ViewsWatchers |
In Roman times, Harfleur was known as Caracotinum, the principal port of the ancient Calates. A Roman road led from Harfleur to Troyes. Another road that disappeared during the Hundred Years War linked Harfleur to Fécamp. Several Merovingian sarcophagi have been unearthed at the foot of Mount Cabert. In the Middle Ages, the town's name, Herosfloth, Harofluet or Hareflot, was still sufficiently uncorrupted to indicate its Norman origins. The suffix fleur comes from Old Norse Flöthe meaning "estuary or arm of the sea". The precise meaning of the prefix "har" is unknown.
In 1435, the people of the district of Caux, led by Jean de Grouchy, rose against the English. One hundred and four of the inhabitants opened the gates of the town to the insurgents, and forced the English occupiers out. The memory of the deed was long perpetuated by the bells of St. Martin's tolling 104 strokes. Between 1445 and 1449 the English were again in possession, but the town was recovered for the French by Dunois in 1450. In 1562, the Huguenots pillaged Harfleur and its registers and charters perished in the confusion, but its privileges were restored by Charles IX of France in 1568. It was not until 1710 that it was subjected to the "taille". In the 16th century, the port began to dwindle in importance owing to the silting up of the Seine estuary and the rise of Le Havre. In 1887, the Tancarville canal restored waterborne access to the town from both the Seine and Le Havre. In 1884, Forges et Chantiers de la Méditerranée shipbuilding company constructed an artillery workshop on the land immediately south of the canal, known for his QF designs worked there. In January 1897 the workshop together with the shipyard's intellectual property related to artillery was bought by Schneider et Cie, who employed Canet and invested a lot of money into developing the facility into a full-scale plant with a large testing range, and also built Mayville town north of the canal for the workers. In 1937 it was nationalized by the left government of Popular Front and later existed as Ateliers de construction du Havre de la Compagnie normande de mécanique de précision (AHE/CNMP), producing e. g. Panhard AML armoured cars. In 1963 it was subordinated to SNECMA, which redirected the efforts to aerospace industry. Now the location hosts a Safran Nacelles plant.
|