This is an icon of Honfleur, and uniquely boat roof in wood only one in France! This is my beloved Honfleur and its main Church of Sainte Catherine. We make it a must to stop by each time in town and it has been many luckily ! Coming to see once again the church by the old basin or port of Honfleur is always gratifying. It offers a unique architectural experience and loving history of the locals, hard earned traditions and just a positive feeling all around it. I will split the new pictures into exterior and interior posts. Do read my other posts in my blog on it , Hope you enjoy this wonderful monument of Honfleur as I.
However, worth to tell you this is a town towards the ocean of great sailors. In 1503, Paulmier de Gonneville ventured to Brazil. A century later, explorer Samuel Champlain left the Norman port for Canada where he founded the city of Québec. Honfleur is very international, and the second most visited site in Normandie behind just MSM !!!
The Sainte-Catherine Church has the particularity, very rare in France, to be built essentially of wood. The church is located near the old basin (Vieux Bassin) , just behind the Quai Sainte-Catherine. It is the largest Church built in wood with a bell-tower separated from it in France. This choice of material is due to the lack of resources of the inhabitants of the time. But with a drawback, the local Honfleurais were able to make it an asset. With their knowledge of shipbuilding, they built the Church, with two separate naves, in the manner of a ship, with the help of wood from the forest of Touques. The result is breathtaking. Not to be missed.
The Church is dedicated to Sainte Catherine of Alexandria as recalled by a wooden sculpture above the porch of the bell-tower separated from the two naves. She is depicted wearing a wheel and a sword. At the beginning of the 19C, the interior of the church received a plaster coating and a neoclassical porch with Greek columns replaced the primitive porch. Major restoration work was undertaken from 1879 with, in particular, the disappearance of the plaster coating from the nave and the replacement of the Greek porch by the current one in 1929.
The two parallel naves, of about the same width, flanked by very narrow and very low side aisles whose stave vault is formed by a quarter circle. The two naves, made up of twelve bays, including that of the organ, are separated from the aisles by wooden posts. At the bottom of the main nave is placed a beautiful organ whose carved oak case is in the style of the 18C. In the nave where the organ is located, on the right, is hung between two columns a very esteemed painting, representing the Carrying of the Cross. At the end of the northern nave stands a magnificent altar with twisted columns in the Louis XIV style. This altar, which attracts attention by its graceful proportions and the richness of its ornamentation, was executed in Rouen, and this altar once adorned the Chapel of the Rosary in the Church of Saint Catherine. It was made between 1669 and 1670.
The Parish of Honfleur on the Church Saint Catherine:http://www.paroisse-honfleur.com/eglises.html#CATHERINE
The city of Honfleur on the Church Saint Catherine: https://www.ville-honfleur.com/decouvrir-honfleur/honfleur-et-son-patrimoine/leglise-sainte-catherine-et-son-clocher/
The Honfleur tourist office on the Church Saint Catherine :https://www.ot-honfleur.fr/visiter-decouvrez/patrimoine/leglise-sainte-catherine-et-son-faubourg/
There you go folks, another gem I said, a must to see ,I said. Enough me think , now its up to you. Enjoy Honfleur , my beloved dear city in Calvados dept 14 ,in Normandy ,in my belle France. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Saint Catherine of Honfleur, interiors !!! as I
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 
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