Shortly after the foundation of the city of Le Havre in 1517 by King Francis I of France, a first chapel of wood and thatch was built on the site of the current Notre-Dame du Havre Cathedral. In the 16th century, the chapel suffered from the French Wars of Religion, and later the French Revolution, and was therefore consolidated and flanked by a bell tower. Notre-Dame du Havre Cathedral was also particularly affected by the bombings of 1944, and its restoration lasted until 1974 when the parish church became a cathedral of the diocese.