Let me continue in wonderful Rouen and end this triology of nice church monuments there. The city is worth a detour for its history,architecture ,and beautiful monuments. We love it and look forward to stop by when possible again. Let me tell you about a nice area and the Church Saint Maclou of Rouen, part I !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I
Moving right along on this pretty tour of my belle France we arrive at a wonderful town always in my heart. On a still cold day but bit cloudy and no rain I will bring you back to Rouen, in Seine-Maritime dept 76 of Normandie! And of course as the title says , I like to tell you a bit more on one of its gems, the Church of Saint Maclou. The Church is in city center/ downtown Rouen, and is a marvel of Gothic architecture which we like a lot and always not only visit but walked by there each time in Rouen.
A bit of history and construction I like tell us that the Church of St Maclou is a jewel of flamboyant Gothic art built between 1437 and 1517. It has a west façade in which opens to a rose window. In front of this façade is a five-bay porch arranged in an arc , surmounted by gables. . The three central bays are home to three gates, two of which are adorned with carved wooden doors, the work of the cabinetmakers of the Renaissance. The main portal is adorned with scenes of the Resurrection of the dead in his covings and a Last Judgement on his eardrum. The porch serves as a support, at the corner of rue Martainville and rue Damietta, at a fountain (where we always walked by). The plan of the Church has a non-salient transept in relation to the lateral chapels. The church preserves the Norman tradition of the lantern tower it acts as a steeple. The 83 meters spire that raises up dates back to the 19C; The ambulatory does not have an axis chapel and the choir has a four-part apse, the characteristic of which is to present a pillar in the axis of the church. The sacristy to the east of the church is a pastiche neo-renaissance, whose marble columns are authentic and come from Italy.
The Interior of the sanctuary is designed to collect the maximum light and is therefore very clear. This is one of the reasons why we note the absence of capitals on the pillars of the nave and the Choir, we also notice the large size of bays that occupy all the space between the spans. The Choir, very renovated, did not recover its beautiful pre-war Baroque woodwork and only a chapel preserved it. The 18C beam of glory separating the choir from the nave has been preserved. One of the chapels south of the ambulatory was not rebuilt after WWII. Few old stained glass windows have survived and those that can be observed are often mixed with modern elements. Note, however, the 15C Jesse Tree above the north gate, with a Jesse seated according to a habit born in Flanders, and above the south portal, a Crucifixion. On the reverse side of the western façade, there is a renaissance organ, whose qualities both plastic and sound are recognized.
In June 1944, the bombs dropped damaged the arches of the ambulatory and chorus. The steeple or tower-lantern threatens to collapse. Work continued and the Church Saint Maclou was partially restored to worship in 1965. The Choir was restored in 2000 and the Lantern Tower inaugurated again in 2007.
The city of Rouen on the church: https://rouen.fr/eglise-saint-maclou
The Rouen tourist office on the church: https://www.rouentourisme.com/edifices-religieux/eglise-saint-maclou-492/
There you have it folks, all layout for you to have great fun visiting this jewel of the Seine Maritime and Normandie. And now you are set on this area of Rouen, the Church Saint Maclou offers plenty to keep you for half a day and on Rue Martainville there are plenty of quant old shops and restos to add to the fun. Again, hope you enjoy the post on the Church Saint Maclou of Rouen, part I !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 