The Cathedral of Rouen

Arriving in Rouen on our first evening in France our way lead us to the Cathedral of Rouen. During summer time the cathedral serves as display board for a light show, which starts once it is dark enough to make the colors pop on the cathedral front.  We passed the cathedral, while the sun was still out and settled down with a some cider to wait until the appointed hour.

the cathedral in all its glory @Rouen

Although the doors were already closed there was enough time to take a closer look at the portal details. So magnificent!

incredible ornamentation @Cathedral of Rouen

Eventually the light show started and it was truly remarkable. Two different artists showed their work. The first one was more electronic with a an upbeat music and the second one was more flowery and had really interesting pirate motives on the church facade.

light show @Cathedral of Rouen

The tower on the right side is called the butter tower, since it was financed with the tax to eat milk products during lent. It was built in the late 15th century. The tower on the left, the Saint-Romain tower, is a lot older. Its construction began already in 1145.

second artist @Cathedral of Rouen

This facade had already inspired Claude Monet to paint a couple of pictures. But we were here for all the historic figures, who had found their last resting place inside the cathedral. Rollo, the Viking and first ‘Duke of Normandy’, has his tomb here as well as the heart of Richard Lionheart. The rest of Richard is buried in Fontevraud Abbey. One of the other tombs was from Henry the young king, oldest son of Henry II and Eleanor and older brother of Richard Lionheart, who died while revolting against his father from the flux. He had actually been crowned during the lifetime of his father, therefore he was named the young king. We were able to see the tomb of Rollo, but the one from Richard Lionheart was unfortunately completely hidden under scaffolds.

tomb of Rollo the Viking @Cathedral of Rouen

It’s of course the cathedral itself which is worth your time, even if your not so much into history. But there is much history involved that you do not want to miss it. Since the end of the 4th century there was a church in this spot. At Easter in 769 Charlemagne attended mass in it. In 1063 the Roman cathedral was consecrated and soon afterwards the Gothic make-over started. First with the left tower, then a fire destroyed much, but in 1247 the Gothic cathedral was consecrated.

the nave with the choir area under construction @Cathedral of Rouen

the altar @Cathedral of Rouen

The cathedral was very much a work in progress during the centuries. Basically with one thing done, they started to work at another corner and improve it. Looking at it now it seems past builders have done an amazing job.

a seated Jesus @Cathedral of Rouen

a delicate stairway from the 15th century goes up to the medieval library @Cathedral of Rouen

The cathedral also has a central lantern tower over the transept, which is apparently a tradition of Gothic architecture in Normandy. This tower with its spire measures 151 meters and is the tallest church tower in all of France.

the lantern tower seen from the adjacent cloister garden @Cathedral of Rouen

the lantern tower from another angle @Cathedral of Rouen

I’ll leave you with a small detail from the facade. The visit of cathedral was a fantastic opportunity seeing history come to live. It reminded of my visit of Notre Dame in Paris. If you read up beforehand about the cathedral, I am sure you can find out the 13th century glass windows as well as the ones from the two centuries after. I was only interested in the dead bodies and was happy with my finds. Yours, Pollybert

detail from the facade @Cathedral of Rouen

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