The Moulières

The Mussel Gatherers

The Honfleur audio-guided tour presents you with the fountain of the Mussel Gatherers, a bronze tribute to those women who once collected shellfish on the banks of the estuary.

A tribute to discreet women workers

Facing the media library and the tourist office, a fountain is adorned with three bronze figures: the mussel gatherers. These women collected shellfish on the mudflats of the estuary, a hard and risky work, between tides rising fast and heavy baskets to carry. The work, signed Jean-Marc de Pas, pays tribute to three generations of these workers, depicted bent towards the sea in long dresses. This trade lasted until 1977. Nearby, on the glass roof of the media library, one can read these words of Baudelaire to his mother in 1866: "My settling in Honfleur has always been the dearest of my dreams"; the poet, who died the following year, did not have time to realise it.

What there is to see

The fountain of the Mussel Gatherers moves by the accuracy of its three bronze figures, bent towards the sea, which salute the work of generations of women of the estuary. Nearby, the quotation of Baudelaire recalls how much Honfleur inspired the greatest poets. It is a touching stop, between popular tribute and literary memory.

Practical information

The fountain of the Mussel Gatherers is on a roundabout, facing the media library and the tourist office of Honfleur. It can be contemplated freely at all hours and on the level, along the walk.

Who were the mussel gatherers?

Women who collected shellfish on the mudflats of the estuary, a hard trade that lasted until 1977.

What link did Baudelaire have with Honfleur?

He dreamed of settling there, as a quotation from 1866 recalls; he died however the following year without realising this dream.