Nancy Cathedral

Facade of the cathedral

The Cathedral of Nancy ( Cathédrale Notre-Dame-de-l'Annonciation de Nancy , translated Cathedral of Our Lady of the Annunciation at Nancy ) is the bishopric of the Roman Catholic diocese of Nancy-Toul .

history

It was built under Leopold I of Lorraine from 1703 to 1742 according to plans by Giovanni Betto , Jules Hardouin-Mansart and Germain Boffrand . For the first plans, Betto was inspired by the church of Sant'Andrea della Valle in Rome . The subsequent architects changed these plans again. The distance between the towers and the length of the nave were created with a view to a central dome, which was then replaced by a simple dome and a gable with a clock in the course of building history. The facade as well as the interior are Corinthian in style.

At the beginning of the 17th century, the Duchy of Lorraine was politically independent, but was spiritually dependent on the three dioceses of Metz , Toul and Verdun . In the absence of a bishop in Nancy , the Duke Charles III. obtained the appointment of a primate by the Pope, hence the name Cathedral of the Primate at Nancy. The church only became a cathedral in 1777 when the first bishop of Nancy was appointed, after Lorraine was annexed to France and the death of King Stanislaus .

Description of the structure

The floor plan in the form of a Latin cross includes in its width: a nave, two side aisles and two side aisles with three chapels each. In its length it is composed of a half-vault, where the organ is located, of three whole vaulted compartments, a transept, a dome, a fourth vaulted compartment that extends from the dome to the sacristy and a semicircular apse that extends slightly above the outer walls of the sacristy protrudes.

The 60-meter-long and 13.5-meter-wide nave gives the impression of dignity and balance as you enter. The mighty pillars are decorated with Corinthian pilasters. The simplicity of classical art is represented by angel sculptures that adorn the corner stones of the side arcades on both sides. These angels bear the emblems of the Virgin Mary, indicating that the church is dedicated to Mary, more precisely to the Virgin of the Annunciation. On the right they wear a sun, a tower, a bourbon lily , a palm tree, a star, a crown. On the left the olive tree, the rose, the ark of the covenant, a clock, a ciborium , an open door.

Nave
dome
altar

Organs

→ Main article: The organs of Nancy Cathedral

The large organ goes back to an instrument that was built in 1763 by the organ builder Nicolas Dupont. In the course of time the organ has been restored several times. a. In 1861 by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll, in 1921 by Charles Mutin, and finally in 1965 by the organ builder Haerpfer-Erman. The instrument has 65 registers on four manuals and a pedal.

On the left side of the choir is a choir organ by Kühn from 1912 with 17 stops.

Bells

The ringing of the cathedral consists of nine bells, the four larger of which are hung in the tower to the right of the facade, the others in the left tower. Only the largest bell and bells 5, 8 and 9, which were used to display the time at the time, survived the French Revolution ; the others were cast in the 19th century.

No.	Casting year	Foundry, casting location	diameter	Mass (kg)	Percussive ( HT -¹ /₁₆ )	Remarks
1	1742	Queyrat, Nancy	1,550 mm			Godfather: Duke Stanislaus
2	1867	Goussel Jeune, Metz	1,400 mm			shown at the Paris World's Fair in 1867
3	1807	Les Goussel, Breuvannes				Name: Charlotte
4th	1827	Thuillie Fils, Nancy	1,170 mm
5	1760	F. La Chaussee, Nancy	1,090 mm
6th	1897	Ch.Martin, Nancy	880 mm
7th	1897	Ch.Martin, Nancy	730 mm
8th	1756	F. La Chaussee, Nancy	550 mm
9	1756	F. La Chaussee, Nancy	490 mm