Day Ten: Bayeux and Rouen

British WWII Memorial and Cemetery

Before I left Bayeux, I made a stop at two important memorials:  one a memorial and cemetery for British soldiers who died during the Allied Normandy invasion in WWII and second, a memorial dedicated to the journalists and photographers who have been killed while covering various conflicts around the world, dating back to WWII.  Both of these memorials were deeply moving to me.  The British memorial and cemetery was very different from the American cemetery and memorial at Omaha beach.  It was less dramatic and much simpler in many ways, but each grave was carefully tended, with flowers planted at each tombstone.

Journalist killed in 1947

The journalist/photographers’ memorial was a lesson in twentieth-century warfare.  There is a stone tablet for each year with the names of every journalist and photographer who was killed in that year.  As you move through the decades you can trace the history from today’s wars in the Middle East, to the Balkan wars, to Central American and African conflicts, to the wars of Vietnam and Southeast Asia, Korea and finally WWII.  In each year you can tell by the names of those killed where most of the conflicts took place.  It’s strange to see such a stark record of war.  Disturbing.           

Fallen Journalists Memorial Bayeux

Detail from Rouen Cathedral

Interior of Rouen Cathedral

Next I drove to Rouen to visit to the beautiful Gothic cathedral in the center of the old part of town.  Monet made this cathedral famous by painting it in every different variation of natural light.  The cathedral was heavily damaged by Allied bombing during WWII, but has been mostly restored, although that work is still incomplete.  The cathedral houses the heart of Richard the Lionhearted and contains beautiful statuary and carvings inside and out.  

Memorial to Jean D'Arc

Close to the cathedral is the square where Joan d’Arc was burned at the stake.  To honor her memory, there is a very modern church built at the same site by the famous architect Corbusier.  It is a striking contrast to the “old-town” which surrounds the square.  

Detail from the Plague Cemetery

After communing with Joan’s spirit I walked to the “plague” cemetery, which is actually an ossuary where the remains of plague victims were buried in a mass grave.  Today an art school surrounds the stone courtyard that lies on top of the ossuary, but all around the edges of the courtyard are carved wooden skulls, serving as a reminder of the grisly earlier function of the courtyard.  Walking around the old part of town it was clear how Rouen had functioned as the wealthy commercial center of the Anglo-Norman Kings’ domains in France.  There are reminders everywhere of the historical roots of this old city.