Le Harve
The town of Le Harve was founded in 1517. Our Lady's Cathedral of Le Harve was not far from the dock
and we discovered the church was built between 1575 and 1610. The church was ransacked and destroyed in part
during the French Revolution and restored in 1830. Badly damaged again in September 1944 during the Allied bombings, it was again restored
and work was completed by 1974. A 16th century statue of the Virgin from the first church still survives today in one of the capels.
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One of the spectacular sights here is the War Memorial 1914 - 1918. This stone creation by P. Poisson depicts angels, nudes and babies. There were many beautiful wreaths laid
on the surrounds to reflect on wars gone by. An arcade nearby sold many and varied types of fruit and a bakery that encouraged us to set down and enjoy
a snack and coffee.
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Walking up the street we came across a very modern church, the Eglise Saint Joseph of Le Havre. This was so different as there were 1200 stained glass windows all over the building
and this reflected different light into the church at different times of the day. The altar was very modern and very peaceful to visit.
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A beautiful park was not too far away and so we rested for a while and admired the coloured balls in the trees and the lovely fountains. Many people were sitting around and obviously
enjoying the afternoon sun and the gardens.
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On the way back to the Marco Polo, we stumbled across a Natural History Museum which was free of charge.
There were lots of prehistoric fish and other animals on show. There was a section devoted to animals that were deformed or simply just different
to todays. It was a fascinating visit and there were many other items on show.
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