Rouen |
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Rouen Cathedral |
300s Original church on site
800s Demolished by Vikings
1100s Construction on current building
1110 Struck by lightening
1200 Burned
1300s Ornamentation added
1284 Struck by lightning
1353 Spire blew down
1360 New chapel
1400s Tower finished
1507 Southwest tower completed
1514 Gothic spire burned
1530 Portico completed
1625 Struck by lightning
1642 Struck by lightning
1683 Hurricane damage
1822 Lightning destroyed spire
1944 Bombed by Royal Air Force
1944 Bombed by US Air Force
1999 Hurricane damage
Plaque where Joan of Arc was burned. |
Looking at it and realizing that a girl not far from my age was burned alive at the stake at that very spot, perhaps was the first time I really connected with history and at the same time I realized France was inside me. I don't know why they seemed to connect at that time, but those two feelings have stayed with me for the rest of my life. The feeling inside me was something I still cannot explain, it was like a chill than ran through my body from my feet through my head.
It shook me quite a bit and stayed with me a very long time.
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The Old Market Square. Memorial to Joan of Arc in the green area. |