Michael A. Stecker
mastecker@gmail.com

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Honfleur France
June, 2011

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digiphoto France 2011   photomas France 2011

You Tube "Honfleur" slide show at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFngHTe2_Mo

You Tube "Honfleur and Lyon" slide show at:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NGqTMLvgRyA

Honfleur France .mp4 slide show:
Honfleur France
http://mstecker.com/video/NHonfleurFrance.mp4

Slide Shows
These are Windows Executable .exe files requiring the MS Windows operating system to run.  Will not run with Apple/Mac operating system)
Honfleur France 1
(../ss/france2011honfleur1-exec.exe)
Honfleur France 2
   (../ss/france2011honfleur-vin1-exec.exe)
Honfleur France 3
    (../ss/france2011honfleur-sol1-exec.exe)  
Honfleur and Lyon 4
   (../ss/france2011hon-ly-exec.exe)

About Honfleur
Honfleur is a town in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the Seine estuary across from le Havre at the eastern edge of Normandy. It is especially known for its beautiful picturesque port painted many times by artists, including in particular Gustave Courbet, Eugene Boudin, Claude Monet  forming the école de Honfleur (Honfleur school) which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church is the largest church made out of wood in France.
Today Honfleur is a popular tourist destination.

Honfleur History
The first written record of Honfleur is a reference by Richard III, Duke of Normandy in 1027 AD.

During the Hundred Years War (1337 - 1453) Honfleur profited from its strategic position near the mouth of the Seine.  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 in the 1450s.

The port saw the departure of a number of explorers, in particular in 1503 of Binot Paulmierde Gonneville 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 French slave trade.

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.

On August 25, 1944, Honfleur was liberated together by the British army - 19th Platoon of the 12th Devon's, 6th Air Landing Brigade, the Belgian army and the Canadian army without any combat.

Photos
All photos by Michael Stecker with Canon G9, S95 and Panasonic DMC-ZS7 digital cameras.
Mouse click on any of the thumbnail images below for an enlargement

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