Tourist information -
Rouen
Rouen, the capital of Upper Normandy, is one of
France's most ancient and historic cities. Standing on the site
of Roman Rotomagus, the lowest point on the river then capable of
being bridged, it was laid out by the Viking Rollo shortly after
he became Duke of Normandy in 911. Captured by the English in 1419,
it was the stage in 1431 for the trial and execution of Joan of
Arc, and returned to French control in 1449.
Over the centuries, Rouen has suffered repeated devastation; there
were 45 major fires in the first half of the thirteenth century
alone. It has had to be almost entirely rebuilt during the last
fifty years, and now you could spend a whole day wandering around
the city without realizing that the Seine ran through its centre.
War-time bombs destroyed all its bridges, the area between the cathedral
and the quais , and much of the industrial quarter. The riverside
area has never been adequately restored, and what you might expect
to be the most beautiful part of the city is in fact something of
an abomination.
Enormous sums have, however, been lavished on an upmarket restoration
job on the streets a few hundred metres north of the river, which
turned the centre into the closest approximation to a medieval city
that modern imaginations could come up with. The suggestion that
for historical authenticity the houses should be painted in bright,
clashing colours was not deemed appropriate, but so far as it goes,
the whole of this inner core can be very seductive, and its churches
are impressive by any standards.
Outside the renovated quarters, things are rather different. The
city spreads deep into the loop of the Seine, with its docks and
industrial infrastructure stretching endlessly away to the south,
and it's increasingly expanding up into the hills to the north as
well, while the river bank itself is lined with a fume-filled, multi-laned
motorway. As the nearest point that large container ships can get
to Paris, even in decline this remains the fourth largest port in
the country.
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