Cruising the Seine River and Exploring Historic Sites in Paris, Vernon, Rouen and Normandy

Cruising the Seine River Paris, The City of Light

The Town Hall
• Was built at the end of the
19th century in neo classical
style.
• The mayor who erected the
Town Hall took care to raise
the bell tower higher than the
church, because of the rivalry
between religious and civil
power at that time.

COLLEGIATE CHURCH
NOTRE-DAME
• The church was dedicated in 1072 "to the Holy
Mother of God", this is why it is named Notre-
Dame (Our Lady).
• The building of the church Notre-Dame of
Vernon started in the 11th century but was
completed in the 17th century.
• The Notre Dame Church Collegiate is
considered one of the most beautiful examples
of medieval architecture in France.
• The organs date back to the beginning of the
17th century and which was restored in 1979.
• Some magnificent abstract-style stained glass
windows were inserted in the 1970’s to replace
those destroyed during World War II.

THE TOURELLES
CASTLE
• The castle originated in 1196, when
Philippe Auguste (Philip II of France),
fighting against the king of England,
Richard the Lionheart, for possession of
Normandy, seized Vernon and made the
town a military base.
• The castle consists of a square tower
surrounded by four round turrets, the
whole edifice rising to a height of 66 feet.
• It is one of the few castles in France
which has been practically unchanged for
800 years.
• It was a bridgehead meant to defend the
town of Vernon.

THE OLD MILL
• Is a legendary symbol of Vernon and the
most popular landmark.
• The bridge was built in the 12th century,
the mill in the 16th century.
• The mill was damaged during WWII and
the city of Vernon salvaged the mill.
• The bridge and mill has been represented
by many painters including Claude
Monet.

Giverny and Monet’s Garden
• Monet settled in Giverny in 1883 after
noticing the village through a train
window.
• There are two parts in Monet's garden: a
flower garden called Clos Normand in
front of the house and a Japanese
inspired water garden.
• Monet lived in the house from 1883 until
his death in 1926. He and many members
of his family are interred in the village
cemetery.

Rouen Cathedral
• Construction on the current building
began in the 12th century.
• The cathedral was named the tallest
building in the world from 1876 to
1880.
• Rouen Cathedral narrowly escaped
destruction in WWII - it took several
direct hits from bombs in 1944,
which narrowly missed destroying
key pillars.
• The Lantern Tower which contains a
carillon of 56 bells, utilizes 740 tons
of iron and bronze, and rises to
almost 500 ft.
• The most famous royal relic is the
heart of Richard the Lionhearted of
England.

The Great Clock
(Les Gros Horloge)
• Since its construction in the late 14th
century, the Gothic belfry has housed the
town's bells and clock
• In 1409; a clock face was installed on the
archway over a gate in the ancient Roman
walls. The current archway and clock faces,
were rebuilt between 1527-1529.
• On the two Renaissance clock faces, a
single hand indicates the hour. Under the
number VI, a divinity associated with the
day of the week appears at noon on a
chariot. Above the clock face, a globe
indicates the phase of the moon.
• Many depictions of sheep show the
importance of the wool trade in Rouen and
the Paschal Lamb, which has been part of
Rouen's coat of arms since the 14th century,
is represented on the underside of the arch.

Church of St Joan of Arc
• The church of Saint Joan of Arc was completed
in 1979 in the center of the ancient market
square in Rouen.
• This is the same location where Joan of Arc was
burned alive for heresy in 1431 - a large cross
outside the church marks the exact spot.
• The stained glass windows come from the 16th
century Church of Saint Vincent (originally
located in central Rouen - the ruins can still be
seen today). The church was almost completely
destroyed in 1944 during World War II, but
fortunately the windows had been removed and
stored in a safe location during the war. They
were then incorporated into the Church of Saint
Joan of Arc.
• The architecture is strikingly modern and deeply
historical. The sweeping curves of the structure
are meant to evoke both the flames that
consumed Joan of Arc and an overturned Viking
ship. Many early Christian churches were
designed in the shape of an overturned boat.

Arromanches
• Arromanches is remembered as a historic place of
the Normandy landings and in particular as the
place where an artificial port was installed. This
artificial port allowed the disembarkation of 9,000
tons of material per day.
• It was on the beach of Arromanches that, during the
Invasion of Normandy immediately after D-Day, the
Allies established an artificial temporary harbor to
allow the unloading of heavy equipment .
• Although at the center of the Gold Beach landing
zone, Arromanches was spared the brunt of the
fighting on D-Day so the installation and operation
of the port could proceed as quickly as possible
without damaging the beach and destroying
surrounding lines of communication.
• The British built huge floating concrete caissons
which, after being towed from England, then had to
be assembled to form walls and piers forming and
defining the artificial port called the Mulberry
Harbor.
• These comprised pontoons linked to the land by
floating roadways and even today sections of the
Mulberry harbor still remain with huge concrete
blocks sitting on the sand and more can be seen
further out at sea.

Pointe du Hoc
• During World War II it was the
highest point between Utah Beach to
the west and Omaha Beach to the
east. The German army fortified the
area with concrete casements and gun
pits. On D-Day (6 June 1944) the
United States Army Ranger Assault
Group assaulted and captured Pointe
du Hoc after scaling the cliffs.
• At the end of the two-day action, the
initial Ranger landing force of 225+
was reduced to about 90 fighting
men. In the aftermath of the battle,
some Rangers became convinced that
French civilians had taken part in the
fighting on the German side. A
number of French civilians accused
of shooting at American forces or of
serving as artillery observers for the
Germans were executed.

Normandy American Cemetery and Memorial

Chateau Gaillard
• Chateau Gaillard ("Saucy Castle") is a
ruined medieval castle located 295 ft above
the city of Les Andelys overlooking the
Seine River.
• Construction began in 1196 under the
direction of Richard the Lionheart, who was
simultaneously King of England and feudal
Duke of Normandy.
• The castle was expensive to build, but the
majority of the work was done in just two
years
• Château Gaillard has a complex and
advanced design; it was also one of the
earliest European castles to use
machicolations.
• Château Gaillard was captured in 1204 by
the French king, Phillip II, after a lengthy
siege. The castle changed hands several
times in the Hundred Years War, but in
1449 the French captured Château Gaillard
from the English for the last time, and from
then on it remained in French ownership.

Chateau de La Roche-Guyon
• The present Château de La Roche-
Guyon was built in the 12th
century, controlling a river crossing
of the Seine. In the mid-13th
century, a fortified manor house
was added below.
• Before and after D-Day German
Field Marshall Erwin Rommel
defended Normandy against the
Allies in World War II from a
bunker located here. The castle
also was Rommel's headquarters.
• It was not just Rommel's
headquarters but also a place where
some of the conspirators involved
in the plot discussed about the
removal of Hitler's power.
• When Rommel's headquarters were
located to the Chateau, Rommel
refused to have the family relocate,
so the Duke and his family
occupied the upper levels of the
chateau while Rommel and his
staff occupied the lower levels.

Château de Malmaison
• Josephine de Beauharnais bought the manor
house in April 1799 for herself and her
husband, General Napoléon Bonaparte, the
future Napoleon I of France, at that time away
fighting the Egyptian Campaign. Malmaison
was a run-down estate that encompassed
nearly 150 acres of woods and meadows.
• Upon his return, Bonaparte expressed fury at
Joséphine for purchasing such an expensive
house with the money she had expected him
to bring back from the Egyptian campaign.
The house, for which she had paid well over
300,000 francs, needed extensive renovations,
and she spent a fortune doing so.
• Joséphine endeavored to transform the large
estate into "the most beautiful and curious
garden in Europe.” The property achieved
enduring fame for its rose garden. She created
an extensive collection of roses and grew
some 250 varieties of roses.
• Birds and animals of all sorts began to enrich
her garden, where they were allowed to roam
free among the grounds. At the height of her
days at Malmaison, Joséphine had the
company of kangaroos, emus, black swans,
zebras, sheep, gazelles, ostriches, chamois, a
seal, antelopes and llamas.
• After her divorce from Napoléon, Joséphine
received Malmaison in her own right, along
with a pension of 5 million francs a year, and
remained there until her death in 1814.
Napoléon returned and took residence in the
house after his defeat at the Battle of
Waterloo.

Palace of Versailles
• In 1624 King Louis XIII commissioned a
hunting lodge in Versailles, however; it was
not until 1661 that his son, Louis XIV, began
the task of turning the much smaller lodge
into the palace we know today.
• The palace is 549,000 square feet, has 2,153
windows, 67 staircases, and nearly 2000
acres of gardens.
• Due to the constant political turbulence in
Paris Louis XIV, the Sun King, officially
moved the seat of government and court
from the Louvre Palace to Versailles in 1682.
• Construction of the palace cost in current
monetary figures approximately 2 billion
dollars.
• Versailles has been made famous largely due
to Marie Antoinette who married Louis XVI.
Her extravagant lifestyle and Austrian decent
made her unpopular with the Parisian
citizens due to the prevalence of poverty,
France’s growing debt and tensions with
Austria. In 1789 a mob stormed the gates of
Versailles, Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI
were captured, imprisoned, and later
sentenced to death by the guillotine.
• The Treaty of Versailles was signed in the
Hall of Mirrors in 1919, ending World War I.
• Versailles is famous not only as a building,
but as a symbol of the system of absolute
monarchy

Les Invalides
• was founded in 1671 by Louis XIV, the Sun
King. He wanted to provide accommodation
for disabled and impoverished war veterans.
• Originally only a number of barracks were
planned, but King Louis XIV chose a design
which consisted of a large impressive
building with a royal courtyard and church.
The building was completed in 1676 and
housed up to 4,000 war veterans.
• The church was later referred to as the
Soldiers' church and was opened for the
soldiers in 1679. They were required to
attend the daily mass here.
• In 1840 king Louis-Philippe repatriated the
remains of the Emperor Napoleon from St.
Helena - where he was buried after his death
19 years earlier - to have Napoleon
entombed here. Les Invalides now also
houses the tombs of several other military
leaders.
• In 1940, during the World War II German
Occupation, Adolf Hitler personally ordered
the return of Napoleon II’s body to Paris, as
“a gift to the French people.” They buried
Napoleon II in the floor of Les Invalides at
the foot of a statue of his father.

The Louvre
• The collection of the Louvre
Museum was first established in the
sixteenth century as the private
collection of King Francis I.
• One of the works of art he
purchased was the now famous
Mona Lisa painting. The collection
grew steadily thanks to donations
and purchases by the kings. In
1793, during the French
Revolution, the Louvre became a
national art museum and the private
royal collection opened to the
public.
• The Louvre was created in several
phases. Originally built as a
twelfth-century fortress by King
Philip II, it was significantly
expanded in the fourteenth century
during the reign of King Charles V.
• The most recent addition to the
Louvre was the construction of the
Louvre Pyramid which functions as
the museum's main entrance. The
pyramid was built in 1989.
• Some of the most famous works of
art in the museum are the Venus of
Milo, the Nike of Samothrake,
Dying Slave by Michelangelo and
of course Leonardo da Vinci's
Mona Lisa.

Virgin of the Rocks St. John the Baptist

The Virgin and Child with St. Anne Mona Lisa

The Consecration of the Emperor Napoleon and the Coronation of Empress Josephine
on December 2, 1804

Venus de Milo
• Venus de Milo is an ancient Greek
statue and one of the most famous
works of ancient Greek Sculture.
Created sometime between 130 and
100 BC, it is believed to depict
Aphrodite, the Greek goddess of love
and beauty (Venus to the Romans). It
is a marble sculpture, slightly larger
than life size at 6 ft 8 in high. The
arms and original plinth were lost
following its discovery. From an
inscription that was on its plinth, it is
thought to be the work of Alexandros
of Antioch. The statue is named after
the Greek island of Milos, where it
was discovered.
• The sculpture was discovered on April
8,1820 inside a buried niche within
the ancient city ruins of Milos, on the
island of Milos in the Aegean Sea.

Artemis, Goddess of the Hunt(1st or 2nd century A.D)

The Three Graces(2nd century A.D.)

Eiffel Tower
• Once the tallest structure in the world,
the Eiffel Tower is probably Europe's
best known landmark and Paris's most
famous symbol.
• The tower rises 984 ft; when it was
completed at the end of the nineteenth
century it was twice as high as the
Washington Monument, at the time the
tallest structure in the world.
• The Eiffel Tower was built for the World
Exhibition in 1889, held in celebration
of the French Revolution in 1789.
• The structure took more than two years
to complete. In all there were 18,038
pieces joined by two and a half million
rivets.
• Upon the German occupation of Paris in
1940 the lift cables were cut by the
French. The Tower was closed to the
public during the Occupation and the
lifts were not repaired until 1946. In
August 1944, when the Allies were
nearing Paris, Hitler ordered General
Dietrich Von Choltitz, the military
governor of Paris, to demolish the tower
along with the rest of the city. Von
Choltitz disobeyed the order.

Notre Dame Cathedral
• Not the largest cathedral in the
world, the Notre-Dame might be
the most famous of all cathedrals.
The Gothic masterpiece is located
on the Ile de la Cite, a small island
in the heart of the city.
• The site of the Notre Dame is the
cradle of Paris and has always
been the religious center of the
city. The Celts had their sacred
ground here, the Romans built a
temple to worship Jupiter. A
Christian basilica was built in the
sixth century and the last religious
structure before the Notre-Dame
construction started was a
Romanesque church.
• Construction was started in 1163.
The Cathedral was to be built in
the new Gothic style and had to
reflect Paris's status as the capital
of the Kingdom France. It was the
first cathedral built on a
monumental scale and became the
prototype for future cathedrals in
France.
• It took until 1345 before the
cathedral was completed, partly
because the design was enlarged
during construction. The result is
an overwhelming building, 420 ft
long with two 226 ft tall towers.
The spire over the crossing reaches
295 ft. The Notre-Dame Cathedral
has several large rose windows, the
northern thirteenth-century
window is the most impressive.
The massive window has a
diameter of 43 ft.

Gallery of Kings
• The frontal west facade features three
wide portals; above the portals is the
Gallery of Kings - 28 statues of
Judean Kings - and higher up are the
famous gargoyles and grotesques.
• During the French Revolution, many
of the cathedral's sculptures,
gargoyles and interior were removed
or demolished. Even the Gallery of
Kings was severely damaged: the
revolutionaries thought the statues
represented French kings.

Place de la Concorde
• In 1763, a large statue of King
Louis XV was erected at this site
to celebrate the recovery of the
king after a serious illness. The
square surrounding the statue
was created later in 1772.
• In 1792, during the French
revolution, the statue was
replaced by a another, large
statue, called ‘Liberte' (freedom)
and the square was called Place
de la Revolution. A guillotine
was installed at the center of the
square and in a time span of only
a couple of years, 1119 people
were beheaded here. Amongst
them many famous people like
King Louis XVI, Marie-
Antionette, and revolutionary
Robespierre. After the revolution
the square was renamed several
times until 1830, when it was
given the current name 'Place de
la Concorde'.

Cleopatra's Needle
• In the nineteenth century the 3200
years old obelisk from the temple of
Ramses II at Thebes was installed at
the center of the Place de la
Concorde. It is a 75 ft tall monolith in
pink granite and weighs
approximately 230 tons. In 1831, it
was offered by the Viceroy of Egypt
to Louis Philippe.
• The obelisk - sometimes dubbed
Cleopatra's Needle - is covered with
hieroglyphs picturing the reign of
pharaohs Ramses II & Ramses III.
Pictures on the pedestal describe the
transportation to Paris and its
installation at the square in 1836.

Arc de Triomphe
• The Arc de Triomphe
honors those who fought
and died for France in the
French Revolutionary and
the Napoleonic Wars, with
the names of all French
victories and generals
inscribed on its inner and
outer surfaces. Beneath its
vault lies the Tomb of the
Unknown Soldier from
World War I.
• The arch was
commissioned by
Napoleon in 1806 to
commemorate his
victories, but he was
ousted before the arch was
completed. It wasn't
completed until 1836. On
December 15, 1840,
brought back to France
from Saint Helena,
Napoleon's remains passed
under it on their way to the
Emperor's final resting
place at the Invalides.
• The monument stands
164 ft in height, 148 ft
wide and 72 ft deep.

Cruising the Seine River and Exploring Historic Sites in Paris, Vernon, Rouen and Normandy

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