churches of rouen

Many are probably wondering about the huge omissions in the last entry: where are the churches?! (Well, I know at least one person is thinking that.) I thought they deserved their own entry.

So Rouen is most well-known for burning Jeanne d'Arc (er, Joan of Arc [Ark?! I can't spell anymore!!] if anyone couldn't tell) and having that giant Gothic cathedral. It is indeed enormous and super high Gothic. I wouldn't necessarily call it pretty or elegant, but it's very imposing and fascinating. Sorry, this is the best picture of the front I could get; there's no way to get it all in one shot. The other is a detail of the middle portal.


That Gothic frill is just incredible.

So most of the cathedral dates from the 12th to 13th centuries. The tower on the left is from the 12th, but the right one (you can see it a little, it's more yellowy) is from the 16th, though. The townspeople preferred to pay fines rather than go without butter during Lent and wound up paying for a whole new tower! Lots of fun stuff happened there, but I won't bore you with stories of the Middle Ages. Parts of it were injured during WWII, especially those poor saints on the side. Casts of them are now inside the cathedral so you can see them better.

And, hey, look who's buried there! (Psst - it's Richard the Lionheart)


Except it's only his heart. Other bits of him are in various places. I have soo many other pictures of the cathedral including a cool staircase, stained glass and ridiculously ornate entrance for the bookkeepers. But it's hard to take good pics in a place like that.

Okay next there is the church of St Maclou, also high Gothic though much smaller. Most of my pics of the inside are blurry, as if I had too much coffee or something before taking them. Which I didn't.

Standing on a street between the two, you can see each of their spires, they're so close. It takes maybe 2 minutes to walk. Also situated between them is the traditional residence of the Archbishop of Rouen, and where he still seems to live.



Next in the realm of churches we have the St Ouen abbey, which is nearly as huge as the cathedral. They abbey was founded in the 8th century, and since then the building had been constantly undergoing change until the 19th; it's really interesting to see all the different phases and styles. I don't think the church part is still in use as it is rather empty inside. There are still organ recitals there, though, and it was being tuned while I was wandering around. The abbey is about 4 minutes from St Maclou. Here are views from the back and front:



A couple shots from inside the abbey...I thought it interesting that one of the cross' side windows featured a pentagram.




And finally we have the modern church. It was built in the square where Jeanne d'Arc was burned, and is dedicated to her. I'm not sure if they meant the design to be so ironic or not; you might not be able to see it, but the church is shaped like a witch's hat. It has some nifty stained glass on the other side.