Square Verdrel, Public garden near Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen, France.
Square Verdrel is a public garden situated between Jeanne d'Arc Street and the Museum of Fine Arts in Rouen. The grounds feature winding paths that lead through groves and past an artificial waterfall, creating a layered green space.
Square Verdrel was created by Émile Beaucantin during the Second Empire urban redevelopments and inaugurated on 5 September 1863 by Rouen mayor Charles Verdrel. First named Jardin Solférino after the Battle of Solférino, it was renamed in 1926 for Verdrel, mayor from 1858 to 1868 and nicknamed the "Rouen Haussmann". In 2016 about fifty trees were felled at once as part of a redesign, reducing the garden's area.
The garden holds several monuments and statues scattered throughout, including memorials to the Bérat brothers and a bronze bust of the writer Guy de Maupassant. These works shape the character of the space and draw visitors to stop and look.
The garden is easily reached from the nearby Palais de Justice metro station or by buses 11, 15, and 22 that stop close by. Its central location makes it a convenient spot to rest between exploring other parts of Rouen.
The rocks forming the cascade above the pond came from the estate of Madame de Lux at Incarville. The basin was long fed from the Gaalor spring by a steam engine, which ran until 1876 and was replaced by a new supply system in 1901.
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