Sainte-Catherine Bell Tower (Clocher Sainte-Catherine), Honfleur

The Sainte-Catherine Bell Tower is a 15th-century wooden structure built between 1460-1496 by local shipwrights using naval construction techniques. Positioned across from the Église Sainte-Catherine on Place Sainte-Catherine, it was deliberately erected at a distance from the church as a fire safety measure - its elevated hillside position attracts lightning, and separating it from the wooden church protected parishioners from fire risk. The tower features oak construction with chestnut wood shingles forming decorative patterns, and rests on a stone foundation that once housed the bell ringer.