Saint-Maclou Churchyard

The Aître Saint-Maclou, in Rouen

The Aître Saint-Maclou is a former medieval cemetery and ossuary, linked to the great plague epidemics, one of the most unusual sites of Rouen. The Rouen audio-guided tour stops here, with respect and contemplation, to evoke this place of memory unique in Europe.

The former charnel house of the plague victims

Strange, secret, unusual and intimidating: it is not surprising that the Aître Saint-Maclou is one of the most visited monuments of Rouen. This singular place is a former aître, that is to say a parish cemetery surrounded by galleries, laid out in the Middle Ages and enlarged during the terrible plague epidemics that decimated the population. The bones of the deceased, too numerous for the burials, were deposited in the attics of the wooden galleries that surround the courtyard, forming a vast ossuary. On the beams and the columns of these galleries, macabre sculptures recall this funereal past: skulls, bones, gravediggers' tools and symbols of death, in the tradition of the medieval danses macabres. This rare and moving testimony of the relations of the past to death and disease has been restored and today welcomes cultural activities. A place of memory laden with gravity, the Aître Saint-Maclou is discovered with respect and contemplation.

What to see

Here you discover, with respect and contemplation, the former medieval cemetery and ossuary, enlarged during the plague epidemics, whose wooden galleries received the bones of the deceased, adorned with macabre sculptures, skulls, bones and symbols of death, in the tradition of the danses macabres. The Aître Saint-Maclou is a unique place of memory of Rouen. It is a stop to be discovered with respect and contemplation.

Practical information

The Aître Saint-Maclou lies in the Saint-Maclou district, in the heart of Rouen, reachable on foot. The courtyard is generally freely accessible according to its hours, with the respect due to the place of memory. It is best to check the arrangements before coming.

What is the Aître Saint-Maclou in Rouen?

A former medieval cemetery and ossuary, enlarged during the plague epidemics; the bones of the deceased were deposited in the wooden galleries surrounding the courtyard, adorned with macabre sculptures, skulls and symbols of death. It is a place of memory to be discovered with contemplation.

Where is the Aître Saint-Maclou of Rouen?

In the Saint-Maclou district, in the heart of Rouen, in France.