Rouen Courthouse

The Law Courts of Rouen

The Law Courts of Rouen are a masterpiece of flamboyant Gothic architecture, the former seat of the parliament of Normandy. The Rouen audio-guided tour stops here to evoke this sumptuous building, whose courtyard shelters a rare medieval Jewish vestige.

The Gothic masterpiece of the former parliament

The Law Courts of Rouen are one of the finest civil buildings of flamboyant Gothic style in Europe. Built at the end of the fifteenth and the beginning of the sixteenth century, it sheltered the parliament of Normandy, the high court of justice of the province under the Ancien Régime. Its façade and its courtyard of honour are of extraordinary ornamental richness: pinnacles, gargoyles, lace of stone and sculptures cover the building, testifying to the apogee of late Gothic art. But the palace also holds a hidden and exceptional treasure: in its courtyard was discovered a Romanesque Jewish building of the twelfth century, sometimes called the Sublime House, one of the oldest Jewish monuments preserved in Europe, a rare vestige of the medieval community of Rouen. Still partly in judicial activity, the palace thus combines its institutional role and its extraordinary heritage value. A masterpiece of architecture, the Law Courts of Rouen are a major stop of the discovery of the town.

What to see

You admire one of the finest civil buildings of flamboyant Gothic of Europe, the former seat of the parliament of Normandy, with a façade and a courtyard of extraordinary ornamental richness, pinnacles, gargoyles and lace of stone, and the rare Romanesque Jewish building of the twelfth century discovered in its courtyard, among the oldest Jewish monuments of Europe. The Law Courts are a masterpiece of Rouen. It is a major stop, to be explored on foot.

Practical information

The Law Courts lie in the heart of Rouen, reachable on foot. You admire its façade and the courtyard; it is a building partly in judicial activity, whose interior access follows its own conditions, which vary. It is best to check them before coming.

What does the courtyard of the Law Courts of Rouen hide?

A Romanesque Jewish building of the twelfth century, sometimes called the Sublime House, one of the oldest Jewish monuments preserved in Europe, discovered in the courtyard; the palace itself is a flamboyant Gothic masterpiece, the former seat of the parliament of Normandy.

Where are the Law Courts of Rouen?

In the heart of Rouen, in France.