Friday, May 2, 2014

Two Churches Around Honfleur

In downtown Honfleur, just a block from the Vieux Bassin, is St. Catherine's Church, the largest wooden church in France.  Constructed by local shipbuilders during the 15th century, the church resembles two parallel inverted ship's hulls.  Here's one side of the church, with the view obscured somewhat by vehicles and tourists.

A tower that houses a clock and the church's bells stands separate from the church.  This arrangement was made because the wood of the church building was not believed to be strong enough to support the weight of the bells.  Even so, the tower appears to be likewise constructed of wood.

Immediately to the west of Honfleur is a hill named Côte de Grâce.  In a flat area at the top of the hill is the Notre-Dame de Grâce chapel.  Here's one side of the chapel, obstructed by (you guessed it) more cars.

Here's another side of the chapel, and another set of cars.

As I approached Notre-Dame de Grâce, I could hear the chapel before I could see it, because its bells were ringing.  Like St. Catherine's, Notre-Dame de Grâce has a separate structure for housing its bells.  Unlike at St. Catherine's, the bells are mounted in an outdoor wooden frame instead of a tower.


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