Église Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours

Nancy

The church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours stands on the field of the Battle of Nancy where, in January 1477, Duke René II of Lorraine crushed the Burgundians of Charles the Bold; thousands of fallen soldiers were buried on the spot. In 1484, a monk obtained from René II permission to raise a chapel and a hermitage there to pray for these dead, and in 1505 Mansuy Gauvin, the duke's sculptor, carved for the sanctuary a Virgin of Mercy sheltering the faithful beneath her mantle, which became the object of a popular pilgrimage that is still alive today. The Minims of Nancy took over its service in 1609. Having become Duke of Lorraine in 1737, Stanislas Leszczynski, dethroned king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV, had the sanctuary rebuilt by his architect Emmanuel Héré: the Baroque church, begun in 1738, was completed in 1741. He made it his necropolis: the mausoleum of his wife Catherine Opalinska was installed there in 1749, his own cenotaph, sculpted by Claude-Louis Vassé, in 1775, and a medallion holds the heart of their daughter Marie Leszczynska, queen of France. A masterpiece of the Lorraine Baroque, the church has been listed as a historic monument since 4 February 1840.

Getting there : Avenue de Strasbourg, Bonsecours district, south-east of the centre of Nancy; reachable by public transport, regularly open to visitors

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound