2025 Tour Day 23 Rouen Walking Tour

Jeanne d'Arc - Joan of Arc. 

Rouen is where Joan of Arc was brought when she was captured. Here she was tried, and convicted of heresy and burned at the stake, May 30, 1431. 

But on July 7, 1456 the court declared her innocent, and annulled her sentence, declaring she had been tried as a result of "false articles of accusation". 

Her story is one of faith and commitment. She felt she had been spoken to by God and carried her prophecies to the French King. She dressed in men's clothing and fought the English (who had control of parts of France) and she helped the French be victorious in a couple of key battles along the Loire (Orleans). But she was captured and Rouen was still under British rule and here she was tried and found guilty. 

Her legend lives on. 

We enjoyed the Joan of Arc museum, a very well crafted walk through her life housed in the Arch Bishop's Palace, and supported by video storytelling. 

In the place where she was killed there stands a cross, and a church was commissioned in 1969 and completed in 1979. It resembles an over turned ship, and has 13 stained glass windows from the original 16th century church on this site. The original church was destroyed by German bombing, but the windows were preserved through WWII.

The old market surrounds and is hosted under portions of the sweeping roof. 

Rouen is also known as the city of spires. There are many churches and the grand Notre Dame with it's 151 meter spire takes top prize (highest in France).  It is gothic, with the Saint Roman Tower on the left, and the Butter Tower on the right. (Butter Tower named as it was built using taxes applied to butter.)

Monet famously painted this Cathedral over 30.times. 

There are 70 figures sculpted in the facade, which date back to 1362 - 1421, and are installed 20-30 meters high.  The highest row of figures is Women and Angels. 

In the church there were several original figure carvings as well, so human in their facial features and emotions being portrayed.  

Saint Peter and the keys to heaven. 

Some of the stained glass windows in the church dates back to the 13th century. 

This staircase inside was carved of stone but was so fluid it was like looking at steel, or even water. 

Richard the Lionheart's tomb is here. He said that he wanted his heart left here, in remembrance of his love for Normandy.

The other churches are impressive in the own right. 

Saint Maclou is a work in flamboyant and radiant Gothic style, with detail that seems impossible to be carved of stone and still intact. 

The Saint Ouen Abbey also rises above the timber houses close to Notre Dame (I took this photo from the Arch Bishops Palace). 

Medieval half-timbered houses are renowned in Rouen for their abundance and beauty, they date back to the 14th century. Note the photo in the middle, the house in the middle of the photo, sandwiches between two others, has slanted windows!?

Lunch was crepes, something we really miss from Brittany last year. Such a good quick meal, not fried and always so fresh and delicious. 

The creperie was on a narrow road just before the old clock. The road was decorated with colourful umbrellas flying above the cobblestoned pedestrian street.  

The Gros Horloge - the big clock - restored in 1997, dates back to the 14th century, when a mechanism for keeping time was installed. In the 16th century the dial for hour tracking was crafted. 

The single hand of the clock points to the hour. 

The opening at the bottom (under 6) is a rotating mural that changes with the days of the week. 

The black ball at the top (above 12) tracks the phases of the moon. 

The clock is decorated with a lamb in the center representing the wool industry of Rouen. 

Below the clock is a carved archway. The story goes that the workers were under paid and to make a statement of their disgruntled feelings, they carved one of the angels upside down. 

We found her, the upside down angel, second from the right. 

Gotta love the French and their protests! 

The Palais du Justice took more than a city block. A large building, that has been added to century after century. 

It has gargoyles aplenty, as a legend tells that a gargoyle was terrorizing the city, the archbishop asked a prisoner to help and the prisoner killed the gargoyle and was freed. This led to the freeing of a condemned prisoner each year on Ascension Day. 

We had a great audio guide developed by the Tourism Office. We learned so much today. A very nice way to spend the day.  We took the metro + bus back up the hill to our hotel. 

Our hotel occupies a historic Ecole for Woman. With a beautiful art garden and a lovely view. 

We were also very happy to return to find our highly anticipated package from home. Huge thank you to Maggie for helping to ship Marc's prescription to us. We couldn't carry enough for our 40 days, as they need refrigeration, so we had help getting enough delivered so we can stay for 2 more weeks. 

Maggie + DHL = Delivered. 

Back in the saddle tomorrow.