A gothic masterpiece

Saint Ouen, Rouen’s great bishop, was buried here around the year 680 and lent his name to the abbey. The current abbey church, whose construction began in the early 14th century, replaced a large Romanesque church, which was undoubtedly larger but was destroyed in a fire. The troubles of the Hundred Years’ War delayed the work, which was completed in the early 16th century, and only in the 19th century for the façade!

The church stands next to the old abbey gardens, now part of City Hall, which occupies the old conventual buildings from the Maurist period. From these gardens, one can admire the sweep of the construction at more than 130 metres in length, the chevet with 11 staggered chapels and the central tower with its Flamboyant Gothic decorations. One enters the church from this side, through the Marmousets Portal, decorated with a statue of Saint Ouen. The interior of the abbey church is a masterpiece of the Rayonnant Gothic style, with an emphasis on verticality, bathed in light from the huge windows in the exterior walls. It also has the finest collection of 14th-century stained glass windows in France. The 1890 organ by Cavaillé-Coll is the largest in the French provinces along with the organ in Nancy Cathedral.

News 2023:

The monument is in a state of danger. It is the subject of the most important historic monument restoration project carried by the City of Rouen and for which the funding is multiple: State, region, metropolis, city. The work is expected to take place over 4 years. The Rouen and Metropolitan Tourist Office is launching a crowdfunding campaign to restore the rose window in the south transept of the Saint-Ouen abbey. An 8.50m wide canopy made between 1467 and 1483. The stained glass windows of the rose are adorned with a tree of Jesse, schematization of the family tree of the Virgin Mary and Jesus. The ensemble, of great artistic value, now requires restoration in order to facilitate the legibility of the motifs and ensure the transmission of this element of Rouen heritage to future generations. The rose will be deposited to be restored in the workshop and put back in place with a double canopy as protection. MAKE A DONATION for the restoration of the abbey church! https://www.fondation-patrimoine.org/les-projets/abbatiale-st-ouen-rouen