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

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

Normandy Normandy (; or ) is a geographical and cultural region in northwestern Europe, roughly coextensive with the historical Duchy of Normandy. Normandy comprises Normandy (administrative region), mainland Normandy (a part of France) and insular N ...

and the department of

Seine-Maritime Seine-Maritime () is a department of France in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the northern coast of France, at the mouth of the Seine, and includes the cities of Rouen and Le Havre. Until 1955 it was named Seine-Inf� ...

. Formerly one of the largest and most prosperous cities of

medieval Europe In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the 5th to the late 15th centuries, similarly to the post-classical period of World history (field), global history. It began with the fall of the West ...

, the population of the metropolitan area () 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 and Angevin dynasties, which ruled both

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

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 (represented by the Roman numerals MCCI) through December 31, 1300 (MCCC) in accordance with the Julian calendar. The Mongol Empire was founded by Genghis Khan, which stretched ...

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 conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, it was on its soil that

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc ( ; ; – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the Coronation of the French monarch, coronation of Charles VII o ...

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 merged with the ports of Le Havre and Paris in 2021 to form the HAROPA Port. 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, Le Secq des Tournelles museum, and

Rouen Cathedral Rouen Cathedral () is a Catholic church architecture, church in Rouen, Normandy, France. It is the Episcopal see, see of the Archbishop of Rouen, Primate of Normandy. It is famous for its three towers, each in a different style. The cathedral, b ...

. Seat of an archdiocese, it also hosts a court of appeal and a

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

. 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

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

ish 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 Lugdunum (also spelled Lugudunum, ; modern Lyon, France) was an important Colonia (Roman), Roman city in Gaul, established on the current site of Lyon, France, Lyon. The Roman city was founded in 43 BC by Lucius Munatius Plancus, but cont ...

(

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

) itself. Under the reorganization of

Diocletian Diocletian ( ; ; ; 242/245 – 311/312), nicknamed Jovius, was Roman emperor from 284 until his abdication in 305. He was born Diocles to a family of low status in the Roman province of Dalmatia (Roman province), Dalmatia. As with other Illyri ...

, 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 In ancient Rome, (from Greek , "hot") and (from Greek ) were facilities for bathing. usually refers to the large Roman Empire, imperial public bath, bath complexes, while were smaller-scale facilities, public or private, that existed i ...

'' of which foundations remain. In the 5th century, it became the seat of a bishopric and later a capital of

Merovingian The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from around the middle of the 5th century until Pepin the Short in 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the ...

Neustria. From their first incursion into the lower valley of the Seine in 841, the

Normans The Normans (Norman language, Norman: ''Normaunds''; ; ) were a population arising in the medieval Duchy of Normandy from the intermingling between Norsemen, Norse Viking settlers and locals of West Francia. The Norse settlements in West Franc ...

overran Rouen. From 912, Rouen was the capital of the

Duchy of Normandy The Duchy of Normandy grew out of the 911 Treaty of Saint-Clair-sur-Epte between Charles the Simple, King Charles III of West Francia and the Viking leader Rollo. The duchy was named for its inhabitants, the Normans. From 1066 until 1204, as a r ...

and residence of the local dukes, until

William the Conqueror William the Conqueror (Bates ''William the Conqueror'' p. 33– 9 September 1087), sometimes called William the Bastard, was the first Norman king of England (as William I), reigning from 1066 until his death. A descendant of Rollo, he was D ...

moved his residence to

Caen Caen (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune inland from the northwestern coast of France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Calvados (department), Calvados. The city proper has 105,512 inha ...

. In 1150, Rouen received its founding charter which permitted self-government. During the 12th century, Rouen was the site of a

yeshiva A yeshiva (; ; pl. , or ) is a traditional Jewish educational institution focused on the study of Rabbinic literature, primarily the Talmud and halacha (Jewish law), while Torah and Jewish philosophy are studied in parallel. The stu ...

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

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

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. 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 Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

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

, on 19 January 1419, Rouen surrendered after a long siege to

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

, who annexed

once again to the Plantagenet domains. French soldier Alain Blanchard summarily hung English prisoners of war from the city walls during the siege, for which he was beheaded after Rouen fell, while canon and

vicar general A vicar general (previously, archdeacon) is the principal deputy of the bishop or archbishop of a diocese or an archdiocese for the exercise of administrative authority and possesses the title of local ordinary. As vicar of the bishop, the vica ...

of Rouen Robert de Livet excommunicated Henry V, resulting in him being imprisoned for five years in England.

, who supported a return to French rule, was burned at the stake on 30 May 1431 in Rouen, 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 The French Wars of Religion were a series of civil wars between French Catholic Church, Catholics and Protestantism, Protestants (called Huguenots) from 1562 to 1598. Between two and four million people died from violence, famine or disease di ...

, and underwent an unsuccessful five-month siege in 1591/2 by the Protestant Henry IV of France and an English force under Earl of Essex. A brief account by an English participant has survived. During the repression of January and February 1894, the police conducted raids targeting the anarchists living there, without much success. 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 Nazi 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 military branch, branche ...

had its headquarters located in a chateau on what is now the Rouen Business School. The city was heavily damaged during the same war on D-Day, and its famed cathedral was almost destroyed by Allied bombs.

Main sights

Rouen is known for

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

Lent Lent (, 'Fortieth') is the solemn Christianity, Christian religious moveable feast#Lent, observance in the liturgical year in preparation for Easter. It echoes the 40 days Jesus spent fasting in the desert and enduring Temptation of Christ, t ...

. The cathedral's gothic façade (completed in the 16th century) was the subject of a series of paintings by

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, ; ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of Impressionism painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During his ...

, some of which are exhibited in the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) () is a museum in Paris, France, on the Rive Gauche, Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts architecture, Beaux-Arts railway station built from 1898 to 1900. The museum holds mai ...

in Paris. The '' Gros Horloge'' is an astronomical clock dating back to the 90th century. It is located in the Gros Horloge street. Other famous structures include Rouen Castle, whose keep is known as the ''tour Jeanne d'Arc'', where

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

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

'' (French court of law) of Normandy; the Gothic '' Church of St Maclou'' (15th century); and the Museum of Fine Arts and Ceramics which contains a splendid collection of faïence and

porcelain Porcelain (), also called china, is a ceramic material made by heating Industrial mineral, raw materials, generally including kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The greater strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to oth ...

for which Rouen was renowned during the 16th to 18th centuries. Rouen is also noted for its surviving half-timbered buildings. There are many museums in Rouen: the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Rouen, an art museum with paintings by well-known artists such as

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, the Museum of Natural History, founded in 1834 and re-opened in 2007; and the Musée Le Secq des Tournelles, which houses various collections of objects. The Jardin des Plantes de Rouen is a notable

botanical garden A botanical garden or botanic gardenThe terms ''botanic'' and ''botanical'' and ''garden'' or ''gardens'' are used more-or-less interchangeably, although the word ''botanic'' is generally reserved for the earlier, more traditional gardens. is ...

once owned by Scottish banker John Law, dating from 1840 in its present form. It was the site of Élisa Garnerin'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. This is a large, modern structure which dominates the square. The form of the building represents an upturned

Viking Vikings were seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway, and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded, and settled throughout parts of Europe.Roesdahl, pp. 9� ...

boat and a fish shape. Rouen was also home to the French Grand Prix, hosting the race at the nearby

Rouen-Les-Essarts Rouen-Les-Essarts was a motor racing circuit in Orival, Seine-Maritime, Orival, near Rouen, France. From its opening in 1950, Rouen-Les-Essarts was recognized as one of Europe's finest circuits, with modern pits, a wide track, and spectator gra ...

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'').

Transport

Mainline trains operate from Gare de Rouen-Rive-Droite to

Le Havre Le Havre is a major port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy (administrative region), Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the Seine, river Seine on the English Channel, Channe ...

and Paris, and regional trains to

Dieppe Dieppe (; ; or Old Norse ) is a coastal commune in the Seine-Maritime department, Normandy, northern France. Dieppe is a seaport on the English Channel at the mouth of the river Arques. A regular ferry service runs to Newhaven in England ...

and other local destinations in

. Daily direct trains operate to

Amiens Amiens (English: or ; ; , or ) is a city and Communes of France, commune in northern France, located north of Paris and south-west of Lille. It is the capital of the Somme (department), Somme Departments of France, department in the region ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, and direct TGVs (high-speed trains) connect daily with

and

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

. 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) and by buses run in conjunction with the tramway by TCAR (Transports en commun de l'agglomération rouennaise), a subsidiary of

Transdev Transdev, formerly Veolia Transdev, is a France-based international private-sector company which operates public transport. It has operations in 17 countries and territories as of November 2020. Transdev was formed on 3 April 2011 via the merg ...

. Rouen has its own

airport An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial Aviation, air transport. They usually consist of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surf ...

. The

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

(50 minutes) and

Calais Calais ( , , traditionally , ) is a French port city in the Pas-de-Calais department, of which it is a subprefecture. Calais is the largest city in Pas-de-Calais. The population of the city proper is 67,544; that of the urban area is 144,6 ...

, and the

Channel Tunnel The Channel Tunnel (), sometimes referred to by the Portmanteau, portmanteau Chunnel, is a undersea railway tunnel, opened in 1994, that connects Folkestone (Kent, England) with Coquelles (Pas-de-Calais, France) beneath the English Channel at ...

are within easy driving distance (two and a half hours or less).

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, Le Grand-Quevilly, Le Petit-Quevilly, and Mont-Saint-Aignan, each with a population exceeding 20,000. The city council is based at the Hôtel de Ville.

Population

Education

The main schools of higher education are the University of Rouen and NEOMA Business School (former École Supérieure de Commerce de Rouen), Unilasalle (agronomy and agriculture), both located at nearby Mont-Saint-Aignan, and the INSA Rouen, ESIGELEC, ESITech and the CESI, the three at nearby Saint-Étienne-du-Rouvray.

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 the

Championnat National The Championnat National (), commonly referred to as simply National or Division 3, is the third division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1 and Ligue 2. Contested by 18 clubs, the Championnat National operates on a system of ...

. 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. Dragons de Rouen, an ice hockey club, play in the top-tier Ligue Magnus at the Île Lacroix arena.

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

is also played in the city at Stade Saint Exupéry. The local team, Huskies de Rouen play in the top French tier, they also play some games in European competition.

Notable residents

Rouen was the birthplace of: * Noel Alexandre (1639–1724), theologian and ecclesiastical historian. * Joseph-Henri Altès (1826–1895), flautist and pedagog * Roger Apéry (1916–1994), mathematician * (b. 1500s), explorer * Adrien Auzout (1622–1691), astronomer * Jacques Basnages (1653–1723), Protestant theologian. * Juliette Billard, (1889–1975), architect, watercolorist, designer * Petit Biscuit (b. 1999), music producer * Jacques-François Blondel (1705–1774), architect. * Samuel Bochart (1599–1667), Protestant theologian. * François-Adrien Boïeldieu (1775–1834), composer. * Charles Boulanger de Boisfremont (1773-1838), painter * Eugène Caron (1834–1903), opera singer * Stéphan Caron (b. 1966), swimmer * Armand Carrel (1800–1836), writer. *

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 North American fur trade, fur trader in North America. He explored the Great Lakes region of the United States and Canada ...

(1643–1687), explorer. * Marie Champmeslé (1642–1698), actress. * Pierre Adolphe Chéruel (1809–1891), historian. * Pierre Corneille (1606–1684), tragedian. * Thomas Corneille (1625–1709), dramatist, brother of Pierre Corneille. * Guillaume Couture (1617–1701), lay missionary and diplomat * François d'Agincourt (1684–1758), composer * Pierre Dangicourt (1664–1727), mathematician * Gabriel Daniel (1649–1728), Jesuit historian. * François Blouet de Camilly (1664–1723), Catholic Archbishop * François de Civille (1537–1610), military commander * Anne Mauduit de Fatouville (mid 17th C – 1715), playwright * Guy de la Brosse (1586–1641), botanist and pharmacist * Antoine Girard de Saint-Amant (1594–1661), poet. * Léon de Saint-Réquier (1872–1964), organist and composer * Adrien Charles Deshommets de Martainville (1783–1847), politician * Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968), artist * Pierre Louis Dulong (1785–1838), physicist and chemist. * Anny Duperey (b. 1947), actress and novelist * Jacques Duphly (1715–1789), composer * Marcel Dupré (1886–1971), composer *

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 (1444-c1503), sister of Edward IV, married John de la Pole, Plantagenet. * Philippe Étancelin (1896–1981), race car driver * Fayçal Fajr (b. 1988), footballer * Gustave Flaubert (1821–1880), novelist. * Pierre Gasly (b. 1996), Formula One driver * Théodore Géricault (1791–1824), painter. * Alexis Gougeard (b. 1993), cyclist * Pierre-Antoine Guéroult (1749–1816), scholar * (1507–1569), poet * (1652–1721), Catholic writer * Georges Guillain (1876–1961), neurologist * Marie-Madeleine Hachard (1708–1760), nun and abbess * Armand Havet (1795–1820), botanist *

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. Before his presidency, he was First Secretary of the Socialist Party (France), First Secretary of th ...

(b. 1954), 24th President of the French Republic * Robert Hubert (-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 Wednesday 5 September 1666, gutting the medieval City of London inside the old London Wall, Roman city wall, while also extendi ...

* Jean II Restout (1692–1768), painter. * Jean Jouvenet (–1717), painter of religious subjects. * Jean Jouvenet (1647–1717), painter. * Eugène Ketterer (1831–1870), composer * Bernard le Bovier de Fontenelle (1657–1757), author, nephew of Pierre Corneille. * Jean-Laurent Le Cerf de La Viéville (1674–1707), musicographer * Pierre François le Courayer (1681–1776), theologian. * Pierre Le Pesant, sieur de Boisguilbert (1646–1714) economist and lawmaker. * Maurice Leblanc (1864–1941), novelist * Jean Lecanuet (1920–1993), politician * Jean-Yves Lechevallier (b. 1946), sculptor * Nicolas Lemery (1645–1715), chemist. * Jeanne-Marie Leprince de Beaumont (1711–1780), novelist * Louise Levesque (1703–1745), playwright, poet * Dominique Lokoli (b. 1952), footballer * Lola Lovinfosse (b. 2005), racing driver * Élise Lucet (b. 1963), journalist * Ian Mahinmi (b. 1986), basketball player * Alphonse Maille (1813–1865) botanist * Théo Maledon (b. 2001), basketball player * Christophe Mendy (b. 1971), boxer * Jean-Amédée Méreaux (1802–1874), musicologist, pianist and composer * Céline Minard (b. 1969), writer * Pierre Antoine Motteux (1663–1718), French-born English dramatist. * Iliman Ndiaye (b. 2000), footballer * Charles Nicolle (1866–1936), bacteriologist * Isaac Oliver (1556–1617), French-born English painter. * Nathalie Péchalat (b. 1983), ice dancer * Thomas Pesquet (b. 1978), astronaut * Robert Antoine Pinchon (1886–1943), painter * François Raguenet (1660–1722), historian, biographer and musicologist * Jacques Rivette (1928–2016), film director * Armand Salacrou (1899–1989), dramatist * Aurélien Tchouaméni (b. 2000), footballer *

David Trezeguet David Sergio Trezeguet (, ; born 15 October 1977) is a French former professional Association football, footballer who played as a Striker (association football), striker. Trezeguet began his career in Argentina with Club Atlético Platense at ...

(b. 1977), footballer * Amaury Vassili (b. 1989), singer * Karin Viard (b. 1966), actress * Hubert Wulfranc (b. 1956), Member of Parliament

International relations

Rouen is twinned with: *

Baton Rouge Baton Rouge ( ; , ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Louisiana. It had a population of 227,470 at the 2020 United States census, making it List of municipalities in Louisiana, Louisiana's second-m ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, since 1963 *

Hannover Hanover ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the States of Germany, German state of Lower Saxony. Its population of 535,932 (2021) makes it the List of cities in Germany by population, 13th-largest city in Germany as well as the fourth-l ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

, since 1966 *

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

, England,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

, since 1959 *

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, United States, since 2008 *

Pomeranian Voivodeship Pomeranian Voivodeship ( ; ) is a Voivodeships of Poland, voivodeship, or province, in northwestern Poland. The provincial capital is Gdańsk. The voivodeship was established on January 1, 1999, out of the former voivodeships of Gdańsk Voivo ...

Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...

, since 1992 * Salerno,

Campania Campania is an administrative Regions of Italy, region of Italy located in Southern Italy; most of it is in the south-western portion of the Italian Peninsula (with the Tyrrhenian Sea to its west), but it also includes the small Phlegraean Islan ...

, Italy, since 2002 *

Zhejiang ) , translit_lang1_type2 = , translit_lang1_info2 = ( Hangzhounese) ( Ningbonese) (Wenzhounese) , image_skyline = 玉甑峰全貌 - panoramio.jpg , image_caption = View of the Yandang Mountains , image_map = Zhejiang i ...

China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...

, since 1990

Sculpture

During the second half of the 20th century, sculptures by Jean-Yves Lechevallier were erected in the city. Inaugurated in 2010, the Rouen Impressionnée hosted the contemporary urban redevelopment installation sculpture 'Camille' by Belgian artist Arne Quinze. 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 location was chosen by the artist to magnify the historical separation of its city's citizens.

Representations in art

is the subject of a series of paintings by the Impressionist painter

, who painted the same scene at different times of the day. Two paintings are in the National Gallery of Art 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

Climate

Rouen has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(''Cfb'' in the Köppen climate classification).

References

External links

* {{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