Rouen Centre Normandy |
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Rouen is a commune and the préfecture (capital) in the Seine-Maritime département of the region of Haute-Normandie (Upper Normandy) in northwestern France on the River Seine. Rouen was founded by the Gaulish tribe of the Veliocasses, who called it Ratumacos. Medieval Rouen was designed by the Viking Rollo just after he became Duke of Normandy in 911, was captured by the English in 1419, and was won back by the French in 1449. The execution of Joan of Arc in took place here in 1431. Rouen was badly damaged on D-day during World War II and its Notre Dame cathedral was almost destroyed by Allied bombing. The central spire of Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen is the tallest in France. It is alleged that the heart of Richard the Lionheart is buried in the cathedral, a token of his affection for the people of Rouen. Victor Hugo described Rouen as “The city of 100 steeples” in one of his poems,
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