The city of Rouen is one of the big tourist attractions of Normandy. The old historic medieval center has been totally renovated and the Gothic cathedral is a piece of art in itself. The city was during the 100 year war with England the British headquarters and it was here that French hero-ine Jeanne d'Arc was burned on the stack in 1431.
There is a church named after her on the infamous square where it suposedly happened. The city was decimated in WW2 but nowadays still has one of the most important ports of France. The river Seine cuts through the city. Rouen can be used to visit the rest of Normandy and/or Monet's house in Giverny.
Cathedral Notre-Dame and the Saint Maclou church:
The construction of the Gothic cathedral began in the 12th century on the site where originally a Romanesque cathedral stood. Only the old crypt from the old cathedral is still there. The impressive central tower has a cast iron spire from 1876 which replaces the original wooden spire of 1544. This was lost by a lightning strike.
Under the choir you can still find the remains of the original Romanesque cathedral: the crypt and a well. In the choir closure, the heart of Charles V is enclosed in a lead box. In the choir itself are the tomb monuments of Richard the LionHeart and Rollo, the first Duke of Normandy. The cathedral has about thirty paintings by the Impressionist painter “Monet” who made the cathedral one of his favorite objects for painting. During WW2 the cathedral was badly damaged by bombing; the restoration is still ongoing.
Not far from the cathedral is the Saint Maclou church that was built between 1437 and 1517. It stands on a picturesque square surrounded by several old half-timbered houses in the typical Norman style. The church has a beautiful façade and four side portals in a fan shape. Inside there is a beautiful spiral staircase (1517) and an organ with fine woodwork from the beginning of the 16th century.
During WW2 the church was damaged by the heavy shelling and bombing. A thorough renovation followed.
Place du Vieux-Marche, Saint-Jeanne d'Arc church and the Gros watch:
The old market square (Place du Vieux-Marche) is located on the west side of the center and is surrounded by half-timbered houses. In the Middle Ages, this marketplace also served as an execution place for criminals and other convicts. Jeanne d'Arc was put on the stake on May 30, 1431 on this square.
The Cross of Rehabilitation, is a national monument in honor of the French folk hero and martyr and is also on the Vieux Marché. Finally, near the square is the small museum, le Musée de Souvenir, entirely dedicated to Joan of Arc.
The modern Saint Jeanne d'Arc church was completed in 1979 and stands in the middle of the market square. The place of the church that bears her name can hardly be more symbolic. The ecclesiastical building stands not only as a memorial to St. Jeanne itself but also as a bourgeois monument: the national heroine of France as a symbolic function.
The roof of the whole church is formed like a ship - it is covered with slate and copper. In the church there is a huge stained-glass window of 500 m². This consists of 13 stained-glass windows that were rescued from the Saint-Vincent church that was destroyed during WW2. They represent scenes from the life of Jesus and other saints.
Le Gros Horloge is one of the reference points in Rouen. It actually consists of a large gate arch that completely spans the Rue du Gros-Horloge, with a clockwork on the front. The gate provides access to the Place-du-Vieux-Marché. The timepiece has a mechanism from the 15th century. The whole is crowned with skylights and a pavilion. On the building is the belfry of the city, from which the inhabitants removed the timepiece in 1527 to fasten it in the gate arch so that the population could see the watch better.
Other attractions:
Tower of Joan of Arc
The donjon is the only part left over from a medieval fortress that was built at the beginning of the 13th century (1204) by Philip II Augustus. In this cylindrical tower Jeanne d'Arc was tried and tortured. She was imprisoned in another tower, a little further away, which has disappeared over time.
Palace of Justice:
This courthouse from the end of the 15th and the beginning of the 16th century was built in late Gothic style as the Échiquer de Normandie (Supreme Court).
On the forecourt on the eastern staircase, in 1976, the remains of a Jewish building were uncovered. The Hebrew inscriptions suggest that it concerns a Jewish school from the 8th-9th century. The palace was during WWII bombed; only the skin was still there. As a reminder, the bullet holes in the walls have been partially left behind.
Aitre St-Maclou:
The center of Rouen has many half-timbered houses. Behind the St. Maclou church is probably the most beautiful cluster in the city. Especially the Aitre St-Maclour, which is surrounded by 16th century half-timbered houses is a tourist attraction.
Rouen originated in the Gallo-Roman period. It was the main place for the tribe of the "Veliocasses" in the valley of the Seine. The city itself was founded under the sovereignty of the Roman emperor August on the right bank of the Seine. She was the second most important city in Gaul after Lugdunum (Lyon).
In the 3rd century, the Gallo-Roman city experienced its greatest prosperity and became a bishop's seat. In the first half of the 9th century, the area around Rouen was plagued by raids by the Normans. By the treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte in 911 Rollo, chief of the Normans became the first Duke of Normandy. He made Rouen the capital of the region. In 1150 Rouen got city rights.
In 1205, Philip II August occupied Rouen and the rest of the Duchy of Normandy; it has since belonged to the French crown. It became an important and flourishing trade center. In the middle of the Hundred Years' War (1337-1453) the city fell on January 19, 1419, after a siege of 6 months and a period of acute famine in the hands of the English King Henry V.
The surrender did not happen without a struggle; some citizens oppose. The city became the new power station of the English in the occupied part of France. In May 1430, the Duke of Burgundy sold Joan of Arc for 10 000 French thalers to Jan van Bedford, who had her imprisoned. A religious trial was instituted against the young woman for heresy. Thus the French king Charles VII lost his right to the French throne and the young English king Henry VI could claim this. Under the direction of Pierre Cauchon, the bishop of Beauvais and the president of the Inquisition Court, Jeanne was sentenced to death. On 30 May 1431 she died at the stake at the Place du Vieux-Marché in Rouen. In 1449, 30 years after the English occupation, Charles VII reconquered the city.
In June 1940, the residents themselves blew up the existing bridges and part of the harbor to prevent the Germans from occupying Rouen. In vain, the Germans entered the city with their tanks. Meanwhile an inferno raged in the city; the cathedral was on fire and in the neighborhood around it, beautiful half-timbered houses went up in flames. After 10 days the fire extinguished slowly. Between 1941 and 1942 the city was regularly bombed by British bombers which caused severe damage. On the night of April 18-19, 1944, the city center was hit again by some 350 heavy bombs from the Allies. A new fire raged in which hundreds of civilian casualties fell and more than 500 buildings were destroyed. The courthouse also went up in flames.
Barely a month later, on May 30, 1944, the city was again heavily bombed. The cathedral fell prey to the flames and the architectural damage was great. The inhabitants tried to put out the fire all night. The cathedral could be saved but the Saint-Maclou (church) was laid in ashes. After the landing of the Allies, the German troops were still in the city. The bridges over the Seine were blown up and nobody could leave the city. On 30 August, the Germans were finally expelled from the city by the Canadians; before they left, they set fire to the harbor installations. The toll of the warh; more than 3,000 people were killed and 10,000 houses were laid in ashes.
The train station Gare Rouen-Rive Droite is located about one kilometer north of the center. The small bus station is right next to it. Flixbus, on the other hand, leaves from a stop at Quai de Havre (north quay Seine).
Rouen - Paris: several Flix buses depart daily from Rouen to the bus station Porte Maillot in Paris. The bus takes about two hours and costs 7 euro p.p.
Content:
If you take the metro / tram and get off at the last stop Technopole you can walk from there (further south) towards the forest. It starts with a fern forest, but behind it (where you will hear the big road) is a good forest where you can camp wild. Note that there are quite a few walkers, joggers and students who walk to university in the morning.
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