Jeanne d’Arc was burned at the stake in central Rouen in May 1431. But what did the city look and feel like?
In 1431, Jeanne d’Arc was burned at the stake in the Old Market in Rouen. Afterwards they raked her charred body out of the fire and burned it twice over in order to reduce the ashes. Finally they were thrown into the river from a bridge. That summer-morning a putrid smoke must have filled the narrow streets.
To a large extent the medieval city of Rouen existed until WW2 when approximately 45% was destroyed. However, nowadays it is more the layout of the streets than the actual fabric of the city, which reminds us of the medieval city.
In order to recapture at least some of the sense of this medieval place, the city of Rouen is planning to erect a new cultural facility on the waterfront, a dome with a three-dimensional 360o panorama of how the city looked in 1431.
A corresponding dome in Dresden is the direct inspiration for the new initiative. Here visitors can get a feeling of what the city of Dresden looked like in the 18th century. Other installations the Amazonas and Rome 312 at the time of Constantine.
The project is budgeted at €7 mil expected to be finished in 2015 and carried out by a company, Crean. The artist Yadegar Asisi will paint the panoramas