With a population approaching 700,000, Rouen's aire urbaine(metropolitan area) makes it twelfth-largest urbanized area in France. The urbanized areas of Lyon, Marseille, Lille, Nice, Bordeaux, and Nantes are significantly bigger, with populations of 900,000 or greater. Paris is in a class by itself, with an urbanized area that's home to more than 10 million.
Other urbanized areas with populations greater than half a million include Strasbourg, Grenoble, Rennes, Avignon, and Montpellier. Tours and Orléans, in the Loire Valley, are slightly smaller (about half a million each).
The photos here are a couple of views of the city of Rouen from the banks of the Seine. The old neighborhoods along the river were decimated by bombings during World War II and were rebuilt after the war. There are photos of some of the destruction on this blog and older photos of the city here.
Interesting statistics and compilation. Down on the Blog de Rouen, a photo of the destruction of Rouen due to bombing shows how close that beautiful cathedral was to be wiped out.
ReplyDeleteFortunately, it was not the architect Auguste Perret who was in charge of the reconstruction in Rouen. So, the front de Seine, as seen in the second photo, has a modernistic classical look that I really like.
Shocking the extent to which Rouen was destroyed. I had no idea; you wouldn't know from the pictures you've posted of the city today!
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