Rouen

My dad and I in front of the Gros Horloge

My parents and I went to Rouen this afternoon to finish our Christmas shopping. Rouen is the capital of the Upper Normandy region in the Seine Maritime department (76). The population in 2011 is 110276 people. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe, it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages. It was one of the capitals of the Anglo-Norman dynasties, which ruled both England and large parts of modern France from the 11th to the 15th centuries. It was here that Joan of Arc was burnt in 1431. The city is known for its Notre Dame cathedral, which was the subject of a series of paintings by Claude Monet. Also the Gros Horloge is an astronomical clock dating back to the 16th century, though the movement is considerably older (1389). The city was heavily damaged (approximately 45% was destroyed) during World War II: in June 1940, when the area between the Notre-Dame Cathedral and the Seine river burned for 48 hours, because the Germans did not allow the firemen to come and extinguish the fire.

In the 2001 movie A Knight's Tale, the protagonist William Thatcher (played by Heath Ledger) poses as a noble and competes in his first jousting tournament at Rouen.