About this place
The Église Saint-Maclou is widely considered one of the purest examples of Flamboyant Gothic architecture in France. Begun in 1437 to designs by the Parisian master mason Pierre Robin, it took almost a century to complete and was finished around 1521. Its most celebrated feature is the curved western porch of five bays, fanning out before three portals fitted with finely carved Renaissance wooden doors that survived both the French Revolution and the bombs of 1944. A nineteenth century spire rises some eighty three metres above the small square, which is ringed by medieval half-timbered houses.
Key facts
- 1437 year — Construction of the Flamboyant Gothic church began in this year to designs by Pierre Robin
- 1521 year — The church was completed and dedicated in this year, after almost a century of work
- 5 bays — The curved western porch fans out in this many separate bays, a feature unique among medieval churches
📍 Place Barthélémy 1, 76000, Rouen