Notre-Dame Cathedral is one of the last remains of the 16th century in Le Havre. The western side, the altarpieces of the 17th century and the organ given by Richelieu as a gift (and restored in the 19th and 20th centuries) deserve to be seen.
Shortly after the city of Le Havre was founded, in 1522, a chapel of wood and thatch (surrounded by a graveyard) was built along the main street of the city, rue Saint-Michel which became rue de Paris later.
It was reinforced and a church tower was added in the 16th century. It was restored in the 19th century after the religious wars and the French Revolution. Damaged by the bombings in September 1944, the restoration work was over in 1974 at the time when the parish church became the cathedral of the diocese.
The classical western side displays a superimposition of decorations and orders. The limestone bas-relief of the side gate, nicknamed “the angels playing trumpet” with Ionic veined columns was started in 1630, as for the central tympan, it came from the renovations started in the Restoration period.
The inside shelters some well preserved furniture. The great organ, given by Richelieu as a gift when he was Governor of Le Havre in 1639, was restored several times in the 19th and 20th centuries but was completely destroyed in the bombings. The organ case was rebuilt in 1980.