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Rouen Cathedral's Great West Front
depicting the gallery of Apostles and Archbishops.
Photo: 7 September 2016.
Source: Rouen
Author: Herbert Frank from Wien (Vienna).
(Wikimedia Commons)
English: Rouen Cathedral was the tallest building
in the World (1876-1880) with a height of 151 m (495 ft).
Français: La cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen.
Photo: 15 February 2014.
Source: Own work.
Author: DXR.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The following Text is from Wikipedia - the free encyclopædia.
Rouen Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Primatiale Notre-Dame de l’Assomption de Rouen) is a Roman Catholic Church in Rouen, France.
It is the See of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy.[4] It is famous for its three Towers, each in a different style. The Cathedral, built and rebuilt over a period of more than eight hundred years, has features from Early-Gothic, to Late-Flamboyant, and Renaissance Architecture.[5][4] It also has a place in art history as the subject of a series of Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet.
Christianity was established in Rouen in about 260 A.D. by Saint Mellonius, who became the first Bishop. The first Church is believed to have been under, or close to, the present Cathedral. In 395 A.D., a large Basilica, with three Naves, was built at the same site.
In 755 A.D., Archbishop Rémy, the son of the Frankish statesman and military leader Charles Martel, established the first Chapter of the Cathedral and constructed several Courtyards and buildings around the Church, including a Palace for the Archbishop.[6]
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The Cathedral was enlarged by Saint Ouen in 650 A.D., and visited by Emperor Charlemagne in 769 A.D. However, beginning in 841A.D., a series of Viking raids seriously damaged the Cathedral complex.[7][8]
The Viking leader, Rollo, became the first Duke of the Duchy of Normandy and was Baptised in the Carolingian Cathedral in 915 A.D. and buried there in 932 A.D. His grandson, Richard I of Normandy, further enlarged it in 950 A.D.[9]
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In the 1020s, Archbishop Robert began to rebuild the Church in the Romanesque Style, beginning with a new Choir, Crypt and Ambulatory, and then a Transept. The Romanesque Cathedral was Consecrated by Archbishop Maurille on 1 October 1063, in the presence of William the Conqueror, not long before his Conquest of England.[9]
The project for a Cathedral in the new Gothic Style was first launched by the Archbishop of Rouen, Hugues of Amiens, who had attended the Consecration in 1144 of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, in Paris, the first Gothic structure, with its emphasis upon filling the Interior with light. In 1145, he began constructing a Tower, now called the Tower Saint-Roman, in the new Gothic Style.[9]
A complete reconstruction of the Cathedral was begun by his successor, Gautier the Magnificent. In 1185, he demolished the Romanesque Nave and began building the Western end of the Sanctuary. He had completed The West Front and first Traverses, when the work was interrupted by a major fire on Easter Eve in 1200, which destroyed a large part of the Town and seriously damaged the unfinished Church and its furnishings.
In 1280, the surrounding spaces and buildings were modified to permit the construction of Portals on the North and South Transepts. The next addition was a response to the growing role of The Virgin Mary in Church Doctrine; the small Axial Chapel at the East End of the Apse was replaced by a much larger Chapel Dedicated to her, begun in 1302. The West Front was also given new decoration between 1370 and 1450.[10]
Beginning in 1468, a highly ornamental new top, made of iron and covered with stone tiles, in the Late-Gothic Flamboyant Style, was added to the Tower of Saint-Romaine.[10][11]
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Cardinal-Archbishop Georges d'Amboise (1494-1510) had a major influence on the Church architecture. He incorporated into the Gothic design new Renaissance features, as he had done in his own residence, the Château de Gaillon.
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The Pope authorised Cardinal d’Amboise to grant dispensations to consume milk and butter during Lent, in exchange for contributions to the Tower. The new Tower soon took on the nickname of The Butter Tower, though the money collected paid only a portion of the cost. [10][12]
It is the See of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy.[4] It is famous for its three Towers, each in a different style. The Cathedral, built and rebuilt over a period of more than eight hundred years, has features from Early-Gothic, to Late-Flamboyant, and Renaissance Architecture.[5][4] It also has a place in art history as the subject of a series of Impressionist paintings by Claude Monet.
Christianity was established in Rouen in about 260 A.D. by Saint Mellonius, who became the first Bishop. The first Church is believed to have been under, or close to, the present Cathedral. In 395 A.D., a large Basilica, with three Naves, was built at the same site.
In 755 A.D., Archbishop Rémy, the son of the Frankish statesman and military leader Charles Martel, established the first Chapter of the Cathedral and constructed several Courtyards and buildings around the Church, including a Palace for the Archbishop.[6]
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Rouen Cathedral's Great Portals and Sculpture Galleries.
Photo: 7 September 2016.
Source: Rouen
Author: Herbert Frank from Wien (Vienna).
(Wikimedia Commons)
The Viking leader, Rollo, became the first Duke of the Duchy of Normandy and was Baptised in the Carolingian Cathedral in 915 A.D. and buried there in 932 A.D. His grandson, Richard I of Normandy, further enlarged it in 950 A.D.[9]
4.png)
Rouen Cathedral.
Photo: 11 December 2014.
Author: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The project for a Cathedral in the new Gothic Style was first launched by the Archbishop of Rouen, Hugues of Amiens, who had attended the Consecration in 1144 of the Basilica of Saint-Denis, in Paris, the first Gothic structure, with its emphasis upon filling the Interior with light. In 1145, he began constructing a Tower, now called the Tower Saint-Roman, in the new Gothic Style.[9]
A complete reconstruction of the Cathedral was begun by his successor, Gautier the Magnificent. In 1185, he demolished the Romanesque Nave and began building the Western end of the Sanctuary. He had completed The West Front and first Traverses, when the work was interrupted by a major fire on Easter Eve in 1200, which destroyed a large part of the Town and seriously damaged the unfinished Church and its furnishings.
Gautier quickly repaired the damage and resumed the work, which was directed by his Master Mason, Jean d'Andeli. The Nave was sufficiently complete by 1204 for King Philip II of France to be received there to celebrate the annexation of Normandy to the Kingdom of France. By 1207, The High Altar was in place in The Choir.[9]
The first architectural addition to the new Church was a series of small Chapels between the Buttresses on the North and South sides of the Nave, requested by the City's prominent Religious Brotherhoods and Corporations.
The first architectural addition to the new Church was a series of small Chapels between the Buttresses on the North and South sides of the Nave, requested by the City's prominent Religious Brotherhoods and Corporations.
Beginning in 1468, a highly ornamental new top, made of iron and covered with stone tiles, in the Late-Gothic Flamboyant Style, was added to the Tower of Saint-Romaine.[10][11]
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Rouen Cathedral Nave.
Photo: 11 December 2014.
Author: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia.
(Wikimedia Commons)
Cardinal-Archbishop Georges d'Amboise (1494-1510) had a major influence on the Church architecture. He incorporated into the Gothic design new Renaissance features, as he had done in his own residence, the Château de Gaillon.
The first major project of the period was a new Tower, to match the old Saint-Romaine Tower, built almost three Centuries earlier. Work on the Tower had begun in 1488, under Master Builder Guillaume Pontifs, but, under Cardinal d'Amboise in 1496, the project was taken over by Jacques Le Roux, who had a more ambitious plan with Renaissance touches.
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The Tympanum of The Great West Portal
of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption de Rouen.
Photo: 7 September 2016.
Source: Rouen.
Author: Herbert Frank from Wien (Vienna).
(Wikimedia Commons)
As the new Tower was being built, The Great West Front of the Cathedral showed weaknesses and began to tilt. Cardinal d'Amboise ordered its complete reconstruction. This was carried out by Master Builder Rouilland Le Roux, nephew of Jacques Le Roux, in a lavishly ornate Flamboyant Style.
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Rouen Cathedral’s 15th-Century Staircase
to the Mediæval Library.
Photo: 25 February 2017.
Source: Cathedral
Author: Hernán Piñera from Marbella.
(Wikimedia Commons)
In 1514, the Flèche, or Spire, of the Cathedral, a lead-covered Wooden Spire over the Lantern Tower, fell. It was replaced within a few months in exactly the same form and with the same materials.[10]
In the Late-16th-Century, the Cathedral was badly damaged during The French Wars of Religion: In 1562, the Calvinists attacked the Furniture, Tombs, Stained-Glass Windows and Statuary. The Cathedral was again struck by lightning in 1625 and 1642, then damaged by a hurricane in 1683.[13]
In 1796, in the course of The French Revolution, the new Revolutionary Government nationalised the Cathedral and transformed it for a time into a Temple of Reason. Some of the Furniture and Sculpture was sold, and the Chapel Fences were melted down to make Cannons.[13]
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Rouen Cathedral Sanctuary.
Photo: 11 December 2014.
Author: Jorge Láscar from Melbourne, Australia.
(Wikimedia Commons)
The new Spire, 151 meters (495 feet) tall, was not finally completed until 1882.[14] For a short time, from 1876 to 1880, the Spire made Rouen Cathedral the World's tallest building, until the completion of Cologne Cathedral.
Rouen Cathedral.
Available on YouTube at
At the beginning of World War II in 1939, remembering the damage caused to French Cathedrals in World War I, the Cathedral authorities protected the Sculpture of the Cathedral with sandbags and removed the old Stained-Glass and transported it to sites far from the City. [14]
Nonetheless, in the weeks before D-Day in Normandy, the Cathedral was hit twice by Allied bombs. In April 1944, seven bombs dropped by the British Royal Air Force hit the building, narrowly missing a key Pillar of The Lantern Tower, and damaging much of the South Aisle and destroying two windows.
In June 1944, a few days before D-Day, bombs dropped by The U.S. Army Air Force set fire to the Saint-Romain Tower. The Bells melted, leaving molten remains on the floor.
English: The Butter Tower, Rouen Cathedral.
Français: La tour du Beurre.
Photo: 25 October 2010.
Source: Own work.
Author: Giogo
(Wikimedia Commons)
Following World War II, a major restoration effort began to repair War damage by The Service of Historic Monuments, concluding in 1956. Then a new campaign began to consolidate the structure and to restore the Statuary of The Great West Front, including putting back four Statues that had been moved elsewhere. In 2016, the project was finished and the scaffolding which had covered much of the Cathedral for a Half-Century was finally removed.[15]
Prior to the re-opening of the Cathedral in 1956, the Choir, damaged by the bombing during the War, was given a substantial renewal. This included a new High Altar, topped by an 18th-Century Rococo Statue of Christ, made by Clodion, which had previously been on The Altar Screen, as well as new Choir Screens, a new Episcopal Throne, and a new Communion Table and Pulpit, made of Cast Iron and Gilded Copper.[16]
Beginning in 1985, excavations were carried out beneath the Church and its surroundings, which uncovered vestiges of the earlier Paleo-Christian buildings and foundations of the Carolingian Cathedral.[15]
In 1999, during Cyclone Lothar, a Copper-clad Wooden Turret, which weighed 26 tons, broke free from the Tower and fell partly into the Church, damaging the Choir.
English: Flying Buttresses of Rouen Cathedral reach over the Roof of the Aisle to support the Upper Walls of The Nave.
Deutsch: Nordseite der Metropolitankathedrale Unserer Lieben Frau Himmelfahrt, Rouen, Département Seine-Maritime, Region Normandie, Frankreich.
Photo: 17 June 2019.
Source: Own work.
Author: Zairon
(Wikimedia Commons)
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