Honfleur
Honfleur is a municipality and port city with 8125 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) in the department of Calvados, Basse -Normandie, France. It lies at the mouth of the Seine in the English Channel.
History
The name Honfleur was first mentioned in documents as Hunefleth 1025, later it was used as Hunefloth to 1062, Honneflo 1198 Honflue 1246, then Honnefleu until the 18th century. mentioned. The final vowel [r ] has been added in the 19th century. The Norman word fleu "Flower" (French fleur " flower " ) is like fleu " coastal river " been pronounced in altnormannischen dialect.
The city was for centuries a relatively insignificant in comparison with the port of Harfleur on the other bank of the Seine estuary. Over time, the town has with its picturesque narrow and six -story buildings and the Lieutenance ( the rest of a defense system ) at the Vieux Bassin (Old harbor ) from the 17th century one of the most charming places in Normandy and much visited tourist attraction developed.
In the 19th century Honfleur became the center of artistic activities. Eugène Boudin, the painter of coastal landscapes, was born here in 1824. The Musée Eugène Boudin is dedicated to him and documented the picturesque atmosphere of the city and the Seine estuary. Painters as Courbet, Sisley, Jongkind, Claude Monet, Pissarro, Renoir and Cézanne came to Honfleur and often met at the Ferme St -Simeon, a farm, which is considered one of the birthplaces of Impressionism and is now a stylish hotel.
Attractions
Even today are the painters at the quay of Honfleur, and the Grenier à Sel, two warehouses, which were in 1670 east of Vieux Bassin in l' Enclos, of the 13th-century defenses of the city for the purpose of salt storage built in, be exhibitions contemporary artists organized.
The Sainte Catherine Church with the freestanding tower, stands at Place Ste. Catherine. It was the same ship hulls built entirely in the middle of the 15th century with two twin ships and a wooden roof construction of ship carpenters, and equipped with stained glass windows and other works of art. The church is listed as a historic monument in the base Mérimée, the French Ministry of Culture
Even the composer Erik Satie is a child of the city. From his music can be inspired in Les Maisons Satie.
A masterpiece of civil engineering is inaugurated in 1995, the Pont de Normandie, the Honfleur and Le Havre ( Seine- Maritime) connects one of the longest bridges in Europe.
Personalities
Sons and daughters of the town
- Alphonse Allais (1854-1905), writer and humorist
- Louis Marie François Andlauer (1876-1915), organist and composer
- Ernest Henri Besnier (1831-1909), dermatologist and medical director of the Hôpital St. Louis in Paris
- Eugène Boudin (1824-1898), French painter, a pioneer of Impressionism
- Erik Satie (1866-1925), French composer and pianist.
Personalities who have worked on site
- Charles Baudelaire (1821-1867), writer, lived for six months in 1859 and wrote there Honfleur La danse macabre ( dance of death ), La chevelure ( the hair ), and Chant d' automne (Autumn vocals).
Twin Cities
The English twin town of Honfleur is Sandwich in Kent. Since 16 June 2006 is twinned with Wörth am Main.