Honfleur
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Honfleur harbour
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 Honfleur
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Location within Normandy region
Honfleur
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| Coordinates: 49°25′10″N 0°13′57″E / 49.4194°N 0.2325°ECoordinates: 49°25′10″N 0°13′57″E / 49.4194°N 0.2325°E | ||
| Country | France | |
| Region | Normandy | |
| Department | Calvados | |
| Arrondissement | Lisieux | |
| Canton | Honfleur | |
| Intercommunality | Pays de Honfleur | |
| Government | ||
| • Mayor (2008–2014) | Michel Lamarre | |
| Area1 | 13.67 km2 (5.28 sq mi) | |
| Population (2008)2 | 8,163 | |
| • Density | 600/km2 (1,500/sq mi) | |
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 14333 / 14600 | |
| Elevation | 0–117 m (0–384 ft) (avg. 5 m or 16 ft) |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
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1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
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. Its inhabitants are called Honfleurais.
It is especially known for its old, beautiful picturesque port, characterized by its houses with slate-covered frontages, painted many times by artists, including in particular Gustave Courbet, Eugène Boudin, Claude Monet and Johan Jongkind, forming the école de Honfleur (Honfleur school) which contributed to the appearance of the Impressionist movement. The Sainte-Catherine church, which has a bell tower separate from the principal building, is the largest church made out of wood in France.
The first written record of Honfleur is a reference by Richard III, Duke of Normandy, in 1027. By the middle of the 12th century, the city represented a significant transit point for goods from Rouen to England.
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 from 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.
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