City (pop., 1999: city, 106,592; metro. area, 389,862), northwestern France.
Situated on the Seine River , Rouen became important in the 3rd century AD after the arrival of Christianity with St. Mellon. Sacked by the Normans in 876, it became the medieval capital of Normandy . It came under English rule in 1066 and again in 1419. Joan of Arc was imprisoned and executed there in 1431. Rouen was recaptured by the French in 1449. Historic buildings include the 14th-century abbey of Saint Ouen and the great Gothic cathedral, whose oldest parts date to the 11th century. The city was the birthplace of Pierre Corneille and Gustave Flaubert .