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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 Honfleur are called Honfleurais.
It is especially known for its old port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted frequently by artists. There have been many notable artists, including Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind. They all met at La Ferme Saint Siméon, which is now a five-star hotel, and created the "Saint Siméon gathering", contributing to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest wooden church in France.
Located on the estuary of one of the principal rivers of France with a safe harbour and relatively rich hinterland, Honfleur profited from its strategic position from the start of the Hundred Years' War. The town's defences were strengthened by Charles V in order to protect the estuary of the Seine from attacks by the English. This was supported by the nearby port of Harfleur. However, Honfleur was taken and occupied by the English in 1357 and from 1419 to 1450. When under French control, raiding parties often set out from the port to ransack the English coasts, including partially destroying the town of Sandwich, in Kent, England, in the 1450s.
At the end of the Hundred Years' War, Honfleur benefited from the boom in maritime trade until the end of the 18th century. Trade was disturbed during the wars of religion in the 16th century. The port saw the departure of a number of explorers, in particular in 1503 of Binot Paulmyer to the coasts of Brazil. In 1506, local man Jean Denis departed for Newfoundland island and the mouth of the Saint Lawrence. An expedition in 1608, organised by Samuel de Champlain, founded the city of Quebec in modern-day Canada.
After 1608, Honfleur thrived on trade with Canada, the West Indies, the African coasts and the Azores. As a result, the town became one of the five principal ports for the slave trade in France. During this time the rapid growth of the town saw the demolition of its fortifications on the orders of Colbert. The wars of the French Revolution and the First Empire, and in particular the continental blockade, caused the ruin of Honfleur. It only partially recovered during the 19th century with the trading of wood from northern Europe. Trade was however limited by the silting up of the entrance to the port and development of the modern port at Le Havre. The port however still functions today.
After the Normandy landings, Honfleur was liberated together by the British army – 19th Platoon of the 12th Devon's, 6th Air Landing Brigade, the Belgian army (Brigade Piron) on 25 August 1944 Brigade Piron and the Canadian army without any combat.
Traditional pronunciation: ɦɔ̃'flø or xɔ̃'flø/ xɔ̃fjøDominique Fournier, Dictionnaire des noms de rues et noms de lieux de Honfleur, éditions de la Lieutenance, Honfleur 2006, p. 124 – 125. with the h strongly aspirated, like in 'loch'. It is lost nowadays.
The marker -fleur, formerly -fleu which is widespread in Normandy (Cf. Barfleur, Vittefleur, Harfleur, Crémanfleur, Fiquefleur and La Gerfleur stream), which means 'stream, river running into the sea', was still in use in the 13th century as written in a document le fleu de Lestre, meaning "the Lestre river".François de Beaurepaire, Les noms des communes et anciennes paroisses de la Manche, éditions Picard 1986, p. 46 – 74.
It could come from a word of Old Norse origin flodh (i.e. flóð), compare Old English flōd (> flood), which means 'estuary', 'branch of the sea', combined with flói 'river running into the sea' for the meaning.René Lepelley, Dictionnaire étymologique des noms de communes de Normandie, Presse Universitaire de Caen / éditions Charles Corlet 1993, p. 58. But according to its numerous old mentions and those of Barfleur in -fleth, it is more probably the OE flēot 'run of water',Albert Dauzat et Charles Rostaing, Dictionnaire étymologiques des noms de lieux en France, éditions Larousse 1968, p. 354. that can be found in the English place-names in -fleet, such as Adlingfleet, Marfleet, Ousefleet, combined very often with a male's name.
The element Hon- seems to come from an Anglo-Saxon (or Anglo-Scandinavian) given name Huna or the Norse Húni, variant form Húnn, which is also found close to Honfleur in Honnaville, homonym of the Honneville at Saint-Georges-du-Mesnil. Such a connection between two close place-names can be noted regularly in the Norman toponymy. They are, in any case, close places: Crémanfleur / Crémanville; Barfleur (former Barbefleu) / Barbeville, etc. The -ville element is almost always combined with a personal name.
The similarity with the name of Bay of Húnaflói in Iceland is likely a coincidence.
Like most of northern France, Honfleur has an oceanic climate with warm summers, cool winters, rain all year round and few extremes of temperature. Honfleur Climate
These 13 communes also form the intercommunality of Pays de Honfleur.
In 1973 Honfleur merged with the commune of Vasouy (143 inhabitants in 1999). The INSEE code used to be 14725.
The famous "Axe masters" of the naval yards of the city created this building. The bays for the choir, were redone in the 19th century. The church is partially covered in chestnut shingles, which are called essentes. The neo-Norman porch was built following the model of rural Normandy churches in the 1920s.
The classical organ comes from the parish church of St Vincent of Rouen, and the Renaissance balcony is decorated with musicians. Stained glass from the 19th century decorates the windows of the east choir. The building lacks a transept; statues of saints, including two local ones: Marculf et Saint Thérèse of Lisieux are the unique marks of lateral chapels. There is also a painting depicting the Martyrdom of Saint Denis of the Nativity.
Honfleur’s skies and landscapes once inspired artists, including Claude Monet and Eugène Boudin. The Boudin Museum guides the visitor through art history. La Forge is the house of Florence Marie, who was an artist. It also contains a garden and her art. There are different types of art including paintings, sculptures, and mosaïques. Marie's artistic eye is shown through the decorations on display at his house.
Naturospace is a Butterfly house home to about 150 species of butterfly.
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