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Cathedral - Our Lady of Rouen

The great lady in the heart of Rouen

    Majestic, mysterious, I am lucky to be able to enjoy the Notre-Dame Cathedral of Rouen every day from my window. And, every day, depending on its brightness, I imagine the Middle Ages, its construction, the workers who lost their lives there. I have immense respect for them.

I did not take the photo above, I "borrowed" it on the Internet and, I thank the editor. My digital camera could not make such an image.

However, I had to pay tribute to the stature of this monument. No need to be a believer to admire it, photograph it, visit it.

I could pass in front of it every day, to photogaph it by rediscovering it as if it was the first time. And each time in admiration without ever getting tired. The stone and the sun play together and, each time, it amazes me and I feel very small in front of this imposing building.

Thank you beautiful Lady!

 

Now, turn to my photos and little stories ....

        Far and yet still close

Notre-Dame Cathedral, officially the "Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen" primitive cathedral, is one of the prestigious monuments of the city of Rouen.

Its cast iron spire has risen 151 meters (the highest in France) since the 19th century.

If someone gets lost, they just have to roll their eyes and look for the spire of the Cathedral to find their way ...

"Mother Church of Normandy"

Following the multiple campaigns, the Cathedral ended up having several architectural styles which nevertheless give a very harmonious whole.

I leave it to the authors of the History of Normandy to tell you about it here , however I share my photographic "views" ...

Notre-Dame Cathedral of Rouen

When you arrive at the Calende's square, the view on the monument is spectacular, you enter, as in a book, the History of the Notre-Dame  cathedral of Rouen.

On the forecourt of the Cathedral, the view is spectacular, the building "tells" History over the past centuries where constructions and reconstructions have made it a unique copy, where styles blend perfectly.

I remain moved at the thought of these men who without the means of today have built this beauty and, I wonder how many died for it.

This Western facade of the Cathedral between the Butter Tower and the Saint-Romain Tower is a prestigious History book.

The Albane Gardens, nestled along the north side of the Cathedral, occupy the site of one of the ancient churches forming the Paleo-Christian cathedral group. This courtyard served as a necropolis in the Middle Ages and also received constructions which belonged to the community of canons and certainly to an archiepiscopal palace.

Saint-Romain street

"The portal of the booksellers" owes its name to the presence of the cathedral library in the building which borders the courtyard to the west. In the Middle Ages, the terms bookstore and library were synonymous.

The canons lived in houses in the area north of the cathedral. They had to detour via the western facade to enter the church, which was very uncomfortable. In 1280, Guillaume de Flavacourt, former canon of the cathedral, ascended the episcopal throne of Rouen. He easily accepted the requests of his former classmates to open direct access to the cathedral in this northern arm.

On court,

"the portal of the booksellers" is more complex. A row of quadrilobes * represents Genesis, the first book of the Bible. The rest show a great fantastic bestiary.

* Quadrilobe : Ornamental pattern formed by four equal arcs of a circle arranged around a center of symmetry. (Gothic architecture: tracings, up-to-date railings, frames of bas-reliefs.)

The cathedral chime is back.

For a year, old bells were restored, others melted at the Paccard foundry, near Annecy.

Company which is dealing with the carillon of Rouen since a century.

On March 31, 2016, they returned to Rouen, and, for a month, were exhibited to the public, in the nave of the cathedral.

To take a virtual tour of the cathedral, find out the visit times, click here

"There are those who believe,  those who doubt,  those who think. I am one of those who think: I believe I think I doubt."
(Louis Scutenaire / 1905-1987 / My inscriptions, 1943-1944)

Let me enter my own way into the holy of holies :

Notre Dame cathedral - Rouen

          I am not a believer, however I like to enter churches as I enter a museum. Is it due to the calm of the place, I often feel soothed there. No, I don't feel that I have a sudden divine protection above me, none of that. There is no more tumult or hubbub, just murmurs and respect.

And always a great admiration for these buildings constructed in these times so distant by men with less means than those of today. I then feel very small, peaceful.

I admit, however, that the Catholic churches, even if sumptuous, lack the flamboyance of the Orthodox churches, always very colorful, bright and with a more  cheerful spirit to which I was used when I lived in Greece. In Catholic buildings, there is a feeling of heaviness, like a pending punishment awaiting... fortunately, I am still not a believer and I still appreciate their architecture and History as much.

 

"Game of chairs"

The Stained Glass Windows of Rouen Cathedral

The stained glass windows are so numerous that I would be incapable of telling them. I do not want to pretend to know them in detail when I am not a specialist, on the other hand the Histoire du Patrimoine ( Heritage History ) does it very well and in detail.

By cons, here are some of my photos, stained glass as I see them.

          

The Church of the Dukes of Normandy

It needed a building related to the role of Rouen, capital of the Duchy of Normandy. The sanctuary preserved the ducal attributes (crown, sword, gold ring). The choir still houses the recumbent figures of three dukes of Normandy (Rollo, Guillaume Longue Epée, Richard Coeur de Lion). Despite the annexation of the duchy by the King of France in 1204, Rouen remained an important center. It was until the 16th century the second city of the kingdom, after Paris.

  The choir

Built in the continuity of the works following the fire of the cathedral in the year 1200, the Gothic choir is a little wider than the nave. The Gothic choir is three spans longer than the Romanesque choir . It is on the same level as the nave which led to the destruction of the upper parts of the crypt. The elevation of the choir has three floors while the nave has four.
Unlike the beamed columns of the nave, the columns of the choir are cylindrical. Around the choir, an ambulatory still contains a few tombs. Many others were destroyed by the canons in 1734.
The windows of the ambulatory contain superb 13th century stained glass. One of them, dedicated to Saint-Julien l'Hospitalier , served as inspiration for Gustave Flaubert .

    "Stone Statues"

The ambulatory opens onto three radiant chapels separated by a large window. The ambulatory gives access from south to north to the Saint-André / Saint-Barthélémy du Revestiaire chapel, the Chapel of the Virgin and the Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul chapel.

The blind arches house original statues from the facade of the cathedral. Five other statues, coming from the buttresses of the western facade, were installed on the north side of the ambulatory, after two years of restoration in the Legrand Workshops of Darnétal. There appear to be two statues of prophets, an angel and two statues of donors to the cathedral. These 15th century statues along with the 28 other statues presented in the ambulatory must eventually join the future Museum of the Work.

The nave and its surroundings

Hugues of Amiens

Notre Dame de Rouen is above all the necropolis of the archbishops.
In the ambulatory, one can also admire the recumbent figure of Hugues d'Amiens and its "enfeu" (A tomb niche: recess in a wall in which a tomb is placed). However most of the tombs are in the chapel of the Virgin. The cardinals Georges I and II d'Amboise are buried there, the cardinal de Bonnechose and his prayer leader (funeral status representing a kneeling figure). There are also buried seneschals (Royal Justice Officer): Pierre and Louis de Brézé (15th and 16th centuries).

    Some chapels ...

 Saint Etienne Chapel

   Enigmatic ...

" Behind the doors " ... always a mystery to me. Enigmatic, intriguing, sometimes a frightening stranger. Curious, the day of my visit I tried to open a door ajar. The room was beautiful, I wanted to take pictures of it when the cleaning man (sorry, the cleaning agent) told me in English that this place was forbidden to the public ... when I apologized in French , he was taken aback. How could I not know that the Presbytery was a damn forbidden place for ordinary people! ...

Now, the unbeliever that I am knows it ... I think that I could still have made pretty pictures !?!

 "Just exposure"

Cathedral of Notre-Dame of Rouen

"To your good heart, ladies and gentlemen!"

I will return, too much to see, to discover (except presbytery of course). By looking too much, you end up not seeing anything anymore and Notre-Dame is really a masterpiece. There are certainly nooks and crannies that I still have to discover.

See you soon ...

"Good heaven ! "

"In the butter ..."

Majestic "Butter Tower" on a foggy morning in January 2019. Between the shock of architecture, the morning mist that veils it of the mystery of yesteryear, I waited for it to unfold and show itself as it is bright and flamboyant in the heart of Rouen.

 

Cathedral Notre-Dame of Rouen

What treasures even at the peaks of Notre-Dame of Rouen!

 

"It is very surprising that the wealth of the people of the Church began with the principle of poverty."

- Montesquieu / My Thoughts -

 

"The Archbishopric of Rouen"

Located on the 2nd Bonnetiers' street, I had only seen the massive portal of the Archbishopric of Rouen closed. I suspected that architectural treasures must be hidden behind this portal, surely luxury. But I could only imagine, this huge door kept its mysteries. And the miracle took place, the portal finally opened .... but I could not enter, I could only admire from the outside. I will not fail to take advantage of the Heritage Days to visit the lush interiors and gardens of which only a few elected officials normally benefit.

 

   "An authorized wink"

"Going to the garden ..."

"Sweetness of butter"

Cathedral Notre-Dame of Rouen

"Let the night fall..."

Cathedral Notre-Dame of Rouen
Cathedral Notre-Dame of Rouen
© Copyright©AlexandrineIGallida©
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