Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
and other destructive forces meant constant rebuilding—which explains the difference in
the towers, such as the stones used at each tower's base.
Look up at the soaring facade and find the cleaned sections, with bright statues on
either side of the central portal—later, we'll meet some of their friends face to face inside
the cathedral. The facade is another fine Rouen example of Flamboyant Gothic, and the
spire, soaring nearly 500 feet high, is awe-inspiring. Why such a big cathedral here? Until
the 1700s, Rouen was the second-largest city in France—rich from its wool trade and its
booming port.
Cathedral Interior:
Stand at the back and look down the
nave.
This is a classic
Gothic nave—four stories of pointed-arch arcades, the top filled with windows to help
light the interior. Today, the interior is lighter than intended, because the original colored
glass (destroyed mostly in World War II) was replaced by clear glass.
Circle counterclockwise around the church along the side aisle. The side chapels and
windows have short descriptions in English, each dedicated to a different saint. These
chapels display the changing assortment of styles through the centuries. Look for photos
halfway down on the right that show WWII bomb damage to the cathedral, then find an
impressive display of the damage and eventual reconstruction.
Passing through an iron gate after the high altar (closed during Mass; may be open
on the opposite side even during Mass), you come to several
stone statues.
These figures
were lifted from the facade during a cleaning and should eventually be installed in a mu-
seum. For us, it's a rare chance to stand toe-to-toe with a saint (weird feeling).
Thereareseveral
stone tombs
onyourleft,datingfromwhenRouenwastheNorman
capital. The first tomb is for Rollo, the first duke of Normandy in 933 (and great-great-
great-greatgrandfatherofWilliamtheConqueror,seventhdukeofNormandy,c.1028).As
the first duke, Rollo was chief of the first gang of Vikings (the original “Normans”) who
decided to settle here. Called the “Father of Normandy,” Rollo died at the age of 80, but
he is portrayed on his tomb as if he were 33 (as was the fashion, because Jesus died at that
age). Because of later pillage and plunder, only Rollo's femur is inside the tomb.
And speaking of body parts, the next tomb contains the heart of Richard the Lion-
hearted. (The rest of his body lies in the Abbey of Fontevraud, described on
here
in the
Loire chapter.) A descendant of William the Conqueror, Richard was both a king of Eng-
land and the 12th duke of Normandy.
Circlebehindthealtar.Thebeautiful
windows
withboldbluesandredsaregenerally
from the 13th century. Look back above the entry to see a rare black-and-white rose win-
dow (its medieval colored glass is long gone). You'll come to a display for the window
dedicated to St. Julien, with pane-by-pane descriptions in English.
