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Gros-Horloge de Rouen en Seine-Maritime

Patrimoine classé
Patrimoine défensif
Tour
Tour de l'Horloge
Seine-Maritime

Gros-Horloge de Rouen

    Rue du Gros-Horloge
    76000 Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Gros-Horloge de Rouen
Crédit photo : Jean-noël Lafargue - Sous licence Creative Commons

Timeline

Bas Moyen Âge
Renaissance
Temps modernes
Révolution/Empire
XIXe siècle
Époque contemporaine
1400
1500
1600
1700
1800
1900
2000
1382
Harelle Revolt
1389
Creation of the clock
1398
Reconstruction of the belfry
1527-1529
Arch and Renaissance dials
1862
Historical monument classification
1889-1893
Restoration by Sauvageot
1997-2006
Great restoration
2023-2024
Closure for work
Aujourd'hui
Aujourd'hui

Heritage classified

Gros-Horloge : classification by list of 1862; Fontaine : classification by list of 1889

Key figures

Louis Sauvageot - Clock-restaurant Directs the work from 1889 to 1893.
Ferdinand Marrou - Iron and steel Author of lead frieze (1892).
Jacques Le Lieur - Author of the *Book of Fountains* First graphic representation (1526).
Jean-Pierre Defrance - Sculptor Author of the fountain (1734).
Balthazar Martinot - Royal watchmaker Historical link with monumental clocks.

Origin and history

The Gros Horloge is an emblematic monument of Rouen, combining a 14th-XV century belfry and a Renaissance arch surmounted by an astronomical clock of the 14th century. Ranked in 1862, it symbolizes the struggle for influence between civil and religious powers, his watchmaking mechanism (1389) being one of the oldest in France. The belfry, rebuilt in 1398 after the Harelle revolt, has Gothic bays and a modern classical dome, replacing a frame arrow.

The current clock, installed between 1527 and 1529 on a Renaissance arch replacing the Massacre door, has two dials of 2.50 m diameter. These display a golden sun, a lamb-shaped needle, lunar phases, and an allegorical semainier (moon, Mars, Mercury, etc.). Restored several times (1889-1893, 1997-2006), it has been operating with electricity since the 1920s, although its mechanical mechanism remains intact. Closed in 2023 for restoration, the site reopened in March 2024.

The Renaissance arch, richly carved, bears the arms of Rouen (pascal lamb on red background) and angels, one of them with the inverted head, a sign of protest by the workers. The upper half floors were restored in 1892 with a lead frieze. Close by, an 18th-century fountain (classified in 1889) depicts the love of Alpheus and Arethuse, while a 16th-century shop, an old watchmaker's lodge, now serves as an entrance to the museum.

The Gros Horloge Museum, open to the public, exhibits the mechanism, the bells, and offers a panorama of Notre Dame Cathedral. Two postage stamps (1976, 2014) immortalized this monument, represented as early as 1526 in the Book of Fountains of Jacques Le Lieur. Degradations (tags in 2023, xylophages) required urgent work in 2023-2025.

The belfry also houses a symbol of civil resistance: rebuilt in 1398 under the pretext of a "clock tower" to circumvent the post-Harelle ban, it embodies urban autonomy against the royal power. The bells, opposed to church bell towers, mark the rivalry between civil and religious times. The site, restored and highlighted in 2003, attracts 30,000 annual visitors.

External links