Day 38 Le Havre, France

Le Havre is a very interesting place.  It is another place that was bombed relentlessly in World War 11 and the only thing left standing, very surprisingly, was The Monument of Death.  

However, instead of restoring the city, an architect by the name of Auguste Perret was employed to rebuild the city.   Perret's unique architectural  and urban design, based on the innovative exploration of reinforced concrete, earned the city a World Heritage Listing in 2005.  Perret's design is not loved by all, with a criticism that its concrete box like buildings are extremely boring.  Perhaps it is but I personally found the architecture and town plan quite interesting. The buildings are all left in their natural concrete state with none of the buildings being painted.  

The only splash of colour that we saw today was the brightly coloured shipping container structure that depicts Le Havre's massive shipping container industry that is the second biggest in France per tonnage.

As we approached St. Josephs church of Le Havre on our walking tour it looked pretty unremarkable in a city where all the buildings look alike.  Boy, were we in for a shock as we walked inside the church.  I would have to say this is one of the most beautiful places I have ever stepped inside.  All those little squares of what I thought were decorative touches on the outside were in fact 12,736 pieces of hand blown glass. Perret, in this design, managed to bring life to a concrete structure with the amazing use of light.  When you stand in the middle of the church and gaze up to the top of the 107m tower, with all its dancing light, you start to understand the uniqueness of this building that is certainly the climax of Perret's work in Le Havre.

We are very surprised when we come to this building in Le Havre that should never have been given permission to be erected.  It stands out like a sore thumb and indeed Le Havre's World Heritage listing may well be revoked because of this building.  Somebody in town planning really messed up here!