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Origin and history

The former Hôtel-Dieu de Rouen, founded in the Middle Ages as the Hospital Notre Dame, was originally located near the cathedral. Directed by Augustine nuns as early as 1145, he housed sick, religious communities and a cure. In 1268 Archbishop Eudes Rigaud deposited the relics of Saint Madeleine, renamed the Hôtel-Dieu de la Madeleine. Composed of several courtyards (conventuals, hall of the sick) and a chapel destroyed in 1508, it was rebuilt in the 16th century before being closed in 1758 for age and smallness.

In the face of recurrent plague outbreaks, a new Hôtel-Dieu was erected west of Rouen in 1654, bringing together two hospitals: Saint-Louis (malads) and Saint-Roch (convalescents). Designed by architect Abraham Hardouin, the buildings were enlarged in the 18th century with a neo-classical chapel (1767-1781) by Jean-Baptiste Le Brument. The ensemble, transferred in 1758, became a hospice of humanity during the Revolution, then took up its name as Hotel-Dieu. Care ceased in 1988.

The Madeleine Chapel, built between 1767 and 1781, was consecrated in 1781 by Archbishop Dominique de La Rochefoucauld. It became a parish church in 1790 and closed during the Terror before reopening in 1802. Since 1995, the site has been home to the prefecture of Seine-Maritime and Normandy. It is also known as Gustave Flaubert's birthplace.

The former medieval Hôtel-Dieu, located south of the cathedral, disappeared permanently in 1940 after centuries of evolution. Its remains included a Chariot courtyard (with fountain and cemetery), a sick room, and convenual spaces. The jugglers' brotherhood even had a chapel there. The 17th century plans, inspired by epidemics, marked a break with the centralized medieval model.

The arms of the Hôtel-Dieu, a three-box d'azur of gold to the silver chef charged with three crosses of Gules, symbolize his prioral status. The site, public property, is associated with the Flaubert Museum and the history of medicine, highlighting its medical and literary heritage. Architectural transformations reflect the health and political needs of the Old Regime to the Revolution.

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