The Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde of Etretat !!!

Posted in Europe, France

Moving about in my road warrior mode I have come into more pictures in my cd rom vault that should be in my blog for you and me, This is a new post on the Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde, Étretat is located in the Seine-Maritime department 76 in the Normandie region of my belle France. It is 16 km from Fécamp ,48 km from Saint-Valery-en-Caux, 45 km from Honfleur, 197 km from Versailles, and 424 km from my current home,We arrive by the D940 and parked at parking Place de Gaulle for free ! Therefore, here is my take on the Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde of Etretat !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.

Etretat Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde front

The Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde at the Amont Cliff site was also famous with the greatest Impressionist painters of the 19C. At the top stands the Chapel , and visible from the beach as we did. It was built  in neo-Gothic style and its keel-shaped nave refers to the vocation of a place of worship for the local sailors. It was built following a mission preached by Reverend Father Michel in 1854, the inhabitants decided to build a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. The sailors carried the materials intended for the building on their backs and arms. On August 6, 1856, it was blessed as a chapel of fishermen and sailors. The Nazis occupiers decided to destroy it in 1942. It was only after its reconstruction in 1950 that it was renamed under its current name of “Notre Dame de la Garde”.

Etretat Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde afar

The Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde was built in 1856, on the upstream cliff in tribute to the sailors who disappeared at sea, and dedicated to the Blessed Virgin required the strength of many sailors to transport building materials to the top. Destroyed during WWII, the chapel was rebuilt in 1950 in the neo -Gothic style. The new chapel, now placed under the term of Notre-Dame-de-la-Garde It was put up for sale in 2014 and then bought by the Littoral Conservatory which wished to make it a place of exhibition and meeting. The view of Etretat is breathtaking, if you have left after setting up the stairs that lead.

The chapel is built in artificial stone, cement and concrete. It is covered with a slate roof, the bell tower being crowned with a square arrow in cement. The foothills are surmounted by gargoyles in cement in the shape of fish. The rear gable, covered, is pierced in its lower part of six small bays, closed later. Inside, the sanctuary is reached, raised, by stairs framing the altar. The nave is in the shape of a hull, with a frame lined with frieze. Two side entries, surmounted by cement boat in cement lead to the semi-buried sacristy. The berries are decorated with glass slab stained glass.

A bit of chronological history tell us that the neo-Gothic style chapel and its hull-shaped nave refers to the vocation of a place of worship for the sailors of Etretat. In 1854, the people of Etretat had the idea to build a chapel dedicated to the Blessed Virgin. 1856, August 6 the chapel was blessed as the Fishermen’s and Sailors’ Chapel. 1942 ,the chapel was destroyed during WWWII. 1950 , the chapel was reconstructed and renamed as “Notre Dame de la Garde”. This chapel architecture is different from the original one, its main caracteristic is its carina-shaped nave. The frame lined with frieze will recall an environment very familiar to sailors. 1964 were added stained glass windows. 2014 was purchase by the Conservatoire du littoral or Littoral Conservatory and managed by the Department of Seine-Maritime 76,

The Conservatoire du Littorial on religious monuments so the chapel : https://www.conservatoire-du-littoral.fr/145-edifices-religieux-et-memoriels.htm

The local Le Havre Etretat tourist office on the Chapel Notre Dame de la Garde : https://www.lehavre-etretat-tourisme.com/fr/fiche/etretat/chapelle-notre-dame-de-la-garde_TFOPCUNOR076V51IX6A/

The Seine Maritime dept 76 tourist office on Etretat : https://www.seine-maritime-tourisme.com/en/i-visit/10-key-places/etretat/etretat.php

The Normandy region tourist office on Etretat :https://en.normandie-tourisme.fr/unmissable-sites/etretat/

There you go folks, a lovely setting indeed , and gorgeous views with plenty of beach activities around. The City was a nice find and we like it will be back eventually. An unique piece of architecture of old and new. Again, hope you enjoy this post on the Chapelle Notre Dame de la Garde !!! as I.

And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!

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Published by pedmar10

I am a lover of travels to Europe , Americas , Africa and Asia as well ,who like to share my experiences of the last 53 years with the world, visiting so far 81 countries; living in 6, working in 5, and Citizen of 4, speaking fluently 4 languages. I can deal with sports especially football/soccer and love music, arts, wine collector/drinker, and go out to restaurants, and just visit the world. My background comes all the way from Candelaria and Pajara in Tenerife, Spain where my grandparents came from ;not knowing each other then, to Punta Brava, west of Havana, Cuba. There , my parents born in Cuba met and later on I was born there too. 100% guanche (annexed Tenerife to Spain on April 10 ,1496). I left Cuba as many have to Madrid, Spain where I lived for 4 years. Then, move to Perth Amboy ,New Jersey USA (living there 13 yrs) ; where I completed high school, became a US Citizen, learned to drive a car, and learned English. Afterward, went to the university in Florida, ERAU, and upon graduation decided to moved there to Ormond by the Sea, near Daytona Beach, finally moving North Miami, then Hialeah, then another moved to Silver Lakes division in Miramar, Broward county, Florida; in Florida I lived a total of 18 years. Finally , moved to France in 2003 ,Versailles call me for its royalty, and working in Paris was great. It was time to seek frontiers again and moved to Brech near Auray, Morbihan in Brittany , and later move to not too far Pluvigner. Total so far in France has been 20 years, and counting. Moving average a home every 5.5 years hopefully this will be my last. Cheers All rights reserved. No part of this blog may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means or stored in a retrieval system of any nature, without the written permission of the copyright holder, me. No part of this work may be modified, without the written permission of the holder, me.No part of this work may be exposed to public view in any form or by any means, without identifying the holder as the author, and with the before mentioned permission.

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