Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers

Nancy, France

The Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers was constructed as part of a monastery under Duke René II of Lorraine following the Battle of Nancy, next to the Palace of the Dukes of Lorraine. It was consecrated in 1487. The monastery was Franciscan and the French name term cordelier refers to the simple rope belts the monks would tie their cassocks around. Since the monastery was under the patronage of the dukes, the church had close ties to the House of Lorraine and a number of its members were laid to rest there. Previously members of the family were laid to rest in St George's Collegiate Church, which does not exist anymore.

The church continued to keep its connection to the ducal house after Lorraine passed under royal French rule. Marie-Antoinette of Austria stopped at the church to pray on her way to Paris for her marriage to her future husband King Louis XVI of France. Emperor Franz Joseph I of Austria also came to pray here in 1867.

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Address

Grande Rue 66, Nancy, France
See all sites in Nancy

Details

Founded: 1487
Category: Religious sites in France

More Information

en.wikipedia.org

Rating

4.5/5 (based on Google user reviews)

User Reviews

Morgane Remlinger (3 years ago)
Nice building, too bad it's crowned with a very unpleasant welcome, the gentleman in the shed yelled at us because we didn't understand how to use their hydro gel dispenser...then mutters under his breath. His colleague does not catch up, quite the contrary. Too bad for the respect of the place
Rob van Hees (4 years ago)
Eglise des Cordeliers de Nancy is a historic Franciscan monastery. It is the place where members of the House of Lorraine were laid to rest. The church has a very quiet atmosphere.
virginie gimenez (4 years ago)
It was an unusual church for me because it was a museum/necropolis. There was a lot of cool old nobility’s tombs from the region, The Dukes of Lorraine. I also loved the main stain glass which shines beautiful orange/red/blue colors. The cupola is absolutely beautiful.
Jacinto Jaimez (5 years ago)
You can see interesting things inside
Antoine M (5 years ago)
This is one mighty place to visit as it's a tour-de-force of both architectural design, historical significance and a royal tomb and cenotaphs of all the dukes of Lorraine, ancestors of the Habsburg-Lorraine family except for François Etienne de Lorraine (was Emperor of the Holy Empire) who is buried in the Habsburg necropolis in Vienna, Austria. Right next door to the palace of the Dukes of Lorraine, with its chapel of the former convent contains the royal tombs. The exterior is sober in design of Gothic and Renaissance style and inside is made up of one long nave with collateral chapels housing several funeral urns of certain dukes of Lorraine. There's so much to explore here, from the ceiling frescoes to the altarpiece, and most impressive of all for me is the Notre Dame de Lorette chapel which is the funeral chapel of the Dukes of Lorraine. It's free to enter, as part of the Musée Lorraine inside Palais des Ducs de Lorraine. This is a must visit museum inside a historic church that forever ties with the Habsburg-Lorraine dynasty. On a trivial note, it was temporarily used as a parish church when the Basilica of Saint Epvre was almost in ruin. Also, Otto of Habsburg-Lorraine married Regina of Saxe-Meiningen in the Chapel of the Cordeliers in 1951 and returned in 2001 to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary in the same chapel. Suitable for all ages. It's wheelchair friendly and kids should most certainly be encouraged to visit (accompanied of course). I don't think there's a public convenience inside.
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