The Normandy Koksijde

Hotel Normandie was a boat hotel opened in 1937 and is now boat restaurant De Normandie.

The history of the building goes back to 1933. The Goetmaeckers-Carly family wanted to run a catering business, but did not have the necessary financial resources. It would eventually become the painter Robert Buyle and his brother-in-law Simon to have the boat hotel "La Péniche" built and to appoint Goetmaeckers-Carly as tenants. Simon owned a bistrot in Paris, and both owners quickly realized that their investment in Oostduinkerke would yield much more by running it themselves than just renting it out. In the pre-war period, "La Péniche" attracted a remarkable number of wealthy French industrialists who regularly organized their hunting dinners and meetings there. During this period, the French franc was twice as strong as the Belgian franc. Buyle-Simon therefore decided to evict the owners after 3 years (contract 3-6-9) and thus be able to easily take over the rich French clientele.

Goedmaeckers-Carly were notified one year before the expiry of the first 3-year period. This time, however, the financial situation was in favor of the owners. After several years of exploitation and building up a rich clientele, it was suggested to create something ourselves...

The French clientele was also informed. And it was precisely in this regular group of customers that these matters were also discussed: the new project had to be a boat; all the more so because at that time the French parcel boat Normandie had won the 'blue pennant' in that year (1935): this decoration was part of the competition between Europe and America for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean.

So when Goetmaeckers-Carly had his own 'Normandie', this played into the hands of their French clientele.

Architect Jean Combaz already drew a first design in 1935, twice as long as the current building. At that time, the area between Saint-André and the Doornpanne was subdivided and Maurice Goedmaeckers and Josma Carly bought a plot of land 200 m away to build the competing boat hotel. Architect Combaz's design, which required shortening the bow and stern to fit the purchased plot, would unbalance the streamline of his design.

The Bruggeman brothers (municipal architects) therefore designed a rectangular volume with rounded prow and stern, inspired by the facade of the boat hotel "La Péniche". The contractor, Arthur Vanhercke, however, changed a few things to satisfy the client and so the building took on an explicit boat shape. Years later, architect Bruggeman still called the modified design “the largest monster along the Belgian coast”.

Originally, the building was not intended to look like a real stone boat.

Today we can call it a part of pop architecture. The sign is essential and perhaps more important than the building itself.

After a long period of neglect, De Normandie was transformed into a restaurant-tearoom.

The Normandie was protected as a monument together with competitor La Péniche on March 10, 1994.

Willem Vandenameele