
Nancy
Nancy is a city located in the north-east of France, in the
department of Meurthe-et-Moselle and the region of Lorraine.
The city is the head of that department and has a population
of over 400,000 when taking into account the metropolitan
area of the city. The first settlement in the area was in
the 11th century, when a small town named Nancy was built by
Gerard, Duke of Lorraine.
The town was conquered by Emperor Frederick II in the 13th
century and then rebuilt over the next few centuries, whilst
steadily growing in influence as the capital of the Duchy of
Lorraine. It was during this period that the Battle of Nancy
took place in 1477, as part of the Burgundian Wars, between
Charles the Bold, Duke of nearby Burgundy and Rene II, Duke
of Lorraine. This battle was the final and decisive battle
of the Wars and resulted in Charles being killed. When
another Duke of Lorraine, Duke Stanislas, died in 1766 the
Duchy became a French province as Nancy remained its capital
and gained city status.
In 1871 when Prussia annexed Alsace-Lorraine Nancy remained
French and the consequence of this was an influx of refugees
that doubled the city’s capacity in the next three decades.
It was during this period that the city grew in terms of
stature and gained its reputation as a cultural capital of
France.
The main tourist attractions in Nancy are; the Palace
Stanislas, the Place de la Carriere and the Place
d’Alliance, all of which were added onto the UNESCO World
Heritage Sites in 1983. Elsewhere in the city there is the
Nancy Cathedral, which dates back to the Middle Ages, and
the Jardin botanique du Montet which is a major botanical
garden. The city also has a number of sporting attractions,
with AS Nancy-Lorraine, who play in the French Ligue One,
and FC Metz, who play in Ligue Two.
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Travel guide to France