After another beautiful cruise through the gorgeous Vosges Mountains (see The Grand Est), this time with friends, we came back to Nancy, one of France’s delightful cities and the capital of the Lorraine. Nancy (Gallic Nanciaco, possibly from a Gaulish personal name) has a wonderful pedestrian old town center stuffed with restored half timber buildings. The city’s a center point of Art Nouveau, magnificently displayed in the Musee de l’Ecole de Nancy. Place Stanilas (1750), the impressive main plaza, is named after Stanislaus 1, king of Poland, Grand Duke of Lithuania and duke of Lorraine. The plaza is lined with magnificent 18th century structures including the Hotel de Ville (City Hall). It’s a great city to walk around day or night. All this and more in a city of just 140,000.
What in the world was the Polish king doing in Nancy? He was the father-in-law of the French king Louis XV. When Stanislas was exiled from Poland, the Duchy of Lorraine was vacant due to the departure of Duke Francois, who traded this duchy for one in Tuscany, so Louis slotted in Stanislas. As his rule was nominal, he did not anger too many people. Perhaps that’s why a Polish king’s statue remains in the center of a famous and impressive square.
Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l’Annonciation et Saint-Sigisbert, was built in the 17th and 18th centuries in the Baroque style popularized by the Roman Catholic Church. King Sigebert III of Austrasia is buried here. After he was declared a saint the cathedral became a pilgrimage destination. Austrasia was the northeastern kingdom of the Frankish empire during the Early Middle Ages.
Nancy is a bit hilly so we took the bus to the l’Musee Ecole de Nancy (the Museum of the School of Nancy). It’s in a plushly furnished mansion, the former home of Eugène Corbin, a major patron of the Art Nouveau movement here. The movement started in 1894 and formally organized in 1904, started by the furniture designer Louis Majorelle, whose nearby mansion is in the style, along with glass artist Jacques Grüber, the glass and furniture designer Émile Gallé, and the Daum glass company, still in business.
Art Nouveau started in a number of locations in Europe at the same time, with the first buildings appearing in Brussels. It derives its inspiration from nature, thus the many floral representations. The term applies not only to architecture but to painting, decorative work such as furniture, and glass. These artistic endeavors had never coordinated before, one of the unique characteristics of the movement. Painting was not a major part of the local effort. For painting see my post on Mucha. He was famous for his renditions of Sarah Bernhardt.
After you are done loving the architecture, public spaces and art in its various forms, it’s time to enjoy the cuisine. Desserts and sweets are a big deal and what’s unique to Nancy. Aside from the myriad typical French bakery knock your socks off goodies there are macaroons, Nancy Beramots, a hard candy, Saint Epvre cake, made of two round almond meringues filled with a vanilla cream blended with crushed nougatine. Then there’s Duchesses de Lorraine sweets, a gingerbread cake, Stanislas Rum Baba, Liverdun Madeleines, a cookie, and Lorraine Chardons ( thistles), chocolates filled with eau de vie. For entrees (French for ‘first course’) and main courses Nancy has the general Alsace-Lorraine offerings, including the inimitable and forever popular Quiche Loraine and variations. But walk around the streets and you will see plenty of pizza/Italian restaurants and kebab places. And the burger is hugely popular. I never saw a burger on our first visit back in the 1990’s. The American import can set you back $20 for a full meal, or $8 at a kabob place. We spent $40 for two with beer and fries at a roadside stand. The French burgers are piled high and beautifully presented.
There is regional wine production, mostly white and on the sweet side. Gewurztraminer and Riesling are signature regional grapes. There is cremant production, Crémant d’Alsace. A cremant is a bubbly wine made the same way as in the champagne region.
St Nicolas celebrations are a big deal here. In December he visits schools giving every child sweets and lollies. They often take a class photo with him, often featured in the local newspapers. There’s a big St Nic’s parade during the holiday period.
Our neighbor during our 4 day stay was a guy named Bryan. He’s from New Zealand but worked in the UK and then France for many years as a 747 pilot. He is 85 years old and handles his 20+ meter barge single handed. He was granted permanent residence a year ago but needed help for some official documentation at city hall. We waited over the weekend for the Monday appointment to translate for him. He was allowed an extension of residency. Several years ago they had refused to grant this to him. A reporter took on the story, which made quite the splash. Then the mayor stepped in, granting his request. Now he is looking to sell the barge. It is too much for him to handle and maintain.
