Pomme d'Or Hotel
| Pomme d'Or Hotel | |
|---|---|
Pomme d'Or | |
 Pomme d'Or on Liberation Day, 2012 | |
 | |
| Former names | Kriegsmarine HQ |
| General information | |
| Type | Hotel |
| Address | Liberation Square, St Helier, JE1 3UF |
| Town or city | Saint Helier |
| Country | Jersey |
| Coordinates | 49°10′59″N 02°06′31″W / 49.18306°N 2.10861°W / 49.18306; -2.10861 |
| Named for | Pomme d'Or cider |
| Opened | 1837 |
| Renovated | 1932, 2006 |
| Owner | Seymour Hotels |
The Pomme d'Or Hotel is a hotel in Saint Helier, Jersey. It was founded in 1837 and was used as the Nazi naval headquarters during the Nazi occupation of the Channel Islands. It is the main focus for Jersey's Liberation Day celebrations.
Early history
The original site of the Pomme d'Or had been occupied since 1802, initially stables were built on it. In 1837, the owners demolished the stables and built a hotel in their place. It was named the Pomme D'Or after a local cider produced nearby.[1] In 1852, the French author Victor Hugo stayed at the hotel during his exile from France.[2] Following the end of the First World War, the hotel had become dilapidated until 1932 when the Seymour family bought it and renovated it.[1]
Occupation
When the Germans invaded in 1940, the Pomme d'Or was requisitioned by the Nazis as the Kriegsmarine Naval Headquarters.[3] The Reichskriegsflagge was flown from the hotel's flagpole.[3] During the Liberation of the Channel Islands, soldiers of the British Army climbed to the balcony and removed the Nazi flag and replaced it with the Union Jack.[4][5] Since then, the act of raising the Union Jack on the hotel balcony has been ceremonially repeated yearly as the focal point for Jersey's Liberation Day celebrations.[6]
Later history
In 2006, the hotel was renovated for a visit by Queen Elizabeth II.[7] In 2012, the Pomme d'Or hosted the British–Irish Council for a discussion on the misuse of drugs in the British Isles.[8] In 2015, Jersey moved their Liberation Day celebrations away from Liberation Square and to the People's Park, which resulted in the Pomme d'Or not hosting the traditional flag-raising ceremony that year.[9] The celebrations and commemorative flag raising returned to the hotel the next year.[10]
References
- ^ a b "How did the Pomme d'Or get its name?". Seymourhotels.com. 8 August 2018. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ Bire, Edmond (1894). Victor Hugo après 1852: l'exil, les dernières années et la mort du poète (in French). Perrin et cie. p. 45. ISBN 978-1145995260.
- ^ a b McLoughlin, Roy (2019). Living with the Enemy (reprint ed.). Seeker Publishing. p. 143. ISBN 9780952565901.
- ^ "Liberation Day 2009" (PDF). BBC. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Liberation Day: Union Flag raised at Pomme d'Or in Jersey". ITV. 9 May 2020. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Jersey States staff get Liberation Day holiday". BBC News. 4 March 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Pomme d'Or work earns top award". Jersey Evening Post. 4 July 2006. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "British Irish Council meets in Jersey". Government of Jersey. 29 June 2012. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Jersey Liberation Day event moves to People's Park". BBC News. 6 February 2015. Retrieved 10 July 2021.
- ^ "Jersey Celebrates Liberation Day". ITV. 9 June 2016. Retrieved 10 July 2021.