France Guide
Normandy
Église Jeanne d'Arc
The obvious place to start sightseeing is the place du Vieux-Marché, where a small plaque and a huge cross (nearly 20m high) mark the spot on which Joan of Arc was burnt to death on May 30, 1431. A modern memorial church to the saint was dedicated in the square in 1979 (Mon– Sat 10am–12.30pm & 2–6pm, Sun 2–6pm); it's a wacky, spiky-looking thing and an architectural triumph, incorporating some sixteenth-century stained glass and said to represent either an upturned boat or the flames that consumed Joan. It forms part of an ensemble that incorporates a covered food market in similar style. The theme of the church's fish-shaped windows is continued in the scaly tiles that adorn its roof, which is elongated to form a walkway across the square. The outline of its predecessor's foundations is visible on the adjacent lawns, which also mark the precise spot of Joan's martyrdom. The square itself is surrounded by fine old brown-and-white half-timbered houses, many of those on the south side now serving as restaurants.