Do you know the history of Rouen? It was during the Gallo-Roman era that this Norman city was born. Since then, many monuments have been built over the centuries.
Rouen Bouge therefore presents 5 monuments that you could discover during your stay in Rouen or out of simple curiosity!
Notre-Dame Cathedral in Rouen
This cathedral is the monument of Rouen which attracts the most visitors!
The reason for this enthusiasm around this Gothic-style monument is that of its grandeur, in fact it is the 4th tallest cathedral in the world with its height of 151 meters.
Destroyed during the Viking invasions in 841, then, partially, in 1944, by Allied bombings, the cathedral is a building in perpetual evolution. The choir of the cathedral houses the tombs of the Dukes of Normandy, including Rollo, founder of the duchy in 911, as well as the heart of Richard the Lionheart, King of England and Duke of Normandy.
The Big Clock
The large clock is made up of a Gothic style belfry, a Renaissance arcade and dial and an 1928th century fountain. The belfry houses the city bells and one of the oldest clock mechanisms in Europe which was in operation from the XNUMXth century to XNUMX. Inside, the contemporary scenography of the route reveals the behind the scenes of this exceptional monument dedicated to time: the dial room, the former apartments of the clock governor, the belfry and the XNUMXth century mechanism, the first municipal bells as well as a unique panorama of the city.
Courthouse
This monument is undoubtedly one of the most important and most beautiful achievements of civil architecture at the end of the Middle Ages.
Built largely from 1499 to 1572 to house the Parloir aux Bourgeois and the former Normandy Exchequer, it became the Parliament of Normandy under the reign of François I, in 1, before serving as a courthouse from the Revolution onwards. French. The building was then enlarged in the 1515th century.
the church of Saint Joan of Arc
This modern church has a dual vocation: it is both a church to honor Saint Joan of Arc and a civil memorial to commemorate the heroine.
Its architect, Louis Arretche, wanted to revive the tradition of many old Norman churches by giving the building the shape of an overturned boat. The exterior evokes the sea with a covering of slate or copper scales. Inside, you can admire the stained glass windows of the old Saint Vincent church dating from the Renaissance.
l’aître Saint-Maclou
In old French “aître” means cemetery, so the history of this place dates back to the Great Black Death of 1348, which killed three-quarters of the inhabitants of the district. It is because of this illness that a new cemetery had to open: the grand aître Saint Maclou.
Three of the galleries surrounding the cemetery were built between 1526 and 1533 to serve as ossuary. Their decor is macabre: skulls, bones, gravedigger's tools, objects of worship in mortuary rites. In a glass case, near the entrance door, a cat skeleton discovered in a gallery wall has been placed. It was undoubtedly a black cat (representation of the devil) locked alive in the masonry to ward off bad spells.
