Prefecture of the Seine-Maritime department (76)
Stage town for the 20th time
Population:
114,000 inhabitants (Rouennais)
Personalities:
Joan of Arc (war leader, Catholic saint), Pierre Corneille, Gustave Flaubert, Guy de Maupassant, Maurice Leblanc (writers), Jean Lecanuet, François Hollande, Edouard Philippe (statesmen), Thomas Pesquet (spaceman), Elise Lucet (television), David Douillet (judo), Pierre Gasly (Formula 1), Thomas Jolly (actor and director)
Specialities:
Caneton à la Rouennaise (duck in blood), coquilles Saint-Jacques à la rouennaise (Scallops), sucre de pomme (confectionery), mirlitons (pastries), biscuits (larmes de Jeanne d'Arc, pavé du Vieux Marché...)
Sport:
SPO Rouen (basketball), FC Rouen (football), Rouen Hockey Elite 76 (Magnus League, 18 French championship titles), Rouen Métropole Basket (Pro B), Rouen Normandie Handball (women's D2)
Festivals:
Joan of Arc festival, Visions nordiques (cinema), Normandie impressionniste festival, l'Armada (giant sailing ships, every four years)
Economy:
Autonomous port, national interest market, mutual insurance companies (Matmut), tertiary sector
Nickname:
The city of a hundred steeples
Labels:
Town in Bloom, Town of Art and History, UNESCO Creative City of Gastronomy
Websites:
www.visiterouen.com / www.metropole-rouen-normandie.fr / rouen.fr / www.seinemaritime.fr / www.normandie.fr / www.normandie-tourisme.fr
Rouen and cycling
Ignored before the war in favour of Caen or Le Havre, the Normandy capital became a regular stage of the Tour de France after appearing on the route map for the first time in 1949. Although Victor Hugo was impressed by "the city of a hundred steeples", Rouen remains above all Jacques Anquetil's stronghold for cycling fans. On his Tour debut in 1957, the man who had not yet earned the nickname Maître Jacques won his first half-stage on home soil. Three weeks later, he completed his first Tour de France with the Yellow Jersey on his shoulders.
The Norman rider had only contested his first race six years earlier, to emulate his friend Maurice Dieulois, who was a member of André Boucher's AC Sotteville, and whose victories made him popular with the ladies. Right from the start, Jacques Anquetil proved to be an exceptional time-trialist, and soon surpassed his school friend. Maurice Dieulois has not forgotten the early days of Anquetil who, at the age of 14, cycled every week the 15 km between his village of Quincampoix and the college where he was studying for a vocational training certificate in turning and milling. "He cycled down every Monday morning. For him, it was just a means of transport," recalled Maurice Dieulois, who died in 2022. On Thursday afternoons, we'd go for a ride on the road or in the undergrowth. Sometimes we'd push all the way to the sea. Jacques was a man of challenges. So we often tickled each other in the bumps. Jacques never wanted to admit he was beaten.”
This thirst for victory would never leave him. After his untimely death in 1987, the city of Rouen named a quay along the Seine and a sports centre after the five-time Tour winner. The last winner in the city in 2012 was André Greipel.
Sights
Rouen Cathedral:
Construction: 12th century.
Style: Gothic.
History: construction of Notre-Dame de Rouen cathedral began in the middle of the 12th century, on the site of the Romanesque cathedral, the crypt of which has been preserved. Around a hundred years later, it was completed, but it was reworked and completed over the following centuries. The façade, the widest of any cathedral in France, is a precious testimony to the development of Gothic art from the middle of the 12th century to the beginning of the 16th century. The attractive lantern tower was given a cast-iron spire in the 19th century, rising to a height of 151 metres.
Characteristics: a rare feature in France, the church has preserved its archiepiscopal palace and surrounding outbuildings dating from the same period. In the ambulatory, it houses the graves of several former Dukes of Normandy, including that of Rollo, the founder of the duchy, and that of Richard the Lionheart, who loved the town so much that he had his heart placed in the crypt after his death. The entire history of stained glass from the 13th century to the present day can be read inside the church.
Special feature: considered to be "the most human of cathedrals" due to the lack of symmetry in its western facade, it is world-famous, particularly for the 30 paintings in the Rouen Cathedral series by Impressionist Claude Monet.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1862.
Church of Saint Joan of Arc:
Built in 1979.
History and features: the vast edifice that has stood on Place du Vieux Marché, where Joan of Arc was burnt, since 1979 serves a dual purpose. It is both a church to honour the saint and a civilian memorial to commemorate the heroine celebrated by France on the second Sunday in May. In Rouen, Joan of Arc celebrations take place on the Sunday closest to 30 May. Its architect, Louis Arretche, wanted to revive the tradition of many old Norman churches by giving the building the shape of an upside-down boat. To achieve this, he has rediscovered the principles of traditional shipbuilding, and the wooden structure remains visible above the nave. The resolutely modern exterior is evocative of the sea, with a roof of slate or copper scales. Inside, you can admire the remarkable stained-glass windows from the former Saint Vincent church, dating from the Renaissance.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 2002.
Gros Horloge (Big Clock):
The emblem of Rouen, Gros Horloge houses one of the oldest clocks in France, dating back to 1389. Its mechanism, the only one of its kind in Europe, sits beneath a Gothic belfry and a Renaissance clock face. Overlooking the pedestrian street, it sets the pace of the city with its weekly calendar featuring mythological gods. A true journey through time, this monument so dear to the people of Rouen is a fascinating witness to the history of watchmaking.
Côte Sainte-Catherine:
This is Rouen's best-known panorama, accessible from the city centre via the Corniche road or a 525-step footpath. Climbing to the top is well worth the diversions, as it is the very spot where Monet painted his famous picture General View of Rouen in 1892, which can be viewed free of charge at the Rouen Museum of Fine Arts.
Courthouse:
Built: 1499
Style: Louis XII
History: this is one of the most important and beautiful examples of late medieval civil architecture. The oldest part is the west wing, built from 1499 to house both the Parloir aux Bourgeois and the Échiquier de Normandie (high judicial and financial court). In 1508, a new building was added at right angles to the original, the Palais Royal, which was completed in the mid-sixteenth century. In the meantime, Francis I had transformed the Exchequer into the Parliament. This central wing was given a most extraordinary decoration. Standing out against the slope of the roof are large dormer windows and a balustrade bristling with pinnacles and linked by openwork buttresses.
Special feature: discovered in 1976 under the staircase in the east wing to the right of the main courtyard of the Palais de Justice, the Maison sublime is a rectangular monument measuring 14.14 m by 9.46 m. Dating from 1100, this house was located in the "Clos aux juifs" (Jewish Enclosure), the medieval quarter of this community. It may have been a synagogue, a market hall or a yeshiva (Bible school).
Listed as: historical monument in 1840.
To eat
Apple sugar:
When it was first created in the 16th century, apple sugar was prepared using a quarter of concentrated apple juice and three quarters of sugar heated to 140°C before being formed into sticks, tablets or lozenges covered with a layer of sugar. This initial recipe was improved by adding glucose, then apple essence and lemon juice to obtain a perfectly transparent apple sugar. In 1865, it was given the shape of a ten-centimetre stick representing Rouen's Big Clock, and is sold in grey, white and gold packaging.
