Rouen History

ROUEN, a bit of history

Rouen is the historic capital of the ancient Duchy of Normandy and remains the chief city of Upper Normandy (Haute-Normandie). It houses nearly 500,000 inhabitants (called Rouennais and Rouennaises), making it the largest city near Paris, (ahead of Reims, Amiens and Orléans) which is 130km away. In the Middle-Ages, Rouen was one of France’s largest and most prosperous towns and the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy.

How to get to Rouen...

There are approximately 15 daily trains from Paris Gare Saint Lazare to Rouen, taking only 1.10 hours. Travelling by train from Paris is by far the easiest way to discover Rouen on a day-trip.

Rouen is also easily reached from Paris (135 km) by the Autoroute de Normandie (motorway A13) within 1.40 hours, and from the harbour town of Le Havre, from where ferries link Southern England.

If you are travelling from Australia, the best way to reach Rouen is to take a flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle airport and take a train from Paris Gare Saint Lazare or to hire a car and drive from there.

Get travel advice about Rouen and Normandy!

If you live in Sydney and are planning a trip to Rouen and Normandy and want to know more about their popular attractions, we can advise you.

More details...

Rouen is indeed a very ancient city which was called Rotomagus during the Roman era. At that time, Rotomagus was already an important trading town with an amphitheatre and thermae.

In 1150, Rouen was established as a self-governing city and its founding charter granted the town a large degree of autonomy.

When the city went through urban turmoil in the 14th century with the assassination of the mayor and the pillage of noble mansions, King Philip IV of France responded by temporarily suspending the city’s charter and its prosperous monopoly over river traffic.

Much later, in the 20th century, during the Second World War, Rouen was damaged again, this time by Allied bombs and the cathedral narrowly escaped total destruction.

PHOTO ALBUM of Normandy

During the Hundred Years’ War in the 15th century, Rouen played an important part in the history of France, which is still remembered today and taught in school. In 1419, Rouen, Normandy and the surrounding regions were conquered by Henry V of England, of the House of the Plantagenets. The major character to be remember vividly until today is certainly Joan of Arc (in French "Jeanne d’Arc"), who was burned at the stake on the 30th May 1431. Some 20 years later, in 1449, King Charles VII seized Rouen back for France.

In the 21st century, Rouen is still thriving as a busy and thrilling city, offering its visitors a superbly restored town centre and a range of fascinating events such as the Armada de Rouen, a gathering of some of the world’s largest sailing boats.

Rouen : un peu d’histoire

When the Vikings first made their incursion up the Seine River in 841, Rouen was overrun and consequently became the Normans’ capital from 912 until the time of William the Conqueror, who decided to establish his castle at Caen.

With easy access to the sea through the Seine corridor, Rouen became a prosperous trading city and port, exporting wine and wheat to England and importing tin and wool in return. As for wool imports, Rouen specialised in the production of textiles that were marketed at the Champagne fairs, in direct competition with the other prosperous cities of Flanders and Brabant.

Throughout the Middle-Ages, the Normand city went through several Great Fires and in 1200 fire destroyed part of the former cathedral. In 1204, Philip II Augustus of France took Rouen and annexed Normandy to the Kingdom of France. He dismantled the Norman castle, which had been built upon the site of the Roman amphitheatre and built the Chateau Bouvreuil.

Engraved birdeye view of Rouen at the River Seine 1657.

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