Rouen Attractions
Rouen lies northwest of Paris on the lower Seine, some 130km/80mi above its mouth. The ancient capital of Normandy, it is now chief town of the Haute-Normandie region, the see of an archbishop, France's largest river port and one of its largest seaports, situated at the highest point on the river navigable by seagoing vessels. It is also a major center of the cotton industry.
In spite of the heavy destruction it suffered during the Second World War, Rouen is still one of the great tourist centers of northern France, with magnificent Gothic churches and richly stocked museums which fully justify its style of "museum city" (ville musée).
The dramatist Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) and the novelist Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) were born in Rouen.
The Gallic town known to the Romans as Rotomagus, capital of the Veliocasses, flourished under Roman rule and became the see of a bishop in 260. In the ninth C. it was devastated several times by Norsemen from Denmark, whose leader Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy as Robert I in 911. After Duke William of Normandy became king of England in 1066 Rouen, along with the rest of Normandy, became an English possession, and remained under English rule until 1204. During the Hundred Years' War, in 1419, it was taken by Henry V after a six months' siege. Here in 1431 Joan of Arc was tried and burned at the stake. The town was recaptured by Charles VII of France in 1449, and thereafter it prospered until the outbreak of the wars of religion. The bitter fighting between Catholics and Calvinists in the 16th and 17th centuries hampered the development of the town stimulated by the rise of the textile industry, and after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 it lost more than half its population. Prosperity began to return only in the 18th C. with the revival of the textile industry.
In spite of the heavy destruction it suffered during the Second World War, Rouen is still one of the great tourist centers of northern France, with magnificent Gothic churches and richly stocked museums which fully justify its style of "museum city" (ville musée).
The dramatist Pierre Corneille (1606-1684) and the novelist Gustave Flaubert (1821-1880) were born in Rouen.
The Gallic town known to the Romans as Rotomagus, capital of the Veliocasses, flourished under Roman rule and became the see of a bishop in 260. In the ninth C. it was devastated several times by Norsemen from Denmark, whose leader Rollo became the first Duke of Normandy as Robert I in 911. After Duke William of Normandy became king of England in 1066 Rouen, along with the rest of Normandy, became an English possession, and remained under English rule until 1204. During the Hundred Years' War, in 1419, it was taken by Henry V after a six months' siege. Here in 1431 Joan of Arc was tried and burned at the stake. The town was recaptured by Charles VII of France in 1449, and thereafter it prospered until the outbreak of the wars of religion. The bitter fighting between Catholics and Calvinists in the 16th and 17th centuries hampered the development of the town stimulated by the rise of the textile industry, and after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes in 1685 it lost more than half its population. Prosperity began to return only in the 18th C. with the revival of the textile industry.
Côte Ste Catherine
From the hill in the east of Rouen known as Côte Ste Catherine there is a fine view of Rouen and the Seine.
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Eglise St Maclou
One of the many fine buildings in Rouen, Eglise St Maclou is a Late Gothic church built in the 15th and 16th C. The high tower was built in the 19th C.
Palais de Justice
In Rouen, the Palais de Justice (at the end of the pedestrian zone, a little to the north of the Gros Horloge) is a masterpiece of Gothic architecture. Once the meeting-place of the Parlement (Exhiquier) of Normandie, it was built by Roulland Le Roux in 1508-1509, badly damaged in 1944 and subsequently restored.
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Place du Vieux Marché
Place du Vieux Marché is located in central Rouen and surrounded by both old and new architecture.
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Rouen Cathedral
The Rouen Cathedral is one of the largest Gothic cathedrals in France. It is the subject of a series of famous paintings by Monet, who painted the cathedral in different lighting situations.
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St Ouen
The 14th C St-Ouen church is a splendid Late Gothic structure, easily recognized by the two twin towers flanking the entrance, and the incredible main tower, known as the Crown of Normandy.
Bridges
There are fine views of the Rouen riverside quays and the towers and spires of the city from the Seine bridges, rebuilt after the last war, e.g. from the Pont Corneille, which cuts across the tip of the Ile Lacroix, and particularly from the Pont Boïeldieu at the end of Rue Grand-Pont. There are also excellent views from the left bank of the river.
Fierte St Romain
In Rouen, to the south of the Cathedral, extending to the banks of the Seine, is a district of modern flats. The only remnant of the old town here is the Fierte St Roman (near the old market halls), a unique Renaissance building of 1542.
Hôtel de Bourgtheroulde
In Rouen, to the south of the Place du Marché stands the Hotêl de Bourgtheroulde, a splendid mansion built between 1486 and 1531 for Guillaume Le Roux, with a beautiiful courtyard and fine relief ornament.
Rue du Gros Horloge
In Rouen, from the southeast corner of the Place du Vieux Marché Rue du Gros Horloge leads to the Cathedral. Half way along it passes through the Tour du Gros-Horloge, a defensive tower built in 1389-98 (clock dates from 1889), adjoining which is a Renaissance pavilion.
St Romain
In Rouen, the richly decorated church of St- Romain (17th-18th C.) lies to the east of the Gare Rive Droite (railroad station). West of the station stands the neo-Romanesque church of St-Gervais (1868-1876), with a fourth C. crypt, a relic of an earlier church, under the choir. The site was formerly occupied by a priory in which William the Conqueror died in 1087.
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