10/5/2023 0 Comments Big clockThe sun which is located inside the Roman dial is made up of 24 branches. The axis, the hand, and its notched wheel form a whole that weighs a little over four hundred kilos. There is only one hand that gives the time. The sundial is 4.6 meters high and 3.8 meters wide. That’s why you will listen and read this form “Gros-Horloge”. This is the reason why in the Middle Ages the masculine and feminine forms were used interchangeably. It comes from the word Horologium which was borrowed from the Greek word “hôrologion”. It would actually be more logical and perhaps more correct to say in french “Grosse-Horloge”. The first thing that tickles the mind of visitors or tourists in Rouen is why we don’t use the feminine to designate this place so emblematic of Rouen. Where does the name of the “Gros-Horloge” come from? This emblematic monument in Rouen is located between the marketplace and the Notre-Dame cathedral. ![]() The opportunity to discover typical facades of the medieval city center of Rouen. To find the Gros-Horloge in Rouen, nothing could be easier, just look for the spire of the cathedral and then walk along the rue du Gros-Horloge. This is how the city of Rouen got one of the oldest public clocks in France. Unusually, the clock was built on top of an annex building. The work began around 1389 and was completed nine years later. A few years later, in place of the destroyed belfry, the clock tower was built. A very convenient way to establish his authority over Norman city. Charles VI, then King of France, decided to destroy a belfry in retaliation. The history of the Big Clock of Rouen begins in 1382 and a revolt of the Rouennais. The Big Clock, an emblematic monument of Rouen A close-up of the Big Clock of Rouen in Normandy The building has two clocks, one in the direction of the cathedral and the other one in the direction of the marketplace. Nota bene: It took ten thousand gold leaves during the last restoration of the two dials. A view of the Big Clock of Rouen, from the street which it has the same name It is also a tower, a fountain, an arch, and a splendid building dating from the Renaissance. ![]() But the Gros-Horloge is not only a clock face, in fact, there are also two. Indeed, at the corner of the rue Massacre and the rue du Gros-Horloge is the second most famous monument of Rouen, just after the cathedral. It is an essential point of passage and is located at the intersection of two of the most beautiful streets in the city. The Big Clock is an emblematic monument of the city of Rouen.
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