Palace of Justice

The Salle des Procureurs is one of the largest preserved medieval civil halls in Europe, measuring an impressive 48 meters long, 18 meters wide, and over 16 meters high. Its spectacular ceiling resembles an inverted ship's hull, a common medieval construction technique in Normandy where skilled shipbuilders applied their expertise to architecture.

During the Allied bombings of August 26, 1944, a marker error caused devastating destruction to the central Louis XII wing. The subsequent restoration took nearly 50 years to complete, with the Salle des Procureurs vault not fully reconstructed until September 1969. Today, machine gun impacts from WWII are still visible on the exterior walls.

Hidden beneath the Palace's courtyard lies La Maison Sublime, discovered only in 1976 during excavation work. Dating to around 1100, it is the oldest known Jewish monument in France and one of the oldest in Europe, featuring a rectangular vaulted room measuring over 14 meters long that once served Rouen's medieval Jewish community.

Despite popular belief connecting this building to Joan of Arc, her famous 1431 trial actually took place in Rouen Castle's chapel, not here. The Palace of Justice was built decades later (1499-1517). However, visitors can explore the nearby Joan of Arc sites in the same historic district of Rouen.