The oldest known name of the commune was "Caput Caleti" mentioned in 1240. Later known as
Saint-Denis-Chef-de-Caux, named after an ancient place of worship and its position on the cape. In 1415,
Henry V landed with his fleet, to claim the throne of France. Starting in 1905,
Georges Dufayel, a Parisian businessman, created a residential seaside resort known as
Nice havrais (the "
Nice of Le Havre"), at Sainte Adresse. The local architect Ernest Daniel directed operations. The
Avenue de Regatta on the waterfront is designed in the image of the
promenade des Anglais in
Nice. During
World War I, Sainte-Adresse was the administrative capital of
Belgium. The Belgian government in exile was installed from October 1914 to November 1918 in the Dufayel building, named after the businessman who had built it in 1911. It had at its disposal a post office using Belgian
postage stamps. As a result , in the center of the seal is the Belgian flag. During
World War II, the Germans built several fortifications here for the
Atlantic Wall, to defend the port of Le Havre. ==Places of interest==