Saint-Joseph, Le Havre
Encyclopedia
St. Joseph's Church, Le Havre, is a Roman Catholic church in Le Havre
, France
, built between 1951 and 1957/58 as part of the reconstruction of the town of Le Havre, which was almost entirely destroyed during World War II
. It acts as a memorial to the five thousand civilians who died in the conflict.
The church was designed by the chief architect for the reconstruction of Le Havre, Auguste Perret
, teacher and mentor to the Swiss architect Le Corbusier
. The sombre interior is in the Neo-Gothic style. The tower is 107 metres tall and acts as a beacon visible from out at sea, especially at night when illuminated.
Le Havre
Le Havre is a city in the Seine-Maritime department of the Haute-Normandie region in France. It is situated in north-western France, on the right bank of the mouth of the river Seine on the English Channel. Le Havre is the most populous commune in the Haute-Normandie region, although the total...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, built between 1951 and 1957/58 as part of the reconstruction of the town of Le Havre, which was almost entirely destroyed during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. It acts as a memorial to the five thousand civilians who died in the conflict.
The church was designed by the chief architect for the reconstruction of Le Havre, Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret
Auguste Perret was a French architect and a world leader and specialist in reinforced concrete construction. In 2005 his post-WWII reconstruction of Le Havre was declared by UNESCO one of the World Heritage Sites....
, teacher and mentor to the Swiss architect Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
. The sombre interior is in the Neo-Gothic style. The tower is 107 metres tall and acts as a beacon visible from out at sea, especially at night when illuminated.
Sources
- Andrew Saint, In Le Havre" (London Review of BooksLondon Review of BooksThe London Review of Books is a fortnightly British magazine of literary and intellectual essays.-History:The LRB was founded in 1979, during the year-long lock-out at The Times, by publisher A...
, 6 February 2003)