here's a little something on the historic buildings on the island, bell tower included...
THE HISTORIC BUILDINGS OF SAINT BARTHÉLEMY
Seven exceptional buildings in Saint Barthélemy are on the official list of French Historic Monuments. What do they have in common? They were all built during the Swedish period in the island’s history: between March 7, 1785, the date the first Swedes arrived, and March 16, 1878, the date of the island’s retrocession to France.
The first building, the Dinzey House, was listed in 1990 at the request of its owner. Five other buildings were listed in 1995, following a request made in 1991 by mayor Daniel Blanchard. These structures comprise the Swedish battlements at Fort Gustav, the bell tower at the Catholic Church in Lorient, the Swedish bell tower in Gustavia, the Catholic Church in Gustavia, and the Governor’s House.
The pretty Creole building which houses the Maison des Sœurs Saint Paul de Chartres and the rectory in Lorient have not been listed. The most recent addition to the list is the Catholic rectory in Gustavia, which was added in 2002.
When The Island Was Swedish
Was it Christopher Columbus who actually discovered the island during his second voyage and named it after his brother Bartholomew? Or was it actually his brother, who had also equipped three boats for this second voyage, and named the island after himself, as suggests Georges Bourdin in his book, “The History of Saint Barthélemy?"
As there is absolutely no mention of this discovery noted in Columbus’ journals, there is room to wonder. Yet one thing is certain: after being occupied by the Amerindians, Saint Barthélemy was of Spanish nationality, before becoming French, then it was briefly a possession of the Order of Malta, then once again French, then Swedish, and finally French.
After a treaty was drawn up in 1784 between Swedish King Gustav III and French King Louis XVI, Saint Barthélemy was exchanged to give France the right to access the port of Gothenburg and occupy a few warehouses there. The first Swedes (of which there were 56) took possession of the island on March 7, 1785 and began to build a town around the harbor, which at the time had but 23 inhabitants, six of which were slaves. The town was declared a neutral, free port in September 1785 and was named Gustavia in 1786, in tribute to Swedish King Gustav III (1746-1792).
The town was laid out by Samuel Fahlberg, who was a doctor and secretary to the governor, but also a land surveyor and talented mapmaker. In 1804, on one of his last maps, Fahlberg listed 64 blocks, divided into 403 plots of land, on which there were 954 houses and 42 cisterns. The population of the island jumped from 749 inhabitants when the Swedes first arrived to 5,763 inhabitants in the census of 1815, of which 4,049 lived in Gustavia. This was a golden age; it would not last very long.
The multiplication of duty-free ports in the region and the end of colonial wars meant fewer merchant ships coming into the port. The economy started a downward slide and with it, the interest of the Swedish crown. The retrocession of the island to France took place on August 10, 1877, with a treaty signed in Paris. It was not until a year later, on March 16, 1878, after a local referendum, that Saint Barthélemy once again had French nationality.
* During the Swedish period, the English briefly dominated the island, from March 20, 1801 to July 10, 1802. Without a declaration of war, an English flotilla seized Gustavia and confiscated Swedish boats and warehouses. They even began to build a fort overlooking the town (English Fort), and its foundation stones still exist. After the signature of an agreement between Sweden and England, the English left the island on July 10, 1802.
AUGUST NYMAN, HERO OF 1810
1810 was the year that saw a large uprising of the population against the Swedish administration. After several months of discontent, a riot broke out in September 1810.
To put an end to the tension, Samuel Fahlberg, who was secretary to the governor and captain of the militia, gave an order to charge the cannons on the battlements of Fort Gustav and aim them toward the town. This order was contested by corporal August Nyman, who refused to obey and thus avoided a probable massacre.
Promoted as lieutenant, August Nyman died less than four years later, at the age of 35. It was in his memory that Johan Niklas Bystrom of Sweden sculpted a marble urn between 1814 and 1817. The urn was first placed on the tomb of August Nyman in the cemetery at Public, then transported up to Fort Gustav, where a stele was erected, before it was taken to the
Schoelcher Museum in Pointe-à-Pitre (Guadeloupe), before being brought back to Saint Barthélemy in 1995. This urn is the only object in Saint Barthélemy listed with the Historic Monuments of France. It has been listed since 1977.
CHURCH BELL TOWER
Built away from the main building, the bell tower at the Catholic Church is one of the elements protected by the church’s listing as a Historic Monument. It was built after the retrocession of the island to France. This is a known fact, as the project began after
Father Prual ‘s arrival in Saint Barthélemy, which was in 1881. However, we do not know the exact date of its construction. It replaced a former bell tower built of wood and stone, which was in the courtyard of the rectory. We also do not sure why the bell tower was transferred to parcel N°219 located on the side of the hillside east of the rectory and purchased on December 22, 1869. On the other hand, we do know that the two bronze bells still found in the bell tower were also transferred, as witnessed by the Latin inscription engraved on the larger of the two bells, which indicated that they were cast at the Lewis Debozear foundry in Philadelphia in 1842. The most recent restoration of the bell tower at the Catholic Church was in 1994.
THE CATHOLIC CHURCH IN LORIENT
It is difficult to discuss the clock tower without evoking the church itself, which was built after the schism between the two parishes on the island (Gustavia and Lorient) in 1858. This church project was spearheaded by its first priest, Father Eugène Le Couturier, who, with donations from the faithful, bought two pieces of land to build the rectory and church as still exist today.
The rectory was quickly completed but for financial reasons, the construction of the church did not get underway until 1863.
The edifice was completed in 1871. This church was not the first to be built in Lorient: the first-known reference goes back to
1687 and is found in a government report on the state of the churches dated November 13, 1687 (Aix en Provence archives).
A more recent church, built in 1820, can still be seen, and today it houses the library in Lorient.
The Sofia Magdalena Lutheran Church was so named in honor of Queen Sophie-Madeleine of Denmark, who was the wife of King Gustav III. It was one of the first edifices built by the Swedes in Saint Barth. Inaugurated on July 22, 1787, this Lutheran church also served as a place of worship for Anglicans, Catholics, and Methodists until each denomination built its own church. Badly damaged by the hurricane of 1837, Sogia Magdalena was destroyed in 1857, as it had fallen into ruin.
(“Gustavia, Architectural Historic Walk” by Jenny Stening)