Cont'd from Le Havre, France(1): Recovery or Restoration?
The lantern whose colours speak
St. Joseph’s Church is a striking modern concrete landmark, dominated by its 107-metre octagonal tower, known locally as the “Lighthouse.” Built as a memorial to around 5,000 civilians who died in the war, the church combines remembrance with a sense of hope. Inside, thousands of stained-glass panels fill the space with changing colours rather than traditional religious imagery. The effect is calm and contemplative, inviting visitors to pause and reflect on the church’s history and memorial purpose.
Promenading the esplanade
And then we walk along the coastal Boulevard Clémenceau, catching glimpses of the pebbly beaches and the sea beyond. The day is becoming too warm, and I reluctantly abandon the idea of visiting the Hanging Gardens, with their flights of stairs, developed among the ruins of the fort once commandeered by Napoleon. It feels like a small loss, knowing that we will miss the gardens and their views, but the heat makes the climb seem less inviting.
Impression(ism)
The coastal promenade takes me to The Signal, the distinct monumental concrete sculpture,like a stylized human eye, cantilevered in the MuMa (Musée d'art moderne André Malraux) Plaza.
It seems appropriate for the museum houses some paintings of Claude Monet, Auguste Renoir and others. An 1872 painting by Claude Monet called Impression, Sunrise depicting the port of Le Havre, Monet's hometown, is thought to have inspired the Impressionists movement.
Symbols of wealth and success
And then a board that says Gold Coast grabs my attention. I don't see anything like the Australian Gold Coast. I have to go very close to the brick parapet and peer over the breakwater before I spot the glinting rocks,contrasting sharply with the colours of the sea.Had it been sunset or sunrise, or even moonlight, I would have noticed it immediately. Again, this is an installation made of several rocks of hybrid material, painted gold.
From there, in the distance, at the tip of a long breakwater, I catch sight of a statue of a father on whose shoulder sits his daughter. The father, an artist, and the daughter are gazing out over the sea to a future? NY ( based on the imaginary line of the gaze)? the old transatlantic routes?
Hut handed down
And then there are the colourful beach huts . Interesting that they are passed down from generation to generation.
The monuments referred to my previous blog:
The childlike figure captures the carefree joy of life by the sea.
Mr Gull seems to embody a longing for the ocean. With his seagull’s head, sailor’s peacoat and perch atop a ship’s mast, he becomes a whimsical symbol of the maritime world.
The iceberg provides a striking contrast to the volcanoes—ice against fire. Intriguingly, Saharan dust carried on atmospheric winds once settled on the sculpture, giving the iceberg a yellow hue: an unexpected, natural addition to its symbolism.
A tribute to maritime history and engineering
As we make our way back to our cruise pier we take a closer look at an astonishing upright chain link formed of colorful containers at the entrance to the port. The statistics are mind-boggling. Height: 28m. Weight: 248 tons.
Back at Basin du Roi
All along we see that the quiet morning has given way to a vibrant evening with restaurants doing brisk business. The tide is in and the boats are available for rides. Families stand on the bridge admiring it all. Others walk along the banks.
A high rise building in the distance displays figures/apparitions, on uninstalled window frames The seafood stalls are brisk with business.
After that it is a lonely walk back to the ship.
Why so many monuments?
To celebrate the city’s 500th anniversary in 2017, “A Summer in Le Havre” was launched, inviting international artists to create works inspired by the identity of this historic port city. Some of the installations became permanent fixtures, while the festival continues to take place every year.
A walk that turns the pages of history
Le Havre is, without a doubt,a city you have to walk to understand. Its story unfolds with every step: the rigid grid leads you through a bold landscape of concrete, where streets, buildings and open spaces tell the story of a city reduced to rubble and reborn in the daring modernist vision of one man, Auguste Perret. It is no wonder then that the unique postwar reconstruction and architecture earned the city center a UNESCO World Heritage listing in 2005.
And as you walk, the city’s gaze keeps returning to the sea. The streets lead towards a port that has connected Le Havre with the wider world for centuries—particularly Asia—and remains a powerhouse of trade and industry.
Trivia
The AREVA has a factory for building wind turbines designed for Offshore wind power in Brittany, the UK, and Normandy. It created some 1,800 jobs.
The largest industrial employer (2,400 employees) of the Le Havre region is the Renault public company
