St Pierre Martinique (Part 1)

St Pierre Bay

The anchorage at St Pierre was interesting. As well as being on a narrow shelf close to the shoreline, it also seemed to have a current running through it and gusts of winds swirling in all directions. The result was that the anchored yachts sat in all directions making it difficult for arriving yachts to work out where to put their anchors. We did have one yacht that swung very close to us (< 5 meters) so we feigned business on deck to keep a close eye and be ready to fend off if necessary. Eventually someone arrived back on the yacht who knew what they were doing (the charter passengers on board at the time didn’t) and they moved away to a better position. Also in the anchorage with us were Lars and Susanne on Sea Windand Mike and Cate on Kealoha V, plus later on, during our last day, we briefly met up with Martin and Hilary on Chardonnay of Solent, who stopped in on their way south.

Mount Pelée, unusually not covered in cloud

Dominating the skyline above us was Mount Pelée which had erupted so spectacularly in 1902. From the anchorage we were lucky enough to see it a couple of times without clouds hiding the summit. It is possible to hike up to the summit and we made enquiries at the Tourist Office about how to do so but decided that this time around we didn’t have time for that adventure. We would also definitely want clear weather conditions to get the good views after the arduous climb up to the crater rim. One for our next visit.

La Maison de la Bourse- the old Chamber of Commerce

Arriving ashore, one of the first of the older looking buildings that we came across was the Chamber of Commerce. Originally built in 1820 from prefabricated wood and cast-iron pieces it was a key meeting point for salespeople, merchants, ship’s captains and brokers. The original building did not survive the 1902 catastrophe but was rebuilt authentically by Gérard Jacqua, the Chief Historical Monuments architect, and it became an art gallery, which it still is today, whilst the current Chamber of Commerce sits at the corner of the square in a much less grand building.

The ‘Mouillage’ church, Pirates’ churchand, later, the cathedral

Also damaged in the 1902 eruption was the cathedral. This was the first church built in the ‘Mouillage’ quarter. Construction started in 1654 with the building originally being designated a monastery. However, an attack on St Pierre by the British in 1667 damaged the chapel and bell tower so badly that building work had to start again. Funds for that and agreement by the parish council were not finalised until 1816 but from that point the ‘Mouillage’ church became the ‘Pirates’ Church’ and benefited from donations from their booty. The building became a cathedral in 1853 but the extension work associated with this change in importance was only completed in 1883. Bells were also installed in the towers as a part of this work. The old black and white postcard photos above show the cathedral in its final form (top left) and then the destruction after the 1902 eruption (bottom). Rebuilt in 1923-24, the current façade (top right) is much less grand and the whole church is part way through a seemingly stalled renovation.

The St Pierre theatre

St Pierre was founded in 1635 as the island’s first capital. In its heyday, it was a bustling town of 30,000 inhabitants and the economic hub of Martinique. Known as ‘the Paris of the Caribbean’, by all accounts it was stylish and chic. The social life was complemented by a large theatre which could seat 800, the original construction of which dated back to 1786. A major renovation in 1900 bankrupted the theatre and it closed down in May 1901 just a year before the eruption. Now it stands in ruin.

The prison cell where Louis Cyparis survived the catastrophe

Right next door to the theatre is another area left as a legacy of the ruins caused by the eruption. Built between the high walls of the theatre and the barracks was the prison where individuals awaiting trial were held. At 8am on 8^thMay 1902 Mount Pelée erupted. The side of the volcano was blown out by a huge fireball of volcanic gases and the combination of the fireball and molten ash wiped out all but one or 2 of the 30,000 residents. Louis Cyparis was an inmate in the prison awaiting trial and his survival is attributed to the thickness of the prison cell walls. Rescued 3 days later by French sailors, he went on to be part of the American Barnum’s Circus and was billed as the sole survivor of the catastrophe. Now it is thought that there might have been 3 survivors but the almost instant annihilation of 30,000 residents makes the 1902 Mount Pelée catastrophe the largest number of casualties from a volcanic eruption in the 20^thcentury.

St Pierre, Martinique