Rouen is a city in northern France. It was founded by Gauls, who called the city Ratumacos. In the Roman Empire, the city was called Rotomagus, and it was one of the most important cities in the Gallic area. The Romans built, among other things an amphitheater and bathing facilities here. A few centuries later, Normans came to the area, and from 912 Rouen was the capital of the Duchy of Normandy. In 1204 the French king conquered the region and Rouen became part of France.

Six years later, the town’s castle was built, and textile production grew. During the Hundred Years’ War, England conquered Rouen and large parts of France, and during the war Joan of Arc was executed in Rouen in 1431. The city became French again, and over the centuries the city and population grew. Many new institutions were established in the 19th century, when the population exceeded 100,000. During the Second World War, large parts of Rouen were destroyed, and therefore the city was rebuilt in the post-war period.

Today you can take some lovely strolls in the center of Rouen, where the city’s cathedral is the most famous sight. The current Cathédrale Notre-Dame stands on the foundations of an earlier Romanesque cathedral, and it was mostly built from the 12th century to the 16th century. However, the 151-meter-high tower spire was not completed until 1876, and thus the cathedral was the world’s tallest building until 1880, when Cologne Cathedral was completed.

The church is an impressive structure that was used as a coronation and burial church for the dukes of Normandy. That part of history started with the Viking chieftain Rollo’s baptism here in 915 and burial in 932. Among the many other tombs and burial chapels in the impressive cathedral is the tomb where Richard the Lionheart’s heart is kept. Rouen Cathedral is famous, and Claude Monet painted it in a series of works that can be seen in museums around the world.

From the cathedral you can walk down Rue du Gros Horloge, one of Rouen’s central streets with several sights. The street is crossed by a Renaissance arch where you can see the Gros Horloge, which is an astronomical clock from the 14th century. The dial is 2.5 meters in diameter and the sun’s rays on a blue background with stars are shown. If you continue along the Rue du Gros Horloge, you can see many of the famous half-timbered houses that characterize old Rouen.

At the end of the street you arrive at the Place du Vieux Marché, one of the largest squares in the city centre. The square historically formed the city’s market, but it is best known as the place where Joan of Arc was tortured and burned alive on May 30, 1431. Therefore, you can see the church Église Sainte-Jeanne-d’Arc, which in modern architecture was consecrated on the square in 1979. A glass mosaic from the 16th century has been built into the church, which originates from the church that was located on this site until the destruction of the Second World War. At the church, you can see the green building Le Boucher, which marks the place where Joan of Arc was burned.

In Rouen there are also many other things to see like the old fortress tower from the castle of Rouen, which was built in the 13th century. The castle, apart from the tower Donjon de Rouen, was demolished in the 16th century and can no longer be seen in the streets. There are also several churches worth seeing, such as Abbaye Saint-Ouen from the 14th-15th centuries and Église Saint-Maclou from the 15th-16th centuries. These two churches, together with Rouen Cathedral, are the leading monuments of the Gothic period. You can also notice the Normandy Parliament building from the time of the French monarchy. The building was built between 1499 and 1508 and is now used as a courthouse.

There are several interesting museums in the city, of which the Musée des Beaux-Arts is worth a visit. Napoleon founded the museum in 1801, and you can e.g. see a distinguished collection of paintings from the 16th-19th centuries. Another museum is the Musée maritime fluvial et portuaire de Rouen, which describes the river port in Rouen’s history and development, river navigation, whaling and more.