Département: Meurthe-et-Moselle
Nancy, the old capital of Lorraine and now chief town of the département of Meurthe-et- Moselle, the see of a bishop and a university town, lies on the left bank of the Meurthe and on the Rhine-Marne Canal. Its main glory is its magnificent 18th century Baroque
architecture.
In the 12th century Nancy became capital of the Duchy of Lorraine. About 1475 Charles the Bold of Burgundy occupied the duchy and expelled Duke René; but two years later René reconquered Lorraine and Charles was killed outside the town while trying to escape. Under the peace of Vienna after the War of the Polish Succession (1733-1738) Lorraine was assigned to Stanislas Leszczynàski, the deposed king of Poland and brother-in-law of Louis XV, who drew many artists to his court and gave the town its present splendid Roccoco aspect. After his death in 1766 the duchy reverted to France.
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