Small fire in towering spire of medieval cathedral in French city of Rouen is under control (2024)

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Small fire in towering spire of medieval cathedral in French city of Rouen is under control? ›

PARIS (AP) — A fire broke out Thursday in the spire of the medieval cathedral in Rouen, a major landmark in northern France that was under renovation, but authorities said it was quickly brought under control.

Firefighters in the Normandy city of Rouen have managed to extinguish a fire in its world-famous gothic cathedral, calming fears of another disaster at one of France's architectural jewels five years after the devastation of Notre Dame. Local fire services said no major damage was reported.

A fire broke out on the spire of the medieval cathedral in the Normandy city of Rouen, French authorities said on Thursday. The regional administration said that the cathedral was evacuated and a security perimeter was put in place.

In 1940, a fire damaged a part of the cathedral's structural framework. In 1944, the monument would undergo even more significant damages. Allied bombings hit the cathedral, destroying its nave and rendering more fragile an already weakened edifice that struggled to hold up its spire whose columns were ruined.

On May 30, 1431, at Rouen in English-controlled Normandy, Joan of Arc, the peasant girl who became the savior of France, is burned at the stake for heresy.

PARIS, July 11 (Reuters) - A fire broke out on Thursday in the spire of Rouen's Gothic cathedral where restoration work was underway, recalling a blaze that tore through the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in 2019, collapsing its spire.

These are the tombs of Rollo, a Viking and the first Duke of Normandy; William Longsword, the son of Rollo (died 942); Henry the Young King (died 1183); and a tomb with the heart of Richard the Lionheart, Duke of Normandy and King of England (died 1199); his body was buried at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou.

During restoration efforts at Notre-Dame Cathedral, which burned in a fire three years ago, archaeologists discovered two mysterious sarcophagi buried under the church's nave. After months of research, they now know more about who was entombed in them. One contained the remains of a high priest who died in 1710.

The next steps

The reopening of Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris is announced for the 8th December 2024. A Te Deum is planned for 15 April 2024, exactly 5 years after the fire.

Romans and Vikings both settled in this part of the Seine Valley, and when the Vikings became Normans in the 10th century, Rouen became Normandy's capital. English medieval history is closely linked to Rouen. The Anglo-French kings kept a deep affection for the city. William the Conqueror often held court here.

Can you go inside the Rouen Cathedral? ›

You can visit the Cathedral freely during the opening hours (see below). You will have access to the naves and transepts, the ambulatory and the side chapels. However, visits may be restricted or interrupted during religious offices.

Claude Monet | Rouen Cathedral: The Portal (Sunlight) | The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

The blaze began around noon on July 11, when a plastic tarp covering part of the cathedral's spire caught fire, according to Agence France-Presse (AFP).

The king of France Charles VII recaptured the town in 1449, 18 years after the death of Joan of Arc and after 30 years of English occupation.

His entrails were buried in Chalus, which is close to Limoges in central France. The rest of his body was entombed further north, in Fontevraud Abbey, but his heart was embalmed and buried in the cathedral of Notre Dame in Rouen.

The base of the effigy (gisant) has now been replaced with a plain block. Richard's heart is buried here, his body is at Fontevraud Abbey in Anjou.

The siege of Rouen (29 July 1418 – 19 January 1419) was a major event in the Hundred Years' War, in which English forces loyal to Henry V captured Rouen, the capital of Normandy, from the Norman French.

The cathedral of Rouen is one of the first Gothic churches to have been erected in Europe. The interior of the building is just or perhaps more impressive than the outside. Nice to know Rollo duke of Normandy is buried here.