Aître Saint-Maclou

The Aître Saint-Maclou is a small, square enclosure behind the church of the same name, surrounded by half-timbered galleries dating from 1526. Originally an ossuary for victims of the Black Death, it is one of the very few surviving medieval plague cemeteries in Europe — and unique in the macabre carved decoration of skulls and bones on the timber posts and beams.

A long, slow restoration finished in 2020 and the courtyard is once again open to the public. There is a small bookshop and exhibition space inside; the cobbled square itself, with its mummified cat in a wall-case, is the main attraction.

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A story
When plague struck Rouen in 1348 the existing cemetery was overwhelmed, and a mass graveyard was opened here. The wooden galleries built around it in the 16th century are carved with skulls, crossbones, gravediggers' tools, and dancing skeletons — a memento mori in oak.

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