The Place Stanislas is a large pedestrianised square in the French city of Nancy, in the Lorraine region. Since 1983, the architectural ensemble comprising the Place Stanislas, the extension of its axis, the Place de la Carrière, and the Place d’Alliance, has been on the list of UNESCOWorld Heritage Sites.
The square was a major project in urban planning, conceived by Stanisław I as a way to link the medieval old town of Nancy and the “new” town built in the 17th century under Charles III, Duke of Lorraine. The square was also intended as a place royale to honour Stanisław’s son-in-law, Louis XV. The design created a large urban square or place that linked two handsome existing buildings: the Hôtel de Ville (city hall, now centred on its grand square) and the Hôtel du Gouvernement, the seat of the duchy. The seat of city government and the seat of Ducal government thus faced each other as complements through a series of rational, symmetrical but varied urban spaces, unequalled in Europe at the time.
The square and the surrounding buildings, unified by their colossal orders, were designed by the royal architect Emmanuel Héré de Corny (1705–1763). Construction began in March 1752, and ended in November 1755. Barthélémy Guibal and Paul-Louis Cyfflé created a bronze statue of Louis XV that was erected in the center of the square. It was removed during the iconoclasm of the Revolution, when it was replaced with a simple winged figure. The square was renamed “Place du Peuple”, and later “Place Napoléon”. In 1831, a bronze statue of Stanisław (Stanislas in French) was placed in the middle of the square; since then it has been known as the “Place Stanislas”.
The square has always been used for public assemblies and festivities. It has undergone several makeovers in its history and, in a low period of appreciation, served as a car parking area for nearly a quarter of a century, between 1958 and 1983. The city has since reserved it for pedestrian use. In 2004 and 2005, the city undertook a massive restoration of the square, based on the original 18th-century plans. The ten-month project cost approximately 9 million euros. It was financed by a combination of city and local, regional, national and private funds. The inauguration of the new Place Stanislas, in May 2005, coincided with the square’s 250th anniversary.
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