Emblematic of the heritage of Lorraine, Place Stanislas de Nancy was elected “favorite monument of the French” in Stéphane Bern’s program broadcast on France 3 on Wednesday September 15, 2021. It succeeds the Citadel of Belfort.
“It’s a place of meetings, of social ties, in the daily life of Nancy residents”explained Mathieu Klein, mayor of the city, in a video published by the city of Nancy. “Place Stanislas marks the passage of the major districts of the city: the historic city, the old city, the city of Lights, the city of the 19th century and the city of Art Nouveau”.
A UNESCO World Heritage Site
The complex comprising Place Stanislas, Place de la Carrière and Place d’Alliance was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 1983, considered a “outstanding example of a type of building or architectural or technological ensemble or landscape illustrating one or more significant periods in human history”.
The gates and fountains of Place Stanislas were listed as a historic monument in July 1886.
Another less official distinction but beneficial to the tourist growth of the city, the Lonely Planet in the mid-2010s ranked Place Stanislas in its list of the most beautiful places in the world.
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Why is it called “Place Stanislas”?
This square located in the heart of the historic city center of the city and built between 1751 and 1755 did not always bear this name. Initially named “place between the two cities”, then “place Royale” in 1792, it was called “place du Peuple” in 1792 before finally taking the name of “place Stanislas” in 1831.
It bears the name of Stanislas Leszczynski (1677-1766). King of Poland, he was the father-in-law of Louis XV, Duke of Lorraine and Bar. The sovereign wanted to make this place a place of gathering, meeting and entertainment. Mission accomplished.
A statue of Louis XV initially stood on Place Stanislas
Stanislas Leszczynski’s project was to build a new square, intended to honor his son-in-law, King Louis XV. A statue of the sovereign is therefore erected on the square. Made of bronze, it weighed 7500 kilos for 4.66 meters high.
Destroyed during the French Revolution due to a decree obliging municipalities to remove the emblems of royalty, it is now replaced by a statue of Stanislas.
The place was a car park until 2005
Place Stanislas was a huge car park until 1983, when parking was prohibited.
In 2005, on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the inauguration of the square, work was carried out to pedestrianize the square.
A time capsule is buried under Place Stanislas
Located a few meters from the statue of Stanislas, the time capsule contains the “Book Under the Square” which is a “large volume containing the thoughts, maxims and drawings of the people of Nancy, collected over several months”detailed The Republican East in an article published in 2020. A lunar meteorite offered by Etienne Deloule, researcher in the Nancy laboratory the CRPG as well as a copy of the day of the burial of the capsule – April 15, 2005 – from Est Républicain are also present in this leaden box.
Buried on the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the place, the capsule could be unearthed by future generations if Place Stanislas undergoes a new major renovation.
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