat racing powered by oars is recorded as having occurred in ancient Egypt, and it is likely that people have engaged in races involving boats and other wate ...

was held. Today, Le Havre is known as a water sports and

Seaside resort A seaside resort is a resort town, town, village, or hotel that serves as a Resort, vacation resort and is located on a coast. Sometimes the concept includes an aspect of official accreditation based on the satisfaction of certain requirements, suc ...

. The marina can host deepwater vessels around the clock in any weather. Built in the

Interwar period In the history of the 20th century, the interwar period lasted from 11 November 1918 to 1 September 1939 (20 years, 9 months, 21 days), the end of the World War I, First World War to the beginning of the World War II, Second World War. The in ...

, it is now the largest in

with about 1,300 moorings200 Key Figures and Statistics
, Le Havre Development, consulted 2 April 2008 additional moorings were installed in the Vauban basin in 2011–2012. The ''Havraise Rowing Society'' has trained many rowers to a high level as Thierry Renault. The ''Club Nautique Le Havrais'' (CNH) is the centre of mixed swimming, synchronized swimming, and men's water polo. The ''Centre Nautique Paul Vatine'' is the fifth largest club in the country for the number of sports licenses it holds; it ranks second in the Division 1 of the Championship France for Catamaran Clubs. Several major local sportsmen began their career at Le Havre: the swimmer Hugues Duboscq was an Olympic medallist several times. In judo the French team has two members from Le Havre: Dimitri Dragin and Baptiste Leroy.

Jerome Le Banner Jerome (; la, Eusebius Sophronius Hieronymus; grc-gre, Εὐσέβιος Σωφρόνιος Ἱερώνυμος; – 30 September 420), also known as Jerome of Stridon, was a Christian priest, confessor, theologian, and historian; he is comm ...

is a professional kick-boxer at world level who participates in the

K-1 K-1 is a professional kickboxing promotion established in 1993, well known worldwide mainly for its heavyweight division fights and Grand Prix tournaments. In January 2012, K-1 Global Holdings Limited, a company registered in Hong Kong, acquired ...

championship. Finally the navigator Paul Vatine, who was lost at sea in 1999, won the Transat Jacques Vabre several times.

Facilities

The city has 99 sports facilities including 46 gymnasiums, 23 sports fields, and 5 swimming pools. The Stade Océane (Ocean Stadium), inaugurated in July 2012, replaced the

Stade Jules Deschaseaux Stade Jules Deschaseaux is a multi-purpose stadium in Le Havre, France. It is used mostly for football matches. The stadium is able to hold 16,400 people and was built in 1932. It hosted one match at the 1938 FIFA World Cup between Czechoslova ...

. With 25,000 seats, it can host football matches as well as other sporting and cultural events. Basketball and Handball matches are playued in the Dock Océane hall (3600 seats) while

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

is played at the ice hockey rink (900 seats). Of the five swimming pools in the city, two are operated by the municipality: the CNH (which has an Olympic pool for competitions) and

(which was designed by the architect Jean Nouvel). Le Havre has the largest free outdoor

skatepark A skatepark, or skate park, is a purpose-built recreational environment made for skateboarding, BMX, scootering, wheelchairs, and aggressive inline skating. A skatepark may contain half-pipes, handrails, funboxes, vert ramps, stairsets, q ...

in France with approximately 7,000 m2 allocated to the urban

Boardsport Boardsports are active outdoor sports that are played with some sort of board as the primary equipment. These sports take place on a variety of terrain, from paved flat-ground and snow-covered hills to water and air. Most boardsports are considere ...

. The port infrastructure allows for many water activities such as sailing, fishing, canoeing, and rowing. Finally, the beach is a place for kitesurfing,

windsurfing Windsurfing is a wind propelled water sport that is a combination of sailing and surfing. It is also referred to as "sailboarding" and "boardsailing", and emerged in the late 1960s from the aerospace and surf culture of California. Windsurfing ga ...

and

surfing Surfing is a surface water sport in which an individual, a surfer (or two in tandem surfing), uses a board to ride on the forward section, or face, of a moving wave of water, which usually carries the surfer towards the shore. Waves suitabl ...

Events

Le Havre has been and is still the venue of major sports events: the Tour de France has passed a dozen times by the Ocean Gate, the last stage took place here in 2015. Sailing events are often held and the Transat Jacques Vabre transatlantic race has been held every two years since 1993 linking Le Havre to Latin America. The course of the

Solitaire du Figaro The Solitaire du Figaro, previously called the Course de l'Aurore, is a solo multi-stage sailing race created in 1970 by Jean-Louis Guillemard and . The unique character of the race, the presence of great solo sailors and its being open to amateu ...

was partly in Le Havre in 2010. Since 2006, weekends of freestyle board sports have been popular (skateboarding, rollerblading, funboard, kiteboarding, skydiving etc.). Every summer roller blade events are organized in the city on Friday evening every fortnight and have great success. The first International Triathlon was held in 2012. Finally, there are several opportunities for runners with ten kilometres () in Le Havre or the strides of Montgeon.

Media

Five newspapers cover the Le Havre agglomeration: the dailies ''Le Havre libre'', ''Le Havre Presse'', ''Paris Normandie'' in its Le Havre edition in collaboration with ''Le Havre Presse'' and ''Liberté-Dimanche'' (communal Sunday edition of the previous three) are part of the Hersant group which is currently in serious financial trouble and looking for a buyer. A free weekly of information, ''Le Havre Infos'' (PubliHebdo group) has been published since 2010 every Wednesday and is available in many places in the city. Several magazines provide local information: ''LH Océanes'' (Municipal magazine) and ''Terres d'Agglo'' (Agglomeration Area magazine) to which must be added several free magazines: ''Aux Arts'' (cultural information more focused on the

Basse-Normandie Lower Normandy (french: Basse-Normandie, ; nrf, Basse-Normaundie) is a former administrative region of France. On 1 January 2016, Lower and Upper Normandy merged becoming one region called Normandy. Geography The region included three departme ...

region) ''Bazart'' (cultural events in Le Havre but now with circulation across all of Normandy), and ''HAC Magazine'' (news about HAC). Several newspapers are also available on the Internet: Infocéane, Le Havre on the Internet. A local televised edition on France 3, ''France 3 Baie de Seine'', is broadcast every evening then again on ''France 3 Haute Normandie''. ''Radio Albatros'' is a local station installed in the Sanvic du Havre district transmitting on FM frequency 88.2. ''Radio Vallée de la Lézarde'', based in

Épouville Épouville () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A light industrial and farming village in the Pays de Caux, situated some northeast of Le Havre, at the junction of the D925, D52 a ...

, ''RESONANCE'' on 98.9, and ''RCF Le Havre'' are other radio stations. It was in Le Havre radio stations that the journalist and television host

Laurent Ruquier Laurent Hugues Emmanuel Ruquier (; born 24 February 1963) is a French television presenter, radio host and comedian. He is also a lyricist, writer, columnist and impresario; he has been co-owner and general manager of Théâtre Antoine-Simone Be ...

, who was born in Le Havre in 1963, began his career. Several national and regional radio stations are relays for Le Havre: local information on ''France Bleu Haute Normandie'', local relay from 12 noon to 4pm on ''Virgin radio Normandie 101.8 FM'', local relay for Information from 6am to 9am and from 4pm to 8pm on ''NRJ Le Havre 92.5 FM''. Associations like ''LHnouslanuit'' and ''Only-Hit'' have tried to develop alternative and cultural local radio by featuring local community associations (Papa's Production, Ben Salad Prod, Asso6Sons, Agend'Havre, Pied Nu, I Love LH).

Religion

At the request of Monsigneur André Mulch, Archbishop of Rouen,

Pope Paul VI Pope Paul VI ( la, Paulus VI; it, Paolo VI; born Giovanni Battista Enrico Antonio Maria Montini, ; 26 September 18976 August 1978) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City, Vatican City State from 21 June 1963 to his ...

decided on 6 July 1974 through the papal bull ''Quae Sacrosanctum'' on the creation of the

diocese of Le Havre The Roman Catholic Diocese of Le Havre (Latin: ''Dioecesis Portus Gratiae''; French language, French: ''Diocèse du Havre'') is a diocese of the Roman Catholic Church in France. Erected in 1974, the episcopal see is Le Havre Cathedral in the ci ...

(''Portus Gratiae'' in

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

meaning "Port of Grace"). The diocese was created from part of the parishes of the

Archdiocese of Rouen The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Rouen (Latin: ''Archidioecesis Rothomagensis''; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Rouen'') is an archdiocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in France. As one of the fifteen Archbishops of ...

to the west of a line joining

Norville Norville is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village in the Pays de Caux, situated by the banks of the river Seine, some east yof Le Havre, at the junction of the D81 an ...

Sassetot-le-Mauconduit Sassetot-le-Mauconduit () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming village, by the coast of the English Channel, in the Pays de Caux, situated some northeast of Le Havre, at th ...

. Monseigneur Michel Saudreau, its first bishop, was ordained on 22 September 1974. The church of Notre Dame was promoted to Cathedral Notre Dame du Havre. Today, the commune of Le Havre is divided into eight

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

Le Havre-Sainte-Adresse
diocèse of Le Havre, consulted on 4 April 2008 and 24 places of worship (churches and chapels). The oldest chapel is Saint-Michel d'Ingouville which dates back to the 11th century. The Church of Saint Joseph du Havre, built by

, dominates the city with its spire 107m high. There are several monastic establishments (Carmel of the Transfiguration,

Franciscan The Franciscans are a group of related Mendicant orders, mendicant Christianity, Christian Catholic religious order, religious orders within the Catholic Church. Founded in 1209 by Italian Catholic friar Francis of Assisi, these orders include t ...

Monastery, Little Sisters of the Poor, etc.). The Protestant Church of Le Havre was built in the city centre in 1862. Bombed in 1941, it lost its

pediment Pediments are gables, usually of a triangular shape. Pediments are placed above the horizontal structure of the lintel, or entablature, if supported by columns. Pediments can contain an overdoor and are usually topped by hood moulds. A pedimen ...

, its

bell tower A bell tower is a tower that contains one or more bells, or that is designed to hold bells even if it has none. Such a tower commonly serves as part of a Christian church, and will contain church bells, but there are also many secular bell tower ...

, and roof. Rebuilt in 1953 by the architects Jacques Lamy and Gérard Dupasquier,C. Étienne-Steiner, ''Le Havre. City, Port, and conurbation'', Rouen, édition du patrimoine, 1999, p. 114 who worked in the Auguste Perret office, is the only building in Le Havre uniting the original architecture of the 19th century with the architecture of the Perret school. Le Havre also has seven evangelical Protestant churches: ''Salvation Army'', ''Seventh Day Adventist'', ''Apostolic Church'', ''Assembly of God'', ''Baptist Church'', ''Good News Church'', et ''Church of Le Havre'' as well as several Protestant churches of African origin. The city also has seven Muslim places of worship: the socio-cultural association of Muslims in Upper Normandy, En-Nour Mosque on Rue Paul Claudel, El Fath Mosque on rue Victor Hugo, Bellevue mosque on rue Gustavus Brindeau, and three prayer rooms located on rue Audran, Boulevard Jules Durant, and rue Lodi. The synagogue, located in the rebuilt central city, was visited by President

Jacques Chirac Jacques René Chirac (, , ; 29 November 193226 September 2019) was a French politician who served as President of France from 1995 to 2007. Chirac was previously Prime Minister of France from 1974 to 1976 and from 1986 to 1988, as well as Ma ...

in April 2002. It is the seat of the ''association consistoriale israélite du Havre'' whose president is Victor Elgressy.

Economy

General

Although well developed and diversified, the local economy relies heavily on industrial sites, international groups, and subcontracted

SME SME may refer to: Economics * Small and medium-sized enterprises * Socialist market economy, an economic system of China Organizations Music * SME Limited, UK audio turntable manufacturer * Sony Music Entertainment, US * Spontaneous Music Ensembl ...

s. The Le Havre economy is far from decision centres which are located mainly in Paris and major European economic cities. There is therefore a low representation of head offices in the city with the exception of some local economic successes such as the Sidel Group (now a subsidiary of

Tetra Pak Tetra Pak is a Swedish–Swiss multinational food packaging and processing company with head offices in Lund, Sweden, and Pully, Switzerland. The company offers packaging, filling machines and processing for dairy, beverages, cheese, ice cream ...

) – a distributor of interior furniture, and the ship-owner

Delmas Delmas may refer to: People * Antoine Guillaume Delmas (1766–1813), French revolutionary and Napoleonic general * Benjamin Delmas (born 1976), French ice dancer * Bert Delmas (Albert Charles Delmas, 1911–1979), American baseball player * Cali ...

which was recently acquired by the

CMA-CGM CMA CGM S.A. is a French container transportation and shipping company. It is the world’s 3rd largest container shipping company, using 257 shipping routes between 420 ports in 160 countries. Its headquarters are in Marseille, France The name ...

group.

Port

Fishing boats in Le Havre, bateaux de pêche

With 68.6 million tons of cargo in 2011, the port of Le Havre is the second largest French seaport in trade volume behind that of

and 50th largest port in the world. It represents 60% of total French container traffic with nearly 2.2 million Twenty-foot equivalent unit, EVP]s in 2011.Definitive Statistics 2011
Port du Havre, consulted on 27 December 2012 At the European level, it is eighth largest for container traffic and sixth largest for total traffic. The Port receives a large number of

oil tanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined crud ...

s that transported 27.5 million tonnes of crude oil and 11.7 million tonnes of refined product in 2011. Finally, 340,500 vehicles passed through the

Roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels or using ...

terminal in 2010. 75 regular shipping lines serve 500 ports around the world.The Port of Le Havre
, Le Havre développement, consulted on 30 July 2012 The largest trading partner of the port of Le Havre is the Asian continent which alone accounts for 58% of imports by container and 39.6% of exports. The rest of the traffic is distributed mainly to Europe and America. Le Havre occupies the north bank of the estuary of the

on the

. Its location is favourable for several reasons: it is on the most frequented waterway in the world; it is the first and last port in the ''North Range'' of European ports – the largest in Europe which handles a quarter of all global maritime trade.The Port today
, Grand Port Maritime du Havre, consulted on 28 July 2012 As a

deepwater port A port is a maritime facility comprising one or more wharves or loading areas, where ships load and discharge cargo and passengers. Although usually situated on a sea coast or estuary, ports can also be found far inland, such as Ham ...

, it is accessible to all types of ships whatever their size around the clock. At the national level, Le Havre is west of the most populous and richest region in France:

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

. Since its founding in 1517 on the orders of

, Le Havre has continued to grow: today it measures from east to west, about from north to south with an area of . The last big project called

increased the handling capacity for containers. The port provides 16,000 direct jobs to the Le Havre region, to which must be added indirect jobs in industry and transport. With approximately 3,000 employees in 2006, the activities of distribution and warehousing provide more jobs,Employment linked to the Maritime and Port activities in the Le Havre area (excluding industry)
, Port du Havre, consulted on 29 July 2012 followed by road transport (2,420 jobs) and handling (2,319 jobs). In 2011, 715,279 passengers passed through the port of Le Havre and there were 95 visits by

cruise ships Cruise ships are large passenger ships used mainly for vacationing. Unlike ocean liners, which are used for transport, cruise ships typically embark on round-trip voyages to various ports-of-call, where passengers may go on tours known as "s ...

carrying 185,000 passengers.Laurence Périn, ''The Cruises in vogue'', in Océanes, No. 154, March 2012, p. 6 The port expects 110 cuise ship calls in 2012. Created in 1934, the leisure boat harbour of Le Havre is located to the west and is the largest French boat harbour in the

with a capacity of 1,160 moorings. Finally, there is a small fishing port in the Saint-François district and a Hawker centre.

Industry

Most industries are located in the industrial-port area north of the estuary and east of the city of Le Havre. The largest industrial employer (2,400 employees) of the Le Havre region is the Renault public company in the commune of

Sandouville Sandouville () is a Communes of France, commune in the Seine-Maritime ''Departments of France, département'' in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region in northern France. Geography A farming and light industry, light industrial vi ...

. The second important sector for the industrial zone is

petrochemicals Petrochemicals (sometimes abbreviated as petchems) are the chemical products obtained from petroleum by refining. Some chemical compounds made from petroleum are also obtained from other fossil fuels, such as coal or natural gas, or renewable sou ...

. The Le Havre region has more than a third of French refining capacity. It provides about 50% of the production of basic plastics and 80% of additives and oilsPetrochemical Chemistry
, Le Havre développement, consulted on 30 July 2012 with more than 3,500 researchers working in private and public laboratories. Large firms in the chemical industry are mainly in the communes of Le Havre (Millenium Chemicals Le Havre),

(

TotalEnergies TotalEnergies SE is a French Multinational corporation, multinational integrated energy and List of oil exploration and production companies, petroleum company founded in 1924 and one of the seven Big Oil, supermajor oil companies. Its businesses ...

Yara Yara may refer to: People * YARA (girl group), a Filipino girl group * Yara (given name) * Yara (surname), a Japanese surname * Yara (singer) (born 1983), Lebanese pop singer * Yara (footballer) (born 1964), Brazilian footballer Locations * Y ...

, Chevron Oronite SA, Lanxess, etc.) and

( Goodyear Chemicals Europe). A total of 28 industrial establishments manufacture plastics in the Le Havre area many of which are classed as SECESO. There are several firms in the aerospace industry: SAFRAN Nacelles, a supplier to

Airbus Airbus SE (; ; ; ) is a European Multinational corporation, multinational aerospace corporation. Airbus designs, manufactures and sells civil and military aerospace manufacturer, aerospace products worldwide and manufactures aircraft througho ...

, Boeing and other commercial air-framers, making jet engine nacelles and

thrust reversers Thrust reversal, also called reverse thrust, is the temporary diversion of an aircraft engine's thrust for it to act against the forward travel of the aircraft, providing deceleration. Thrust reverser systems are featured on many jet aircraft to ...

, is located in Harfleur and employs 1,200 people from the Le Havre area.Aeronautic
, Le Havre développement, consulted on 30 July 2012 Finally, Dresser-Rand SA manufactures equipment for the oil and gas industry and employs about 700 people.Huge contract for Dresser-Rand Le Havre
L'usine nouvelle, 20 July 2007, consulted on 30 July 2012 In the energy field, the ''EDF thermal power plant'' of Le Havre has an installed capacity of 1,450MW and operates using coal with 357 employees.2011 in brief
EDF, centrale du Havre, consulted on 30 July 2012 The

AREVA Areva S.A. is a French multinational group specializing in nuclear power headquartered in Courbevoie, France. Before its 2016 corporate restructuring, Areva was majority-owned by the French state through the French Alternative Energies and Atom ...

group announced the opening of a factory for building

wind turbine A wind turbine is a device that converts the kinetic energy of wind into electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of large turbines, in installations known as wind farms, now generate over 650 gigawatts of power, with 60 GW added each year. ...

s: installed in the port of Le Havre, it should create some 1,800 jobs. The machines are designed for Offshore wind power in Brittany, the UK, and

. Other industries are dispersed throughout the Le Havre agglomeration: the ''Brûlerie du Havre'', which belongs to Legal-Legoût, located in the district of Dollemard that roasts coffee,

Sidel Sidel is a manufacturing company providing equipment and services for packaging liquids such as water; carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks; sensitive beverages such as milk, liquid dairy products, juices, tea, coffee, isotonics and beer; f ...

located both in the industrial area of Port of Le Havre and

designs and manufactures blow moulding machines and complete filling line machines for plastic bottles.

Services sector

The two largest employers in the service sector are the ''Groupe Hospitalier du Havre'' with 4,384 staffPresentation and key data
Groupe Hospitalier du Havre, consulted on 30 July 2012 and the ''City of Le Havre'' with 3,467 permanent employees.The City recruits
, Ville du Havre, consulted on 30 July 2012 The city has long been home to many service companies whose activity is related to port operations: primarily the ship-owning companies and also the marine insurance companies. The headquarters of

(transport and communications, 1,200 employees) and SPB (Provident Society Banking, insurance, 500 employees) have settled recently at the entrance to the city. The head office of Groupama Transport (300 employees) is also present. The transport sector is the largest economic sector in Le Havre with 15.5% of employment. Logistics occupies a large part of the population and the ISEL trains engineers in this field. Since September 2007 the ICC has welcomed local students in their first year in the relocated Europe-Asia campus of the Institute of Political Studies of Paris. Higher Education is represented by the

which employs 399 permanent professors and 850 lecturersUniversity of Le Havre data
, Université du Havre, consulted on 26 July 2012 as well as by engineering companies like Auxitec and SERO. There are many growth factors in the tourist industry: blue flag rating, World Heritage status from UNESCO, the label ''

French Towns and Lands of Art and History Since 1985, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication has pursued a policy of preserving and promoting France's heritage. Historic towns and districts have been designated ''Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire'' ("Towns and Lands of Art and H ...

'', cruise ship development, a policy of value-creation from heritage, and the ''City of the Sea'' project. In January 2020 the city had 26 hotels with a total of 1,428 rooms. Le Havre is the seat of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Le Havre. It manages the Le Havre Octeville Airport.

Culture

Events and festivals

Le Havre's festival calendar is punctuated by a wide range of events. In spring a ''Children's Book Festival'' was recently created. In May there is the ''Fest Yves'', a Breton festival in the Saint-François district. On the beach of Le Havre and Sainte-Adresse there is a

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a major ...

festival called ''Dixie Days'' in June. In July,

detective novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as specu ...

are featured in the Polar room at the Beach hosted by ''The Black Anchors''. Between the latter also in the context of ''Z'Estivales'' is an event offering many shows of

street art Street art is visual art created in public locations for public visibility. It has been associated with the terms "independent art", "post-graffiti", "neo-graffiti" and guerrilla art. Street art has evolved from the early forms of defiant graff ...

throughout the summer supplemented by the festival of world music ''MoZaïques'' at the fort of Sainte-Adresse in August since 2010. In mid-August there is a

Flower parade A flower parade is a parade in which the floats, vehicles, boats, participants, animals and other things are decorated or covered in flowers. Often there are other elements like marching bands and people in costumes. Flower parades are held in ...

which passes through the streets of the central city. In the first weekend of September the marine element is highlighted in the ''Festival of the Sea''. This is a race between Le Havre and

Bahia Bahia ( , , ; meaning "bay") is one of the 26 Federative units of Brazil, states of Brazil, located in the Northeast Region, Brazil, Northeast Region of the country. It is the fourth-largest Brazilian state by population (after São Paulo (sta ...

in Brazil. Also every November there is a fair held in the Docks Café. The Autumn Festival in Normandy, organized by the departments of

and

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

, runs from September to November and offers numerous concerts throughout the region as well as theatre performances and dance. In late October, since 2009, there is rock music festival which has been at the fort of Tourneville since the moving of the ''Papa's Production'' association site there. The West Park Festival, after its inauguration in 2004, has been held in the park of the town hall of Harfleur. Since 1 June 2006 a ''Biennale of contemporary Art'' has been organized by the group ''Partouche''.

Cultural heritage and architecture

Abbaye de Graville ensoleillée (Le Havre, France)

Many buildings in the city are classified as "historical monuments", but the 2000s marked the real recognition of Le Havre's architectural heritage. The city received the label "City of Art and History" in 2001, then in 2005

inscribed the city of Le Havre as a

. The oldest building still standing in Le Havre is the Graville Abbey. The other medieval building in the city is the Chapel of Saint-Michel of Ingouville. Because of the bombing in 1944, heritage from the

modern era The term modern period or modern era (sometimes also called modern history or modern times) is the period of history that succeeds the Middle Ages (which ended approximately 1500 AD). This terminology is a historical periodization that is applie ...

is rare: ''

Le Havre Cathedral Le Havre Cathedral (french: Cathédrale Notre-Dame du Havre) is a Roman Catholic church architecture, church in Le Havre, France. The cathedral was previously a parish church dating from the 16th and 17th centuries, and is the oldest of the very ...

'', the ''Church of Saint Francis'', the ''Museum of the Hotel Dubocage of Bleville'', the ''House of the ship-owner'' and the old palace of justice (now the ''Natural History Museum'') are concentrated in the Notre-Dame and Saint-François areas. The buildings of the 19th century testify to the maritime and military vocations of the city: the ''Hanging Gardens'', the ''Fort of Tourneville'', ''Vauban docks'', and the ''Maritime Villa''. The heritage of the 1950s and 1960s which were the work of the

workshop forms the most coherent architecture: the ''Church of Saint Francis'' and the Town Hall are the centrepieces. The all curved architecture of the ''"Volcano"'', designed by

, contrasts with that of the rebuilt centre. Finally, the reconstruction of many districts is a showcase for the architecture of the 21st century. Among the achievements by renowned architects are the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (René and Phine Weeke Dottelond),

( Jean Nouvel). °

Churches

: the first stone of the building was laid in 1536. It is the seat of the Bishop of Le Havre. * Church of Saint Joseph, one of the most recognized symbols of the city. The belltower is one of the tallest in France, rising to a height of 107 metres. It was designed by

. * Church of Saint Michel * Church of Saint Vincent * Church of Saint François * Church of St. Anne * Church of Saint Marie * Chapel of Saint Michel d'Ingouville (15th century) * Graville Abbey, a monastery dedicated to Sainte Honorine, set in grounds on the northern bank of the Seine River. *Presbyterian Reform Church (Église Réformée), 47 rue Anatole France, built in 1857, bombed in 1941, the roof and ceiling were rebuilt in 1953 by two architects from the famous

office: Jacques Lamy and Gérard Dupasquier, The only building in town offering both ancient and the new Perret school of architecture in the same building. Holy Office each Sunday morning at 10.30.

Museums

Five Museums in Le Havre have the distinction of being classified as ''Musées de France'' (Museums of France) an official label granted only to museums of a high status. The five museums are:

Museum of modern art André Malraux – MuMa

The most important of the five, Museum Malraux was built in 1955 by the

Atelier LWD Atelier LWD was an architecture studio led by Guy Lagneau, Jean Dimitrijevic and Michel Weill that was active from 1952 to 1985. It later took the name of "Atelier d'Etudes Architecturales" (ATEA) (Architectural Studies Workshop) with the additio ...

and was opened in 1961 by André Malraux. This museum houses a collection of art from the late

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

until the 20th century. The impressionist paintings collections are the second most extensive in France after those of the

Orsay Museum Orsay () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. A fortified location of the Chevreuse valley since the 8th century ...

in Paris. The museum houses some paintings of

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

Auguste Renoir Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that " ...

, Raoul Dufy,

Edgar Degas Edgar Degas (, ; born Hilaire-Germain-Edgar De Gas, ; 19 July 183427 September 1917) was a French Impressionist artist famous for his pastel drawings and oil paintings. Degas also produced bronze sculptures, prints and drawings. Degas is es ...

Musée du Vieux Havre (Museum of old Le Havre)

A Museum dedicated to the history of Le Havre with many objects from the

Ancien Régime ''Ancien'' may refer to * the French word for "ancient, old" ** Société des anciens textes français * the French for "former, senior" ** Virelai ancien ** Ancien Régime ** Ancien Régime in France {{disambig ...

and the 19th century: furniture, old maps, statues, and paintings.

Musée d'histoire naturelle (Museum of Natural History)

Founded in 1881 but heavily damaged during World War II, the Museum of Natural History is housed in Le Havre's former law courts, built in the mid-18th century; the façade and monumental staircase are listed as historical monuments. The museum houses mineralogy, zoology, ornithology, palaeontology and prehistory departments as well as 8,000 early 19th-century paintings from the collection of local naturalist and traveller Charles-Alexandre Lesueur (1778–1846). The museum was destroyed during Allied bombings on 5 September 1944. The library was lost, along with its collections of photographs, scientific instruments and archives. The mineral and geological collections were all destroyed, including a rare collection of local mineral specimens of

. The destruction of the museum was so intense, that all the catalogues, lists of donations, lists of purchases and other archives prevented even a precise inventory of all that was lost."

The Shipowner's house

From the 18th century; like the Museum of Old Havre it is dedicated to the History of Le Havre and contains many relics from the

as well as furniture, old maps, statues, and paintings.

Museum of the Priory of Graville

The Museum at the Priory of Graville displays many items of religious art including statues, madonnas, and other religious objects many of which are classified by the Ministry of Culture. It also houses the Gosselin collection of 206 model houses created by Jules Gosselin in the 19th century.

Others

Other less important museums reflect the history of Le Havre and its maritime vocation. The ''apartment-control'' (Apartement-Temoine) was a standard apartment designed by in 1947–1950 and shows a place of daily life in the 1950s. The maritime museum displays objects related to the sea and the port. Finally, there are numerous exhibitions in the city such as the ''SPOT'', a centre for

contemporary art Contemporary art is the art of today, produced in the second half of the 20th century or in the 21st century. Contemporary artists work in a globally influenced, culturally diverse, and technologically advancing world. Their art is a dynamic com ...

, art galleries, and ''Le Portique'' – a contemporary art space opened in 2008; the municipal library of Le Havre regularly organizes exhibitions. Garden Saint-Roch in Le Havre (France), April 2012

Garden Saint-Roch in Le Havre (France), April 2012

Other attractions include: * The former tribunal (18th century) * The Town Hall: the modern belfry which now contains offices * The "Volcan" cultural centre built by

* Square St. Roch * Japanese Garden

Theatres, auditoriums and concerts

There are two main cultural axes in Le Havre: the central city and the Eure district. The ''Espace Oscar Niemeyer'' consists of a part of the "Great Volcano", a national theatre seating 1,093The Gallery
Le Volcan, consulted on 27 July 2012 (which houses the ''National Choreographic Centre'' of Le Havre Haute-Normandie directed by Hervé Robbe) and secondly the "Little Volcano" with a 250-seat multi-purpose hall for live performances. The whole ''Espace Oscar Niemeyer'' has been worked on since 2011: the ''little volcano'' will be transformed into a multimedia library. As for the performances at the ''Great Volcano'', they are now taking place in the old ferry terminal until the end of construction. Other cultural institutions of the city centre are being transformed: the cinema of art and a trial of ''Le Sirius'' facing the university will reopen in 2013. ''Le Tetris'' at the fort of Tourneville will, in 2013, be a place devoted to contemporary music. Other cultural venues are scattered in the city centre: the cinema ''Le Studio'', the theatre of the City Hall (700 seats), the ''Little Theatre'' (450 seats), the ''Théâtre des Bains Douches'' (94 seats), ''Akté theatre'' (60 seats), and the ''Poulailler'' (Henhouse)) (associative theatre with 50 seats) host numerous shows each year. The National Choreographic Centre of Le Havre Haute-Normandie specialises in the creation and production of dance shows. Other shows and performances are given in other places and at the Conservatory Arthur Honegger. The second cultural centre of the city is in the Eure district near the Basin Vauban. Docks Océane is a multi-purpose hall (concerts, shows, and sporting events) which can accommodate up to 4,700 spectators in .Welcome to the Docks
, Les Docks, consulted on 2 April 2008 The largest cinema in Le Havre is located on the Docks Vauban (2,430 seats). The Docks Café is an exhibition centre of used for shows, fairs, and exhibitions. The ''Magic Mirrors'' offers many concerts managed by the city and leased to private organizers. Following the closure of ''Cabaret Electric'' which was located in the ''Espace Oscar Niemeyer'' in 2011 a new auditorium, ''Le Tetris'', is under construction at the Fort of Tourneville. It was scheduled to open in September 2013 with a large festival free-of-charge. It will consist of two halls with 800 and 200 seats, exhibition space, housing for artists in residence, a restaurant etc. ''Le Tetris'' will be a venue for contemporary music as well as theatre, dance, and visual arts. An "expectation" outside the walls was held on the site of the fort during 2012 and early 2013.

Libraries and archives

The main library is located in the city centre, named after the writer Armand Salacrou. It has branches in all districts. A new multimedia library at the "Volcano" is being refurbished for 2014. Thousands of references are available in specialized libraries in the Higher School of Art, the Museum of André Malraux, and the Natural History Museum. Medieval manuscripts and

Incunable In the history of printing, an incunable or incunabulum (plural incunables or incunabula, respectively), is a book, pamphlet, or broadside that was printed in the earliest stages of printing in Europe, up to the year 1500. Incunabula were pr ...

s are conserved at the public library. The archives of the city, at the Fort of Tourneville, possesses documents from the 16th to the 20th centuries.Educational services in the cultural establishments of the Academy of Rouen
, Academy of Rouen, consulted on 2 April 2008

Representations in visual arts

The Port of Le Havre and the light on the estuary of the Seine inspired many painters:

Louis-Philippe Crepin Louis Philippe (6 October 1773 – 26 August 1850) was King of the French from 1830 to 1848, and the penultimate monarch of France. As Louis Philippe, Duke of Chartres, he distinguished himself commanding troops during the Revolutionary War ...

(1772–1851),

Jean-Baptiste Corot Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast o ...

(1796–1875),

Eugène Isabey Eugène Louis Gabriel Isabey (22 July 1803, in Paris – 25 April 1886, in Montévrain) was a French painter, lithographer and watercolorist in the Romantic style. Biography He was born to Jean-Baptiste Isabey, a well known painter who ...

(1803–1886),

Theodore Gudin Theodore may refer to: Places * Theodore, Alabama, United States * Theodore, Australian Capital Territory * Theodore, Queensland, a town in the Shire of Banana, Australia * Theodore, Saskatchewan, Canada * Theodore Reservoir, a lake in Saskatche ...

(1802–1880), Adolphe-Felix Cals (1810–1880), Jean-François Millet (1814–1875) in 1845,Alfred Sensier, ''The Life and works of J.-F Millet'', A. Quantin, 1881.

Gustave Courbet Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet ( , , ; 10 June 1819 – 31 December 1877) was a French painter who led the Realism movement in 19th-century French painting. Committed to painting only what he could see, he rejected academic convention and t ...

(1819–1877) etc.. It is to Eugène Boudin (1824–1898) who created many representations of Le Havre in the 19th century. The artist lived for a time in the city. Thanks to its proximity to

, Le Havre was also represented by foreign artists such as William Turner,

Johan Barthold Jongkind Johan Barthold Jongkind (3 June 1819 – 9 February 1891) was a Dutch painter and printmaker. He painted marine landscapes in a free manner and is regarded as a forerunner of Impressionism. Biography Jongkind was born in the town of Lattro ...

, Alfred Stevens, and

Richard Parkes Bonington Richard Parkes Bonington (25 October 1802 – 23 September 1828) was an English Romantic landscape painter, who moved to France at the age of 14 and can also be considered as a French artist, and an intermediary bringing aspects of English sty ...

(1840–1926), a resident of Le Havre from the age of five, in 1872 painted ''Impression soleil levant'' (

Impression, Sunrise ''Impression, Sunrise'' ( French: ''Impression, soleil levant'') is an 1872 painting by Claude Monet first shown at what would become known as the "Exhibition of the Impressionists" in Paris in April, 1874. The painting is credited with inspiring ...

), a painting that gave its name to the

impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

movement. In 1867–1868, he painted many seascapes in the Le Havre region (''Terrasse à Sainte-Adresse'' (

Garden at Sainte-Adresse The ''Garden at Sainte-Adresse'' is a painting by the French impressionist painter Claude Monet. (Oil on canvas, ). The painting was acquired by the Metropolitan Museum of Art after an auction sale at Christie's in December 1967, under the Frenc ...

), 1867 ''Bateaux quittant le port'' (Boats Leaving the Port), 1874). The Musée Malraux houses some of his paintings : Waterlilies, London Parliament et Winter Sun at Lavacourt. Two other Impressionists,

Camille Pissarro Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...

(1830–1903) and

Maxime Maufra Maxime Maufra (17 May 1861 – 23 May 1918) was a French landscape and marine painter, etcher and lithographer. Life Maufra first began painting at 18. He was encouraged to do so by two artists from Nantes such as the brothers Charles Ledu ...

(1861–1918) also represented the port of Le Havre which also inspired Paul Signac (1863–1935),

Albert Marquet Albert Marquet (27 March 1875 – 14 June 1947) was a French painter, associated with the Fauvist movement. He initially became one of the Fauve painters and a lifelong friend of Henri Matisse. Marquet subsequently painted in a more naturali ...

(1875–1947), and Maurice de Vlaminck (1876–1958). Then came the school of

Fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

in which many artists did their training at Le Havre: Othon Friesz (1879–1949), Henri de Saint-Delis (1876–1958), Raoul Dufy (1877–1953),

Georges Braque Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...

(1882–1963), Raymond Lecourt (1882–1946), Albert Copieux (1885–1956), who followed the course of the ''School of Fine Arts of Le Havre'' in the time of Charles Lhuillier. They left a number of paintings on the theme of the city and the port. In 1899,

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec Comte Henri Marie Raymond de Toulouse-Lautrec-Monfa (24 November 1864 – 9 September 1901) was a French painter, printmaker, draughtsman, caricaturist and illustrator whose immersion in the colourful and theatrical life of Paris in the ...

(1864–1901) painted ''La serveuse anglaise du Star'' (The English waitress of Star) (Museum Toulouse-Lautrec, Albi) of a girl he met in a bar in the city. Other painters who painted Le Havre and/or its surroundings such as Sainte-Adresse can be cited in particular:

Frédéric Bazille Jean Frédéric Bazille (December 6, 1841 – November 28, 1870) was a French Impressionist painter. Many of Bazille's major works are examples of figure painting in which he placed the subject figure within a landscape painted ''en plein air''. ...

, John Gendall,

Thomas Couture Thomas Couture (21 December 1815 – 30 March 1879) was a French history painter and teacher. He taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge,Wilkinson, Burke. ''The Life and Works of A ...

, Ambroise Louis Garneray,

Pablo Picasso Pablo Ruiz Picasso (25 October 1881 – 8 April 1973) was a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and Scenic design, theatre designer who spent most of his adult life in France. One of the most influential artists of the 20th ce ...

(''Souvenir du Havre'').

Jean Dubuffet Jean Philippe Arthur Dubuffet (31 July 1901 – 12 May 1985) was a French Painting, painter and sculpture, sculptor. His idealistic approach to aesthetics embraced so-called "low art" and eschewed traditional standards of beauty in favor of what ...

studied at the School of Art in Le Havre.

Cinema

With nearly 70 films, Le Havre is one of the provincial cities most represented in the cinema.The making of films in Le Havre
Ville du Havre, consulted on 1 April 2008 Several directors have chosen the port facilities as part of their movie: *'' L'Atalante'' by

Jean Vigo Jean Vigo (; 26 April 1905 – 5 October 1934) was a French film director who helped establish poetic realism in film in the 1930s. His work influenced French New Wave cinema of the late 1950s and early 1960s. Biography Vigo was born to Emil ...

(1934) *''

Le Quai des brumes ''Port of Shadows'' (french: Le Quai des brumes , "The dock of mists") is a 1938 French film directed by Marcel Carné. An example of poetic realism, it stars Jean Gabin, Michel Simon and Michèle Morgan. The screenplay was written by Jacques Pr ...

'' by

Marcel Carné Marcel Albert Carné (; 18 August 1906 – 31 October 1996) was a French film director. A key figure in the poetic realism movement, Carné's best known films include '' Port of Shadows'' (1938), ''Le Jour Se Lève'' (1939), '' The Devil's Envoys ...

(1938) *''Un homme marche dans la ville'' by Marcello Pagliero took place in the port and the Saint-François district after the Second World War. *''Ce qu'ils imaginent'' by Anne Théron (2004) The city has also hosted the filming of several comedies such as: *''

Le Cerveau ''The Brain'' (french: Le Cerveau) is a 1969 French comedy film directed by Gérard Oury, about a second train robbery by the brain behind the Great Train Robbery of 1963. It stars Jean-Paul Belmondo and Bourvil as a pair of French petty crooks, ...

'' by

Gérard Oury Gérard Oury (born Max-Gérard Houry Tannenbaum; 29 April 1919 – 20 July 2006) was a French film director, actor and writer. Life and career Max-Gérard Houry-Tannenbaum was the only son of Serge Tannenbaum, a violinist of Russian-Jewish orig ...

(1968) *''La Beuze'' (2002) *''

Disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

'' (2008) *'' La Fée'', also presented at the

Directors' Fortnight The Directors' Fortnight (french: Quinzaine des Réalisateurs) is an independent selection of the Cannes Film Festival. It was started in 1969 by the French Directors Guild after the events of May 1968 resulted in cancellation of the Cannes festiv ...

in 2011. The film by

Sophie Marceau Sophie Marceau (; born Sophie Danièle Sylvie Maupu, 17 November 1966) is a French actress. As a teenager, she achieved popularity with her debut films ''La Boum'' (1980) and ''La Boum 2'' (1982), receiving a César Award for Most Promising Act ...

, '' La Disparue de Deauville'', made in 2007, contains many scenes around the port of Le Havre, in the Coty shopping centre of Coty and in the streets of the central city. The film ''

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

'' by

Aki Kaurismäki Aki Olavi Kaurismäki (; born 4 April 1957) is a Finnish film director and screenwriter. He is best known for the award-winning '' Drifting Clouds'' (1996), ''The Man Without a Past'' (2002), ''Le Havre'' (2011) and ''The Other Side of Hope'' (20 ...

received two prizes at the

2011 Cannes Film Festival The 64th Cannes Film Festival was held from 11 to 22 May 2011. American actor Robert De Niro served as the president of the jury for the main competition and French filmmaker Michel Gondry headed the jury for the short film competition. South Ko ...

and also the

Louis Delluc Prize The Louis Delluc Prize (french: Prix Louis-Delluc ) is a French film award presented annually since 1937. The award is bestowed to the Best Film and Best First Film of the year on the second week of each December. The jury is composed of 20 members, ...

.Aki Kaurismäki wins the Louis-Delluc Prize for Le Havre
Le Monde, 16 December 2011, consulted on 19 December 2011 It was nominated three times for the

37th César Awards The 37th César Awards ceremony, presented by the French Academy of Cinema Arts and Techniques (Académie des Arts et Techniques du Cinéma), was held on 24 February 2012, at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris. The awards honoured the best films ...

Literature

Bernardin de Saint-Pierre statue Le Havre

Le Havre appears in several literary works as a point of departure to America: in the 18th century, Father Prevost embarked ''

Manon Lescaut ''The Story of the Chevalier des Grieux and Manon Lescaut'' ( ) is a novel by Antoine François Prévost. Published in 1731, it is the seventh and final volume of ''Mémoires et aventures d'un homme de qualité'' (''Memoirs and Adventures of a Ma ...

'' and ''Des Grieux'' for French Louisiana. Fanny Loviot departed from Le Havre in 1852, as an emigrant to San Francisco and points further west, and recounted her adventures in ''Les pirates chinois'' (''A Lady's Captivity among Chinese Pirates in the Chinese Seas'', 1858). In the 19th century, Le Havre was the setting for several French novels: Honoré de Balzac described the failure of a Le Havre merchant family in '' Modeste Mignon''. Later, the Norman writer

Guy de Maupassant Henri René Albert Guy de Maupassant (, ; ; 5 August 1850 – 6 July 1893) was a 19th-century French author, remembered as a master of the short story form, as well as a representative of the Naturalist school, who depicted human lives, destin ...

located several of his works at Le Havre such as ''Au muséum d'histoire naturelle'' (At the Museum of Natural History) a text published in ''Le Gaulois'' on 23 March 1881 and again in ''

Pierre et Jean ''Pierre et Jean'' is a naturalist or psycho-realist work written by Guy de Maupassant in Étretat in his native Normandy between June and September 1887. This was Maupassant's shortest novel. It appeared in three instalments in the Nouvelle Re ...

''. Alphonse Allais located his intrigues at Le Havre too. ''

La Bête humaine ''La Bête humaine'' (English: ''The Beast Within'' or ''The Beast in Man'') is an 1890 novel by Émile Zola. The story has been adapted for the cinema on several occasions. The seventeenth book in Zola's ''Les Rougon-Macquart'' series, it is ba ...

'' (The Human Beast) by

Émile Zola Émile Édouard Charles Antoine Zola (, also , ; 2 April 184029 September 1902) was a French novelist, journalist, playwright, the best-known practitioner of the literary school of naturalism, and an important contributor to the development of ...

evokes the world of the railway and runs along the

Paris–Le Havre railway The Paris–Le Havre railway is an important 228-kilometre long railway line, that connects Paris to the northwestern port city Le Havre via Rouen. Among the first railway lines in France, the section from Paris to Rouen opened on 9 May 1843, foll ...

. Streets, buildings, and public places in Le Havre pay tribute to other famous Le Havre people from this period: the writer Casimir Delavigne (1793–1843) has a street named after him and a statue in front of the palace of justice alongside another man of letters, Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737–1814). In the 20th century,

Henry Miller Henry Valentine Miller (December 26, 1891 – June 7, 1980) was an American novelist. He broke with existing literary forms and developed a new type of semi-autobiographical novel that blended character study, social criticism, philosophical ref ...

located part of the action in Le Havre in his masterpiece ''

Tropic of Cancer The Tropic of Cancer, which is also referred to as the Northern Tropic, is the most northerly circle of latitude on Earth at which the Sun can be directly overhead. This occurs on the June solstice, when the Northern Hemisphere is tilted toward ...

'', published in 1934. Bouville was the commune where the writer lived who wrote his diary in ''La Nausée'' (The Nausea) (1938) by

who was inspired by Le Havre city where he wrote his first novel. There are also the testimonies of

Raymond Queneau Raymond Queneau (; 21 February 1903 – 25 October 1976) was a French novelist, poet, critic, editor and co-founder and president of Oulipo ('' Ouvroir de littérature potentielle''), notable for his wit and cynical humour. Biography Queneau wa ...

(1903–1976), born in Le Havre, the city served as a framework for his novel ''Un rude hiver'' (A harsh winter) (1939). The plot of ''Une maison soufflée aux vents'' (A house blown to the winds) by

Emile Danoën Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *'' Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *'' Emil and the Detecti ...

, winner of the Popular Novel Prize in 1951, and its sequel ''Idylle dans un quartier muré'' (Idyll in a walled neighbourhood) were located in Le Havre during the

. Under the name ''Port de Brume'' Le Havre is the setting for three other novels by this author: ''Cerfs-volants'' (Kites), ''L'Aventure de Noël'' (The Adventure at Christmas), and ''La Queue à la pègre'' (Queue to the underworld).

Michel Leiris Julien Michel Leiris (; 20 April 1901 in Paris – 30 September 1990 in Saint-Hilaire, Essonne) was a French surrealist writer and ethnographer. Part of the Surrealist group in Paris, Leiris became a key member of the College of Sociology with G ...

wrote ''De la littérature considérée comme une tauromachie'' (Of literature considered like a bullfight) in December 1945. Diana Gabaldon set the second novel in her ''Outlander'' series, ''

Dragonfly in Amber ''Dragonfly in Amber'' is the second book in the ''Outlander'' series of novels by Diana Gabaldon. Centered on time travelling 20th century nurse Claire Randall and her 18th century Scottish Highlander warrior husband Jamie Fraser, the books ...

'' (1992), partly in Le Havre. Two

mystery novels Detective fiction is a subgenre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator or a detective—whether professional, amateur or retired—investigates a crime, often murder. The detective genre began around the same time as s ...

take place in Le Havre: ''Le Bilan Maletras'' (The Maletras Balance) by

Georges Simenon Georges Joseph Christian Simenon (; 13 February 1903 – 4 September 1989) was a Belgian writer. He published nearly 500 novels and numerous short works, and was the creator of the fictional detective Jules Maigret. Early life and education ...

and ''Le Crime de Rouletabille'' (Crime at the Roulette table) by Gaston Leroux. In ''

Rouge Brésil ''Brazil Red'' () () is a 2001 French historical novel by Jean-Christophe Rufin which recounts the unsuccessful French attempt to conquer Brazil in the 16th century, against a background of wars of religion and a rite-of-passage discovery of ...

'' (Red Brazil), winner of the Goncourt Prize in 2001,

Jean-Christophe Rufin Jean-Christophe Rufin (born 28 June 1952) is a French doctor, diplomat, historian, globetrotter and novelist. He is the president of Action Against Hunger, one of the earliest members of Médecins Sans Frontières, and a member of the Académi ...

describes Le Havre in the 16th century as the port of departure of French expeditions to the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

: the hero

Villegagnon Nicolas Durand, sieur de Villegaignon, also Villegagnon (1510 – 9 January 1571) was a Commander of the Knights of Malta, and later a French naval officer (vice- admiral of Brittany) who attempted to help the Huguenots in France escape persecut ...

leaves of the port to conquer new lands for the French crown which become Brazil. Martine–Marie Muller tells the saga of a clan of Stevedores from Le Havre in the 1950s to the 1970s in ''Quai des Amériques'' (Quay of the Americas).

Benoît Duteurtre Benoît Duteurtre () (born 20 March 1960) is a French novelist and essayist. He is also a musical critic, musician, producer and host of a radio show about music. He spends his time between Paris, New York and Normandy. Early life and family Be ...

published in 2001, ''Le Voyage en France'' (Travel in France), for which he received the Prix Médicis: the main character, a young American impassioned by France, lands at Le Havre which he describes in the first part of the novel. In 2008, Benoît Duteurtre publishes ''Les pieds dans l'eau'' (Feet in the water), a highly autobiographical book in which he describes his youth spent between Le Havre and Étretat. The city hosted writers such as

(1920–1999) who grew up in the district of Saint-François, Yoland Simon (born 1941), and Philippe Huet (born 1955). Canadian poet

Octave Crémazie Octave Crémazie (April 16, 1827 – January 16, 1879) was a French Canadian poet and bookseller born in Quebec City. Recognized both during and after his lifetime for his patriotic verse and his significant role in the cultural development of Q ...

(1827–1879) died at Le Havre and was buried in Saint Marie Cemetery. The playwright

Jacques-François Ancelot Jacques-Arsène-Polycarpe-François Ancelot (9 January 1794 – 7 September 1854) was a French dramatist and litterateur. Biography Born in Le Havre, Ancelot became a clerk in the admiralty, and retained his position until the Revolution of ...

(1794–1854) was also a native of Le Havre. Two famous historians,

Gabriel Monod Gabriel Monod (7 March 1844 – 10 April 1912) was a French historian, the nephew of Adolphe Monod. Biography Born in Ingouville, Seine-Maritime, he was educated at Le Havre then went to Paris to complete his education, lodging with the de Pre ...

(1844–1912) and

André Siegfried André Siegfried (April 21, 1875 – March 28, 1959) was a French academic, geographer and political writer best known to English speakers for his commentaries on American, Canadian, and British politics. He was born in Le Havre, France, to Ju ...

(1875–1959) were from the city. Le Havre also appears in comic books: for example, in ''

L'Oreille cassée ''The Broken Ear'' (french: link=no, L'Oreille cassée, originally published in English as ''Tintin and the Broken Ear'') is the sixth volume of ''The Adventures of Tintin'', the comics series by the Belgian cartoonist Hergé. Commissioned by ...

'' (The Broken Ear) (1937),

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

embarks on the vessel ''City of Lyon'' sailing to South America. The meeting between Tintin and General Alcazar in ''Les Sept Boules de cristal'' ( The Seven Crystal Balls) (1948) is in Le Havre, according to notes by Hergé in the margins of Le Soir, the first publisher of this adventure. The first adventure of Ric Hochet (1963), the designer

Tibet Tibet (; ''Böd''; ) is a region in East Asia, covering much of the Tibetan Plateau and spanning about . It is the traditional homeland of the Tibetan people. Also resident on the plateau are some other ethnic groups such as Monpa people, ...

and André-Paul Duchâteau, ''Traquenard au Havre'' (Trap at Le Havre) shows the seaside and the port. Similarly, in 1967, for the album ''Rapt sur le France'' (Rapt on France), the hero passes by the ocean port.

Frank Le Gall Frank Le Gall (born 23 September 1959 in Rouen), is a French author of comics. He was first published as a comic author at the age of 16 in '' Pistil''. He then went on to work for '' Spirou'', creating "Valry Bonpain," a comic series following a ...

, in ''Novembre toute l'année'' (November all year) (2000) embarks Theodore Poussin at Le Havre on the ''Cap Padaran''.

Music

Le Havre is the birthplace of many musicians and composers such as Henri Woollett (1864–1936),

André Caplet André Caplet (23 November 1878 – 22 April 1925) was a French composer and conductor of classical music. He was a friend of Claude Debussy and completed the orchestration of several of Debussy's compositions as well as arrangements of severa ...

(1878–1925) and

(1892–1955). There was also Victor Mustel (1815–1890) who was famous for having perfected the harmonium. Le Havre has long been regarded as one of the cradles of French rock and

blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

. In the 1980s many groups have emerged after a first dynamic development in the 1960s and 1970s. The most famous personality of Le Havre rock is ''Little Bob'' who began his career in the 1970s. The port tradition in many of the groups was repeated in the unused sheds of the port, such as Bovis hall which could hold 20,000 spectators. A blues festival, driven by Jean-François Skrobek, Blues a Gogo existed for eight years from 1995 to 2002. Several artists have been produced such as:

Youssou N'Dour Youssou N'Dour (, wo, Yuusu Nduur; also known as Youssou Madjiguène Ndour; born 1 October 1959) is a Senegalese singer, songwriter, musician, composer, occasional actor, businessman, and politician. In 2004, ''Rolling Stone'' magazine describe ...

Popa Chubby Theodore Joseph "Ted" Horowitz (born March 31, 1960 in The Bronx, New York City, United States), who plays under the stage name of Popa Chubby, is an American singer, composer, and guitarist. Life and career At age thirteen Horowitz began play ...

, Amadou & Mariam, Patrick Verbeke etc. It was organized by the Coup de Bleu association whose former president was head of music Café '' L'Agora'' in the Niemeyer Centre which produced the new Le Havre scene. During these same years, the ''Festival of the Future'', the local version of the ''

Fête de l'Humanité The fête de l'Humanité (; ''English: Festival of Humanity'') is an event organised annually by French daily newspaper ''L'Humanité'' in order to fund itself. It is the largest popular gathering in France. L'Humanité was created in 1904 by Fre ...

'' (Festival of Humanity), attracted a large audience. Currently, the musical tradition continues in the Symphony Orchestra of the city of Le Havre, the orchestra of Concerts André Caplet, the conservatory, and music schools such as the Centre for Vocal and Musical Expression (rock) or the JUPO (mainly

), associations or labels like Papa's Production (la Folie Ordinaire, Mob's et Travaux, Dominique Comont, Souinq, Your Happy End etc.). The organization by the association of West Park Festival since the 2000s in Harfleur and since 2004 at the Fort of Tourneville is a demonstration. Moreover, since 2008, the association ''I Love LH'' was started and promotes Le Havre culture and especially its music scene by organizing original cultural events as well as the free distribution of compilation music by local artists.

Board game

Main articles: Le Havre (board game) ''Le Havre'' is a board game about the development of the town of Le Havre. It was inspired by the games ''Caylus'' and ''Agricola'' and was developed in December 2007.

Norman language

Main articles:

Norman language Norman or Norman French (, french: Normand, Guernésiais: , Jèrriais: ) is a Romance language which can be classified as one of the Oïl languages along with French, Picard and Walloon. The name "Norman French" is sometimes used to descri ...

and Cauchois dialect. The legacy of the

is present in the language used by the people of Le Havre, part of which is identified as speaking cauchois. Among the Norman words most used in Le Havre there are: ''boujou'' (hello, goodbye), ''clenche'' (door handle), ''morveux (veuse)'' (child), and ''bezot (te)'' (last born).

People

Le Havre was the birthplace of: Lesueur Charles-Alexandre 1818

Georges de Scudéry Georges de Scudéry (22 August 1601 – 14 May 1667), the elder brother of Madeleine de Scudéry, was a French novelist, dramatist and poet. Life Georges de Scudéry was born in Le Havre, in Normandy, whither his father had moved from Provence. H ...

(1601–1667), novelist, dramatist and poet *

Madeleine de Scudéry Madeleine de Scudéry (15 November 1607 – 2 June 1701), often known simply as Mademoiselle de Scudéry, was a French writer. Her works also demonstrate such comprehensive knowledge of ancient history that it is suspected she had received inst ...

(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 *

(1844–1912), historian *

Alfred-Louis Brunet-Debaines Alfred Brunet-Debaines (5 November 1845 – 1939) was a French artist and printmaker who depicted street scenes and architecture, and who was the son of the architect Charles-Louis-Fortuné Brunet-Debaines. In 1863, he began his art studies ...

(1845–c. 1935), artist * Juliette Heuzey (1865-1952), writer * Louis Bachelier (1870–1946), mathematician * Raoul Dufy (1877–1953), painter *

(1878–1925), composer and conductor *

(1882–1962), French president (1954–1959) *

Suzanne Balguerie Suzanne Berchut, called Suzanne Balguerie (29 June 1888 – 17 February 1973) was a French operatic singer (dramatic soprano). Admired by Fauré, Dukas, Poulenc, and Messiaen, she was one of the greatest sopranos of the interwar period. L ...

(1888–1973), French

soprano A soprano () is a type of classical female singing voice and has the highest vocal range of all voice types. The soprano's vocal range (using scientific pitch notation) is from approximately middle C (C4) = 261 Hz to "high A" (A5) = 880&n ...

(1892–1955), composer, a member of Les Six * Thomas Roberts (1893–1976), Roman Catholic archbishop *

(1901–1985), artist *

Jean Mallon Jean Mallon (20 June 1904, in Le Havre – 16 November 1982) was a French palaeographer, specialist of Latin palaeography. Career A student at the École Nationale des Chartes, he obtained his archivist-palaeographer degree in 1926. He then wa ...

(1904–1982), palaeographer *

(1903–1976), poet and novelist *

Jacques Leguerney Jacques Leguerney (19 November 1906 – 10 September 1997) was a French composer especially noted for his art songs. Biography Jacques Leguerney was born in Le Havre. He has been referred to as "the latest – perhaps the last – great exponent ...

(1906–1997), composer *

Bénédicte Pesle Bénédicte Pesle (15 May 1927 – 17 January 2018) was a French arts patron. She was known for having introduced American avant-garde artists of stage, music, dance, and the visual arts to France, and was instrumental in the European careers Me ...

(1927–2018), arts patron * Tristan Murail (born 1947), composer *

(born 1963), journalist *

Jérôme Le Banner Jérôme Philippe Le Banner (; born December 26, 1972) is a French kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and professional wrestler. Le Banner fought for most of his career in K-1 and became known for his aggressive fighting style and knockout power. ...

(born 1972), K-1 fighter * Olivier Durand (born 1967), guitarist for

Elliott Murphy Elliott James Murphy (born March 16, 1949) is an American rock singer-songwriter, novelist, record producer and journalist living in Paris. Biography Elliott Murphy was born in Rockville Centre, New York, grew up in Garden City, Long Island a ...

* Paul Hennessey (born 1994), OG of NUIG * Eugenia DeLamare (1824–1907) – Guilherme Schüch – Wife – Baron Von Capanema *

Elvire Murail Elvire Murail (born 7 June 1958, in Le Havre) is a French writer, mainly author of books for youth under the pen name Moka. The daughter of poet , she is the younger sister of writers Marie-Aude Murail, Marie-Aude and Lorris Murail, and composer Tr ...

(born 1958), writer for children * Vikash Dhorasoo, (born 1973), international footballer *

Gueïda Fofana Gueïda Fofana (; born 16 May 1991) is a former French footballer. He was a French youth international and has captained at all levels of youth. In 2010, he captained the France team that won the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Champions ...

(born 1991), footballer *

Olivier Davidas Olivier Davidas (born 8 November 1981) is a retired French professional football midfielder. Career BornLe Havre, Davidas began his career 2000 with local side Le Havre AC Le Havre Athletic Club (; commonly referred to as Le Havre) is a F ...

(born 1981), footballer *

Dimitri Dragin Dimitri Dragin (born 2 December 1984 in Le Havre, France) is a French judoka who competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics in the men's extra lightweight division. He is regarded as having some of the best ashi waza in international judo

(born 1984), judoka * Sylvain Poirier, mathematician *

(born 1983), footballer * Fouleymata Camara, handball player *

Kevin Anin Kevin () is the anglicized form of the Irish masculine given name (; mga, Caoimhghín ; sga, Cóemgein ; Latinized as ). It is composed of "dear; noble"; Old Irish and ("birth"; Old Irish ). The variant ''Kevan'' is anglicized from , an ...

(born 1986), footballer *

govy Govy (born 12 April 1981) is a French artist diagnosed on the autism spectrum in 2013, and is an advocate for the neurodiversity movement. Their career began after their interactive art piece ''Photographic Diary'' in 2000 to 2001. Govy's work, i ...

, (born 1981), artist *

Jaylen Hoard Jaylen Hoard (born March 30, 1999) is a French-American professional basketball player for Hapoel Tel Aviv of the Israeli Basketball Premier League. He played college basketball for the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. Born in Le Havre, France, he beg ...

(born 1999), French-American basketball player for

Hapoel Tel Aviv Hapoel Tel Aviv ( he, הפועל תל אביב) is a sports club in Israel, founded in the 1920s, and part of the Hapoel association. It runs several sports clubs and teams in Tel Aviv which have competed in a variety of sports over the years, suc ...

of the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl ( he, ליגת העל, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is the top-tier level league of professional sports, professional competition in Israeli sports club, club basketball, making ...

Others were significantly associated with the city: *

Rex Cherryman Rexford Raymond "Rex" Cherryman (October 30, 1896 – August 10, 1928) was an American actor of the stage and screen whose career was most prolific during the 1920s. Biography Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, Rex Cherryman attended Colgate Unive ...

, died here in 1925 * Patrick Demarchelier, fashion photographer, born in Le Havre * Christine Lagarde, IMF managing director, grew up in Le Havre *

, philosopher, taught at the

Lycée François-Ier (Le Havre) Lycée François-Ier may refer to: * Lycée François-Ier in Le Havre * Lycée François-Ier (Fontainebleau) * Lycée François-Ier in Vitry-le-François Vitry-le-François () is a commune in the Marne department in northeastern France. It ...

References

* Michel de Boüard, ''History of Normandy'', Toulouse, 2001, * Pierre Gras, ''The Time of Ports, Decline and Recovery of Port Cities (1940–2010)'', Tallandier, 2010, 298 pages, * Claire Étienne-Steiner, Le Havre. City, Port, and Agglomeration, Connaissance du patrimoine de Haute-Normandie, Rouen, 1999,

Footnotes

External links

Le Havre Official website

Official tourism website

(Archive)
Le Havre on Lion1906

Slave streets of Le Havre; article on the slave trade here in 17th and 18th centuryLe Havre on Géoportail
National Geographic Institute (IGN) website * {{DEFAULTSORT:Havre Cities in France Communes of Seine-Maritime Olympic sailing venues Populated coastal places in France Populated places established in 1517 Port cities and towns on the French Atlantic coast Ports and harbours of the English Channel Subprefectures in France World Heritage Sites in France Venues of the 1900 Summer Olympics Venues of the 1924 Summer Olympics 1517 establishments in France

Geography

Location

Geology and terrain

Climate

Environment

Transport

Urban transport

Layout

Lower city

City rebuilt after 1945

Neighbourhoods

Southern districts

Upper town

History

Toponymy

Heraldry

Politics and administration

Political trends and results

Municipal administration

Mayors

Public institutions and services

National politics

Twin towns and sister cities

Demographics

Education

Schools

Public junior high schools (''collèges'')

Private junior high schools

Public sixth-form colleges/senior high schools

Private sixth-form colleges/senior high schools

Public vocational high schools

Private vocational high schools

Special schools and higher education

Sports

Facilities

Events

Media

Religion

Economy

General

Port

Industry

Services sector

Culture

Events and festivals

Cultural heritage and architecture

Churches

Museums

Museum of modern art André Malraux – MuMa

Musée du Vieux Havre (Museum of old Le Havre)

Musée d'histoire naturelle (Museum of Natural History)

The Shipowner's house

Museum of the Priory of Graville

Others

Theatres, auditoriums and concerts

Libraries and archives

Representations in visual arts

Cinema

Literature

Music

Board game

Norman language

People

See also

References

Footnotes

Further reading

External links