Timeline

Key figures

Origin and history

Malpalu Street, located on the right bank of Rouen between Place Barthélémy and Rue Alsace-Lorraine, owes its name to its marshy origin (Malam paludem in 1218, meaning "bad marsh"). This area, once inhabited by Breton wool workers, was associated with their patron saint, Saint Malo, who became Saint Maclou in Normandy. The present houses, mostly of the 15th and 16th centuries, bear witness to this prosperous era linked to the textile industry.

Several events marked the history of this street: the destruction of the hotel of Brazil during the piercing of the street of the Republic (former Royal Street), including bas-reliefs preserved at the Museum of Antiquities, and the fire of 9 June 1940, which ravaged its lower part. Eight houses (Nos. 98, 100, 103 to 110) were listed in the Historic Monuments in 1956 for their facades and roofs, thus preserving a characteristic architectural heritage.

Malpalu Street is also linked to local figures, such as the engraver Jean-Jacques Le Veau (1729–86), born in this street, or the rosiérist Rémi Tanne (1856–1923), who lived there at 70. His artistic heritage includes performances such as the strongwater of Aimé Dallemagne (Blois Museum) or an engraving attributed to Camille Pissarro in 1883, entitled Vieille rue à Rouen, rue Malpalu.

In no 20, a remarkable building houses the allegorical statues of Alsace and Lorraine (one of which is beheaded), a symbol of French historical tensions. These elements, combined with its workers' history and partial destructions, make Malpalu Street an emblematic place of the Rouennais heritage, between industrial memory and urban resilience.

External links