Old Market Square (Vieux Marche)

On May 30, 1431, Joan of Arc was burned in Rouen’s Old Market Square, and her ashes were scattered from the island of Lacroix. Legend has it that the fire did not touch the girl’s heart and was thrown into the Seine. 25 years after her execution, she was rehabilitated and later recognized as a saint. Every year on the last Sunday of May, girls throw flowers into the water from the island of Lacroix. The place of burning is marked by a cross of five stone slabs. A line of white stones marks the place where the judges stood.

Today, on the Old Market Square stands a church dedicated to the national heroine of France. It was built in 1979 by architect Louis Arrettsch. The shape of this temple is very unusual - guides unanimously claim that its appearance resembles an inverted boat, and the windows are shaped like fish. The guides also say that there was another temple on the site that was destroyed in the bombings. On the other side of the square is the Joan of Arc Museum.