Rouen in the Morning

Rouen, France, has been a part of the Kingdom of France since the 12th century, and the old town arrea still maintains its Medieval charm. The cobblestone streets are lined with half-timbered buildings that still serve as homes  and shops today. Above, the Old Clock still shows the time (only an hour-hand was deemed necessary hundreds of years ago), the day of the week (in the moving curved cut-out underneath) and the phase of the moon (the silver ball at the top). 

One of the many half-timbered buildings in the Place du Vieux-Marché. 

The modern church built to honor the memory of Joan of Arc. She was burned alive here on May 30th, 1431 at the age of 19 for heresy. At the age of 13, Joan had had holy visions which convinced her that she could lead an army for France. She convinced the king to allow her to take command. After leading an army to many victories (and some defeats) during the Hundred Years War, she was caught and sold to the English. Imprisonned, she recanted her sins and promised to never wear men's clothes again (as the leader of an army, she had worn men's clothes). Unfortunately for her, the English still believed her to be a great threat, and they wanted her dead. One night in the prison, they replaced her clothes with men's clothing. In the morning, she had no choice but to put these clothes on, which the English used to prove that she really had not recanted. Because of this "proof", she was burned alive. When Rouen was liberated by the French King Charles VII in 1449, it was declared that Joan had not been a heretic after all. She was canonized in 1920.

Rouen has been, and still is, famous for its colorful painted pottery. This sign (and the pretty address tile next to it) advertises what is for sale in the store.

Rouen's famous 1600-year-old Cathedral of Notre-Dame. As this, like so many other cathedrals, was built, repaired and added-onto over the centuries, one can see the evolution of Gothic style from the 12th century through the 16th century. The church was painted many times by Claude Monet, who wanted to capture the light on the cathedral at differnt times of day and in different seasons. I didn't take aa photo of the entire church's facade, as the midle was covered in scaffolding.  Due to heavy damage during WWII as well as that from the passage of time, the cathedral is always undergoing repair.

Every bit as lovely as Notre-Dame, is the smaller 15th century flamboyant Gothic church of Saint Maclou. The facade looks like fine lace and its three doors are beautifully carved.

Today, the above building houses part  of a School of Fine Arts for Architecture. During the time of the Plague, however, this building had a very different purpose. As church graveyards began to fill-up, it was decided to build this structure to hold the bones of the dead. Plague vicims were burned, and their bones piled-up inside the building. You can see the carvings of bones, skulls and grave-digger's tools in the wood of the buliding's courtyard.

Right before we left Rouen for Giverny, this is me next to the Church of Saint Eloi.