Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

in northern France. It is the prefecture of the region of Normandy and the

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, the population of the metropolitan area (french: aire d'attraction) is 702,945 (2018). People from Rouen are known as ''Rouennais''. Rouen was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy during the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the

Anglo-Norman Anglo-Norman may refer to: *Anglo-Normans, the medieval ruling class in England following the Norman conquest of 1066 *Anglo-Norman language **Anglo-Norman literature *Anglo-Norman England, or Norman England, the period in English history from 1066 ...

dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries. From the

13th century The 13th century was the century which lasted from January 1, 1201 ( MCCI) through December 31, 1300 ( MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched from Eastern Asia to Eastern Eu ...

onwards, the city experienced a remarkable economic boom, thanks in particular to the development of textile factories and river trade. Claimed by both the French and the English during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French Crown, ...

, it was on its soil that Joan of Arc was tried and burned alive on 30 May 1431. Severely damaged by the wave of bombing in 1944, it nevertheless regained its economic dynamism in the post-war period thanks to its industrial sites and its large seaport, which today is the fifth largest in France. Endowed with a prestige established during the medieval era, and with a long architectural heritage in its historical monuments, Rouen is an important cultural capital. Several renowned establishments are located here, such as the Museum of Fine Arts, the Secq des Tournelles museum, and Rouen Cathedral. Seat of an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

, it also hosts a court of appeal and a university. Every four to six years, Rouen becomes the showcase for a large gathering of sailing ships called "L'Armada"; this event makes the city an occasional capital of the maritime world.

History

Rouen was founded by the Gaulish tribe of the Veliocasses, who controlled a large area in the lower Seine valley. They called it ''Ratumacos''; the Romans called it ''Rotomagus''. It was considered the second city of Gallia Lugdunensis after Lugdunum ( Lyon) itself. Under the reorganization of

Diocletian Diocletian (; la, Gaius Aurelius Valerius Diocletianus, grc, Διοκλητιανός, Diokletianós; c. 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed ''Iovius'', was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Gaius Valerius Diocles ...

, Rouen was the chief city of the divided province Gallia Lugdunensis II and reached the apogee of its Roman development, with an amphitheatre and '' thermae'' of which foundations remain. In the 5th century, it became the seat of a bishopric and later a capital of Merovingian Neustria. From their first incursion into the lower valley of the Seine in 841, the Normans overran Rouen. From 912, Rouen was the capital of the Duchy of Normandy and residence of the local dukes, until William the Conqueror moved his residence to

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,yeshiva known as La Maison Sublime. Discovered in 1976, it is now a museum. At that time, about 6,000 Jews lived in the town, comprising about 20% of the population. On 24 June 1204, King

Philip II Augustus Philip II (21 August 1165 – 14 July 1223), byname Philip Augustus (french: Philippe Auguste), was King of France from 1180 to 1223. His predecessors had been known as kings of the Franks, but from 1190 onward, Philip became the first French m ...

of France entered Rouen and definitively annexed Normandy to the French Kingdom. He demolished the Norman castle and replaced it with his own, the

Château Bouvreuil Rouen Castle (''Château Bouvreuil'') was a fortified ducal and royal residence in the city of Rouen, capital of the duchy of Normandy, now in France. With the exception of the tower wrongly associated with Joan of Arc, which was restored by V ...

, built on the site of the Gallo-Roman amphitheatre. A textile industry developed based on wool imported from England, for which the cities of Flanders and Brabant were constantly competitors, and finding its market in the

Champagne fairs The Champagne fairs were an annual cycle of trade fairs which flourished in different towns of the County of Champagne in Northeastern France in the 12th and 13th centuries, originating in local agricultural and stock fairs. Each fair lasted about ...

. Rouen also depended for its prosperity on the river traffic of the Seine, on which it enjoyed a monopoly that reached as far upstream as Paris. In the 13th and 14th centuries urban strife threatened the city: in 1291, the mayor was assassinated and noble residences in the city were pillaged.

Philip IV Philip IV may refer to: * Philip IV of Macedon (died 297 BC) * Philip IV of France (1268–1314), Avignon Papacy * Philip IV of Burgundy or Philip I of Castile (1478–1506) * Philip IV, Count of Nassau-Weilburg (1542–1602) * Philip IV of Spain ...

reimposed order and suppressed the city's charter and the lucrative monopoly on river traffic, but he was quite willing to allow the Rouennais to repurchase their old liberties in 1294. In 1306, he decided to expel the Jewish community of Rouen, then numbering some five or six thousand. In 1389, another urban revolt of the underclass occurred, the ''

Harelle The Harelle (; from ''haro'') was a revolt that occurred in the French city of Rouen in 1382 and followed by the Maillotins uprising a few days later in Paris, as well as numerous other revolts across France in the subsequent week. France was in ...

''. It was suppressed with the withdrawal of Rouen's charter and river-traffic privileges once more. During the

, on 19 January 1419, Rouen surrendered to

Henry V of England Henry V (16 September 1386 – 31 August 1422), also called Henry of Monmouth, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from 1413 until his death in 1422. Despite his relatively short reign, Henry's outstanding military successes in the ...

, who annexed Normandy once again to the Plantagenet domains but Rouen did not go quietly: Alain Blanchard hanged English prisoners from the walls, for which he was summarily executed while Canon and Vicar General of Rouen Robert de Livet became a hero for excommunicating the English king, resulting in de Livet's imprisonment for five years in England. Joan of Arc, who supported a return to French rule, was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431 in this city, where most inhabitants supported the duke of Burgundy, the French king's enemy. The king of France, Charles VII, recaptured the town in 1449. Rouen was staunchly Catholic during the French Wars of Religion, and underwent an unsuccessful five-month siege in 1591/2 by the Protestant

King Henry IV of France Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarch ...

and an English force commanded by the Earl of Essex. A brief account by an English participant has survived. See 'Memoirs of Robert Carey', (F.H.Mares (ed.), Oxford, 1972), pp. 18–21. The first competitive motor race ran from Paris to Rouen in 1894. During the German occupation in World War II, the

Kriegsmarine The (, ) was the navy of Germany from 1935 to 1945. It superseded the Imperial German Navy of the German Empire (1871–1918) and the inter-war (1919–1935) of the Weimar Republic. The was one of three official branches, along with the a ...

had its headquarters located in a chateau on what is now the

Rouen Business School The Rouen Business School (french: Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen) was a leading French business school. It was founded in 1871 and on 24 April 2013, Rouen Business School and Reims Management School announced the merger of the two School ...

. The city was heavily damaged during the same war on

D-day The Normandy landings were the landing operations and associated airborne operations on Tuesday, 6 June 1944 of the Allied invasion of Normandy in Operation Overlord during World War II. Codenamed Operation Neptune and often referred to as D ...

, and its famed cathedral was almost destroyed by Allied bombs.

Main sights

Rouen is known for its Rouen Cathedral, with its ''Tour de Beurre'' (''butter tower'') financed by the sale of indulgences for the consumption of butter during

Lent Lent ( la, Quadragesima, 'Fortieth') is a solemn religious observance in the liturgical calendar commemorating the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring temptation by Satan, according to the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke ...

. The cathedral's gothic façade (completed in the 16th century) was the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet, some of which are exhibited in the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

in Paris. The '' Gros Horloge'' is an astronomical clock dating back to the 14th century. It is located in the ''Gros Horloge'' street. Other famous structures include

Rouen Castle Rouen Castle (''Château Bouvreuil'') was a fortified ducal and royal residence in the city of Rouen, capital of the duchy of Normandy, now in France. With the exception of the tower wrongly associated with Joan of Arc, which was restored by V ...

, whose keep is known as the ''tour Jeanne d'Arc'', where Joan of Arc was brought in 1431 to be threatened with torture (contrary to popular belief, she was not imprisoned there but in the since destroyed ''tour de lady Pucelle''); the '' Church of Saint Ouen'' (12th–15th century); the '' Palais de Justice'', which was once the seat of the ''

Parlement A ''parlement'' (), under the French Ancien Régime, was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 parlements, the oldest and most important of which was the Parlement of Paris. While both the modern Fre ...

'' (French court of law) of Normandy; the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

'' Church of St Maclou'' (15th century); and the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics which contains a splendid collection of faïence and porcelain for which Rouen was renowned during the 16th to 18th centuries. Rouen is also noted for its surviving

half-timbered Timber framing (german: Holzfachwerk) and "post-and-beam" construction are traditional methods of building with heavy timbers, creating structures using squared-off and carefully fitted and joined timbers with joints secured by large wooden ...

buildings. There are many museums in Rouen: the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, an art museum with pictures of well-known painters such as Claude Monet and Géricault; the Musée maritime fluvial et portuaire, a museum on the history of the port of Rouen and navigation; Musée des antiquités, an art and history museum with local works from the Bronze Age through the Renaissance, the Musée de la céramique and the Musée Le Secq des Tournelles. The

Jardin des Plantes de Rouen The Jardin des Plantes de Rouen (8 hectares) is a municipal botanical garden located at 7, rue de Trianon, Rouen, Seine-Maritime, Upper Normandy, France. It is open daily without charge. The garden dates to 1691 when Louis de Carel acquired fore ...

is a notable botanical garden once owned by Scottish banker

John Law John Law may refer to: Arts and entertainment *John Law (artist) (born 1958), American artist *John Law (comics), comic-book character created by Will Eisner *John Law (film director), Hong Kong film director * John Law (musician) (born 1961), B ...

, dating from 1840 in its present form. It was the site of

Élisa Garnerin Élisa Garnerin (1791 – 1853) was a French balloonist and parachutist. She was the niece of the pioneer parachutist André-Jacques Garnerin, and took advantage of his name and of the novelty of a woman performing what were at the time extremely d ...

's parachute jump from a balloon in 1817. There is also a park and garden at the Champs de Mars, to the east of the city centre. The Paris–Rouen motor race of 1894, ''Le Petit Journal'' Horseless Carriages Contest, ended at the Champs de Mars. In the centre of the Place du Vieux Marché (the site of Joan of Arc's pyre) is the modern

church of St Joan of Arc The Church of Saint Joan of Arc (French: ''L'église Sainte-Jeanne-d'Arc'') is a Catholic church in the city centre of Rouen, northern France. The church of Saint Joan of Arc was completed in 1979 in the centre of the ancient market square, known ...

. This is a large, modern structure which dominates the square. The form of the building represents an upturned viking boat and a fish shape. Rouen was also home to the French Grand Prix, hosting the race at the nearby Rouen-Les-Essarts track sporadically between 1952 and 1968. In 1999 Rouen authorities demolished the grandstands and other remnants of Rouen's racing past. Today, little remains beyond the public roads that formed the circuit. Rouen has an opera house, whose formal name is "Rouen Normandy Opera House – Theatre of Arts" (in French: ''Opéra de Rouen Normandie – Théâtre des arts'').

Climate

Rouen has an oceanic climate (''Cfb'' in the Köppen climate classification).

Transport

Mainline trains operate from

Gare de Rouen-Rive-Droite Rouen-Rive-Droite is a large railway station serving the city of Rouen, Normandy, France. The station is on Rue Verte in the north of the city. Services are mainly intercity but many services are local. There are also TGV from Le Havre to Marseil ...

to Le Havre and Paris, and regional trains to

Caen Caen (, ; nrf, Kaem) is a commune in northwestern France. It is the prefecture of the department of Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inhabitants (), while its functional urban area has 470,000,Dieppe and other local destinations in Normandy. Daily direct trains operate to Amiens and Lille, and direct

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

s (high-speed trains) connect daily with Lyon and Marseille. City transportation in Rouen consists of a tram and a bus system. The tramway branches into two lines out of a tunnel under the city centre. Rouen is also served by TEOR (

Transport Est-Ouest Rouennais The TEOR (Transport Est-Ouest Rouennais) is a bus rapid transit system operating in the city of Rouen, Normandy, France. The service was inaugurated on February, 2001. TEOR was the second BRT system implemented in France (after Évry). All three ...

) and by buses run in conjunction with the tramway by TCAR (Transports en commun de l'agglomération rouennaise), a subsidiary of Transdev. Rouen has its own airport. The

is a major axis for maritime cargo links in the Port of Rouen. The Cross-Channel ferry ports of

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Although Calais is by far the largest city in Pas-de-Calais, the department's prefecture is its third-largest city of Arras. Th ...

, and the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (french: Tunnel sous la Manche), also known as the Chunnel, is a railway tunnel that connects Folkestone (Kent, England, UK) with Coquelles ( Hauts-de-France, France) beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. ...

are within easy driving distance (two and a half hours or less). Gros-Horloge, détail

Administration

Rouen and its metropolitan area of 70 suburban communes form the Métropole Rouen Normandie, with 494,382 inhabitants at the 2010 census. In descending order of population, the largest of these suburbs are Sotteville-lès-Rouen,

Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray () is a commune in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region in northern France. History Evidence of ancient habitation has been found on and around the site of modern-day Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray including ...

, Le Grand-Quevilly, Le Petit-Quevilly, and Mont-Saint-Aignan, each with a population exceeding 20,000.

Population

Education

The main schools of higher education are the University of Rouen and

NEOMA Business School NEOMA Business School is a French business and management school founded in 2013, following the merger of Reims Management School (founded in 1928) and Rouen Business School (founded in 1871). NEOMA BS offers a wide range of educational progra ...

(former

École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen The Rouen Business School (french: Ecole Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen) was a leading French business school. It was founded in 1871 and on 24 April 2013, Rouen Business School and Reims Management School announced the merger of the two School ...

), Unilasalle (agronomy and agriculture), both located at nearby Mont-Saint-Aignan, and the

INSA Rouen The Intelligence and National Security Alliance (INSA) is a non-profit, nonpartisan 501(c)(6) professional organization based in Arlington Virginia for public and private sector members of the United States Intelligence Community. History ...

ESIGELEC The ESIGELEC is a French school of engineers located in Rouen that was created in 1901. It is part of the best French academic institutions known as Grandes écoles specialized in engineering and sciences and is a university level institution w ...

, ESITech and the CESI, the three at nearby

Culture

The main opera company in Rouen is the Opéra de Rouen – Normandie. The company performs in the Théâtre des Arts, 7 rue du Docteur Rambert. The company presents opera, classical and other types of music, both vocal and instrumental, as well as dance performances. Every five years, the city hosts the large maritime exposition, L'Armada. The city is represented by Quevilly-Rouen football club, currently in

Ligue 2 Ligue 2 (, League 2), also known as Ligue 2 BKT due to sponsor (commercial), sponsorship by Balkrishna Industries, is a French professional football league. The league serves as the second division of French football and is one of two divisions ...

. Officially called Union Sportive Quevillaise-Rouen Métropole, the club play at the 12.018 capacity Stade Robert Diochon in nearby Le Petit-Quevilly. Rouen Normandie Rugby represent the city in Rugby Union. One of few professional rugby teams from northern France, Rouen Normandie Rugby, currently play in the second-tier

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was in ...

Dragons de Rouen Rouen Hockey Élite 76 (also known as the Dragons de Rouen (Rouen Dragons)) is a French ice hockey team based in Rouen playing in the Ligue Magnus. The team was founded in 1982 and plays home games at the Île Lacroix. History Only 3 years aft ...

, an ice hockey club, play in the top-tier Ligue Magnus at the Île Lacroix arena. Baseball is also played in the city at Stade Saint Exupéry. The local team,

Huskies de Rouen The Rouen Baseball 76 is a French professional baseball team. Founded in 1986, the team competes in the top league in France. The Huskies home stadium is Terrain Pierre Rolland, located in the capital city of Normandy, Rouen. Rouen has won 15 ...

play in the top French tier, they also play some games in European competition.

Notable residents

Maurice Quentin de La Tour - Jean Restout - Musée Antoine-Lécuyer

Rouen was the birthplace of: *

Edward IV Edward IV (28 April 1442 – 9 April 1483) was King of England from 4 March 1461 to 3 October 1470, then again from 11 April 1471 until his death in 1483. He was a central figure in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars in England ...

(1442–1483), King of England. *

Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk Elizabeth of York, Duchess of Suffolk also known as Elizabeth Plantagenet (22 April 1444 – c. 1503) was the sixth child and third daughter of Richard Plantagenet, 3rd Duke of York (a great-grandson of King Edward III) and Cecily Neville.Halste ...

(1444-c1503), sister of Edward IV, married John de la Pole, Plantagenet. * (b. 1500s), explorer * (1507–1569), poet * François de Civille (1537–1610), military commander * Isaac Oliver (1556–1617), French-born English painter. *

Guy de la Brosse Guy de La Brosse (1586 – 1641 in Paris), was a French botanist, medical doctor, and pharmacist. A physician to King Louis XIII of France, he is also notable for the creation of a major botanical garden of medicinal herbs, which was commissioned ...

(1586–1641), botanist and pharmacist *

Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant Antoine Girard, sieur de Saint-Amant (September 30, 1594December 29, 1661) was a French poet. Saint-Amant was born near Rouen. His father was a merchant who had, according to his son's account, been a sailor and had commanded for 22 years "''une ...

(1594–1661), poet. * Samuel Bochart (1599–1667), Protestant theologian. *

Pierre Corneille Pierre Corneille (; 6 June 1606 – 1 October 1684) was a French tragedian. He is generally considered one of the three great seventeenth-century French dramatists, along with Molière and Racine. As a young man, he earned the valuable patronag ...

(1606–1684), tragedian. * Guillaume Couture (1617–1701), lay missionary and diplomat *

Adrien Auzout Adrien Auzout ronounced in French somewhat like o-zoo(28 January 1622 – 23 May 1691) was a French astronomer. He was born in Rouen, France, the eldest child of a clerk in the court of Rouen. His educational background is unknown, although ...

(1622–1691), astronomer * Thomas Corneille (1625–1709), dramatist, brother of Pierre Corneille. *

Noel Alexandre Noel or Noël may refer to: Christmas * , French for Christmas * Noel is another name for a Christmas carol Places * Noel, Missouri, United States, a city *Noel, Nova Scotia, Canada, a community * 1563 Noël, an asteroid *Mount Noel, Britis ...

(1639–1724), theologian and ecclesiastical historian. * Robert Hubert (c.1640-1666), executed in England for falsely confessing to starting the

Great Fire of London The Great Fire of London was a major conflagration that swept through central London from Sunday 2 September to Thursday 6 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old Roman city wall, while also extending past the ...

Marie Champmeslé Marie Champmeslé ('' née'' Desmares; 18 February 1642 – 15 May 1698) was a French stage actress. Biography She was born in Rouen of a wealthy family; her father's name was Desmares. She made her first appearance on the stage at Rouen with ...

(1642–1698), actress. *

René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle René-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle (; November 22, 1643 – March 19, 1687), was a 17th-century French explorer and fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada, the Mississippi River, ...

(1643–1687), explorer. *

Jean Jouvenet Jean-Baptiste Jouvenet (1 May 1644 – 5 April 1717) was a French painter, especially of religious subjects. Biography He was born into an artistic family in Rouen. His first training in art was from his father, Laurent Jouvenet; a generation ea ...

(ca.1644–1717), painter of religious subjects. * Nicolas Lemery (1645–1715), chemist. *

Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert Pierre le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert or Boisguillebert (; 17 February 164610 October 1714) was a French lawmaker and a Jansenist, one of the inventors of the notion of an economic market. Early life He was born at Rouen of an ancient noble fam ...

(1646–1714) economist and lawmaker. *

Gabriel Daniel Gabriel Daniel (8 February 1649 – 23 June 1728) was a French Jesuit historian. Biography Born in Rouen, he was educated by the Jesuits, entered the order at the age of eighteen, and became superior at Paris. Works He is best known by his '' ...

(1649–1728), Jesuit historian. * Anne Mauduit de Fatouville (mid 17th C – 1715), playwright *

(1647–1717), painter. * (1652–1721), Catholic writer * Jacques Basnages (1653–1723), Protestant theologian. * Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657–1757), author, nephew of Pierre Corneille. *

François Raguenet François Raguenet (c. 1660 in Rouen – 1722) was a French historian, biographer and musicologist. Biography Raguenet embraced the ecclesiastical state, and became preceptor of Marie Anne Mancini, cardinal de Bouillon's niece. This position, l ...

(1660–1722), historian, biographer and musicologist * Pierre Antoine Motteux (1663–1718), French-born English dramatist. *

Pierre Dangicourt Pierre Dangicourt (1664 Rouen – 12 Feb 1727 Berlin) was a French mathematician. As a Protestant, he left France after the Edict of Fontainebleau and settled in Prussia, where he was made an associate member of the Academy of Berlin. Dangico ...

(1664–1727), mathematician *

François Blouet de Camilly François Blouet de Camilly, Comte de Saint-Pierre-sur-Dives, D.D., (22 May 1664, Rouen, Normandy, France – 17 October 1723, Ligueil, Touraine, France), a French Catholic clergyman, was the 88th Bishop of Toul from 1706 to 1721 and the 117th ...

(1664–1723), Catholic Archbishop *

Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de La Viéville Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de La Viéville, seigneur de Fresneuse, (born 1674 in Rouen where he died 9 November 1707) was a French magistrate and musicographer. Le Cerf de La Viéville entered the magistracy and became keeper of the seals of the Parli ...

(1674–1707), musicographer * Pierre François le Courayer (1681–1776), theologian. *

François d'Agincourt François d'Agincourt (also d'Agincour, Dagincourt, Dagincour) (1684 – 30 April 1758) was a French harpsichordist, organist, and composer. He spent most of his life in Rouen, his native city, where he worked as organist of the Rouen Cathedra ...

(1684–1758), composer *

Jean II Restout Jean II Restout (26 March 1692 – 1 January 1768) was a French painter, whose late baroque classicism rendered his altarpieces, such as the ''Death of Saint Scholastica'' an "isolated achievement" that ran counter to his rococo contemporaries.M ...

(1692–1768), painter. *

Louise Levesque Louise Levesque, née Cavelier, (23 November 1703, Rouen – 18 May 1745, Paris) was an 18th-century French femme de lettres. The daughter of a prosecutor at the parlement de Normandie, Louise Cavelier received a good education. At age 20, she ...

(1703–1745), playwright, poet * Jacques-François Blondel (1705–1774), architect. * Marie-Madeleine Hachard (1708–1760), nun and abbess * Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711–1780), novelist *

Jacques Duphly Jacques Duphly (also Dufly, Du Phly; 12 January 1715 – 15 July 1789) was a French harpsichordist and composer. Early career as an organist He was born in Rouen, France, the son of Jacques-Agathe Duphly and Marie-Louise Boivin. As a boy, h ...

(1715–1789), composer * Pierre-Antoine Guéroult (1749–1816), scholar * François-Adrien Boïeldieu (1775–1834), composer. * Pierre Louis Dulong (1785–1838), physicist and chemist. * Théodore Géricault (1791–1824), painter. *

Armand Carrel Armand Carrel (8 May 1800 – 25 July 1836) was a French journalist and political writer. Early life Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Armand Carrel was born at Rouen. His father was a wealthy merchant, and he received a liberal education at the '' Lyc� ...

(1800–1836), writer. * Jean-Amédée Méreaux (1802–1874), musicologist, pianist and composer *

Pierre Adolphe Chéruel Pierre Adolphe Chéruel (January 17, 1809 – May 1, 1891) was a French historian. Chéruel was born at Rouen and educated at the École Normale Supérieure, becoming a fellow ('' agregé'') in 1830. His early studies were concerned with local ...

(1809–1891), historian. *

Alphonse Maille Alphonse Maille (1813, Rouen – 30 September 1865, Paris) was a French botanist. In Paris, he studied botany under Adrien-Henri de Jussieu and worked on exsiccatae with Timothée Puel.Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880), novelist. *

Joseph-Henri Altès Joseph-Henri Altès (18 January 1826 – 24 July 1899) was a 19th-century French flautist, composer and pedagogue. Biography Born in Rouen, Joseph-Henri Altès was the son of a soldier. Violinist and conductor Ernest Eugène Altès was his young ...

(1826–1895), flautist and pedagog * Eugène Ketterer (1831–1870), composer *

Eugène Caron Eugène-Charles Caron (4 November 1834 – 1903) was a French operatic baritone. He was born in Rouen and after studying at the Paris Conservatory, made his stage debut in 1862 as Count di Luna in Verdi's '' Le trouvère''. He sang leading roles ...

(1834–1903), opera singer *

Maurice Leblanc Maurice Marie Émile Leblanc (; ; 11 December 1864 – 6 November 1941) was a French novelist and writer of short stories, known primarily as the creator of the fictional gentleman thief and detective Arsène Lupin, often described as a French c ...

(1864–1941), novelist * Charles Nicolle (1866–1936), bacteriologist *

Léon de Saint-Réquier Léon de Saint-Réquier, born Léon-Edgard de Saint-Réquier (8 August 1872 – 1 October 1964) viscount of Saint-Réquier, was a French organist, composer, choir conductor, maître de chapelle and music educator. Biography Born in Rouen, L� ...

(1872–1964), organist and composer *

Georges Guillain Georges Charles Guillain () (3 March 1876 – 29 June 1961) was a French neurologist born in Rouen. He studied medicine in Rouen and Paris, where he learned clinical education at several hospitals. He developed an interest in neurology, and his ...

(1876–1961), neurologist *

Robert Antoine Pinchon Robert Antoine Pinchon (, 1 July 1886 in Rouen – 9 January 1943 in Bois-Guillaume) was a French Post-Impressionist landscape painter of the Rouen School (''l'École de Rouen'') who was born and spent most of his life in France. He was consist ...

(1886–1943), painter * Marcel Dupré (1886–1971), composer * Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), artist * Philippe Étancelin (1896–1981), race car driver * Armand Salacrou (1899–1989), dramatist * Roger Apéry (1916–1994), mathematician * Jean Lecanuet (1920–1993), politician * Jacques Rivette (1928–2016), film director *

Jean-Yves Lechevallier Jean-Yves Lechevallier, ʒɑ̃ iv ləʃəvæljeɪ born in 1946 in Rouen, Normandy, is a French sculptor painter, and laureate of the ''Flame of Europe'' art competition organized by the ''Robert Schuman association for Europe'' in 1977 to comme ...

(b. 1946), sculptor * Anny Duperey (b. 1947), actress and novelist * Dominique Lokoli (b. 1952), footballer *

François Hollande François Gérard Georges Nicolas Hollande (; born 12 August 1954) is a French politician who served as President of France from 2012 to 2017. He previously was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (PS) from 1997 to 2008, Mayor of Tulle from ...

(b. 1954), 24th President of the French Republic *

Hubert Wulfranc Hubert Wulfranc (born 17 December 1956) is a French politician who has represented the Seine-Maritime's 3rd constituency, 3rd constituency of the Seine-Maritime Departments of France, department in the National Assembly (France), National Assemb ...

(b. 1956), Member of Parliament *

Élise Lucet Élise Lucet (; born 30 May 1963) is a French journalist and television host. Known for her investigative journalism work on shows such as '' Pièces à Conviction'', '' Cash Investigation'' and ''Envoyé spécial'', she has been dubbed France's ...

(b. 1963), journalist *

Stéphan Caron Stéphan Caron (sometimes spelled Stéphane Caron, born 1 July 1966 in Rouen, Seine-Maritime) is a former Freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from France. Caron won the bronze medal in the men's 100 m freestyle at the Summer Olympics twi ...

(b. 1966), swimmer *

Karin Viard Karin Viard (; born 24 January 1966) is a multi-award-winning French actress. She made her film debut in ''Tatie Danielle'' in 1990. She has appeared in films such as ''Delicatessen'', ''L'Emploi du temps'', ''Adultère, mode d'emploi'' and ''La ...

(b. 1966), actress *

Céline Minard Céline Minard (born 1969 in Rouen) is a French writer. Biography After studying philosophy, she devoted herself to the work of writing, sometimes collaborating with visual artists. Her work would mark "the return of pure and hard fiction in th ...

(b. 1969), writer * Frédéric Cissokho (b. 1971), former professional footballer *

Christophe Mendy Christophe Mendy (born 4 August 1971, in Rouen) is a retired French boxer who represented France in the heavyweight division (– 91 kg) during the 1990s. He won the bronze medal at the 1995 World Amateur Boxing Championships in Berlin, ...

(b. 1971), boxer * David Trezeguet (b. 1977), footballer * Thomas Pesquet (b. 1978), astronaut * Nathalie Péchalat (b. 1983), ice dancer * Ian Mahinmi (b. 1986), basketball player * Fayçal Fajr (b. 1988), footballer * Benjamin Police (b. 1988), professional footballer *

Amaury Vassili Amaury Vassili Chotard (born 8 June 1989) is a French opera singer and professional tenor. His debut album ''Vincerò'' from 2009 went double platinum in France, and he has had international success with releases in Canada, South Africa and Sou ...

(b. 1989), singer *

Alexis Gougeard Alexis Gougeard (born 5 March 1993 in Rouen) is a French cyclist, who currently rides for French amateur team VC Rouen 76. He specializes in time trials and track cycling. He became professional in 2014, as a member of the team. He was named in ...

(b. 1993), cyclist * Pierre Gasly (b. 1996), Formula One driver * Petit Biscuit (b. 1999), music producer *

Aurélien Tchouaméni Aurélien Djani Tchouaméni (born 27 January 2000) is a French professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Real Madrid and the France national team. Early life Tchouaméni was born in Rouen, Seine-Maritime, bu ...

(b. 2000), footballer * Théo Maledon (b. 2001), basketball player

International relations

Rouen is twinned with: *

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; ) is a city in and the capital of the U.S. state of Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-sma ...

, Louisiana, United States, since 1963 * Hannover, Germany, since 1966 * Norwich, Norfolk, England, United Kingdom, since 1959 *

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

, United States, since 2008 *

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship, Pomorskie Region, or Pomerania Province (Polish: ''Województwo pomorskie'' ; ( Kashubian: ''Pòmòrsczé wòjewództwò'' ), is a voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The ...

, Poland, since 1992 *

Salerno Salerno (, , ; nap, label= Salernitano, Saliernë, ) is an ancient city and ''comune'' in Campania (southwestern Italy) and is the capital of the namesake province, being the second largest city in the region by number of inhabitants, after ...

, Campania, Italy, since 2002 * Zhejiang,

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...

, since 1990 ArneQuinze byDaveBruel (cropped)

Sculpture

During the second half of the 20th century, several sculptures by

were erected in the city. Inaugurated in 2010, the Rouen Impressionnée hosted the contemporary urban (re)development installation sculpture 'Camille' by Belgian artist

Arne Quinze Arne Quinze (born 15 December 1971) is a Belgian conceptual artist best known for his unconventional and controversial public art installations. Quinze also creates large and small sculptures, drawings, and paintings. In his late teens, he star ...

. Quinze's use of interlocking systems in sculpture employ wood, concrete, paint and metal. The Quasi-Quinze method of sculpture utilizes structural integrity and randomness as key elements for 'Camille'. Located on the Boieldieu Bridge in the center of Rouen, this intentional location was chosen by the artist to magnify the historical separation of its city's citizens. Fleur d'eau Rouen

Representations in art

Rouen Cathedral is the subject of a series of paintings by the

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

painter Claude Monet, who painted the same scene at different times of the day. Two paintings are in the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

in Washington, D.C.; two are in the Pushkin Museum of Fine Arts in Moscow; one is in the National Museum of Serbia in Belgrade. The estimated value of one painting is over $40 million.

Heraldry

References

External links

*
Rouen Tourist Board
{{Authority control Communes of Seine-Maritime Viking Age populated places Prefectures in France Veliocasses Gallia Lugdunensis Normandy region articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Cities in France