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| Cherbourg-Octeville - Basilica of Sainte-Trinité, Atlantic Hotel, Fort du Roule, Cité de la Mer. |
Situated at the northern end of the Cotentin peninsula, Cherbourg-Octeville was officially formed when the commune of Cherbourg absorbed Octeville in 2000. In 2016 it was merged into the new commune of Cherbourg-en-Cotentin. The city has been a strategic position over the centuries, disputed between the English and French. Cited as one of the "keys to the kingdom" by Vauban, it became a first-rate military port under the leadership of Louis XVI and Napoleon. The city was the primary goal of US troops during the invasion of Normandy in 1944.
The Basilica of Sainte-Trinité, begun in the 11th century at the request of William the Conqueror, remained the only parish church of the city until the 19th century. The stately church dedicated to Our Lady in the castle was destroyed along with the fortress, in the 17th century. The Trinité was enlarged and transformed significantly in the 13th century. After a rampage by January 1794, it had added a new square bell tower 26 m in 1828 and restored in neo-flamboyant style in 1865.
The Atlantic Hotel, opposite the maritime station, was built by René Levavasseur, in iron and cement and in the Art Deco style, for the three transatlantic companies which served Cherbourg. It hosted on 5,400 m2 the emigrants (third class passengers), mainly from Eastern Europe, who stayed there for an average of 12 days to undergo sanitary and customs controls. Begun in 1920, opened in 1926, it closed eight years later. It has hosted the services of the Chamber of commerce and industry of Cherbourg-Cotentin since 1991.
Fort du Roule (Museum of the War and Liberation) is located on the Montagne du Roule. The location in 1650 of the Chapel of Notre-Dame-de-Protection, abandoned during the Revolution, razed in 1870, this highest point of the city (117 m) welcomed a redoubt to protect the harbour in 1793. In 1853, the present fort was built. The place of the last fighting in 1940, it was reinforced by the Germans in 1943. The Cité de la Mer is a large museum devoted to scientific and historical aspects of maritime subjects. Dedicated to oceanographic exploration, it is a complex installed since 2003 in a part of the remains of the old transatlantic station.
About the stamp
The stamp is parte of the definitive series Marianne et la jeunesse, which succeed Marianne et l'Europe before being replaced by Marianne l'engagée in 2018. It is a self-adhesive stamp from a set issued between 2015 and 2016.
References
Cherbourg-Octeville - Wikipedia
Sender: Dana Volosevici
Sent from Cherbourg-Octeville (Normandy / France), on 01.08.2018
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