Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Saint-Clément Abbey of Metz came into being in the 11th century, when Benedictine monks settled on the site of a seventh-century oratory dedicated to Felix de Nole. Rebuilt after its destruction during the siege of Metz in 1552, it was transferred in 1565 to a hotel, where a first church was built. The relics of Saint Clement, translated in 1090, give his final name to the abbey, which in 1194 received the parish of Saint-Privat, including Peltre and Magny.

The major reconstruction of the abbey was launched between 1662 and 1668 under the leadership of Abbé François Reynel, appointed by Louis XIV. The works, begun in 1669 with the cloister, saw the intervention of the Italian architect Jean Spinga from 1683 for the abbey church, mixing Gothic and Baroque. After interruptions (1687-1704, conflict in 1715), the building was completed in 1737, with a Corinthian façade, arches decorated with pendant keys and historical stained glass windows. The nave, 17 metres high, is separated from the collaterals by columns with composite capitals.

At the Revolution, the abbey was confiscated and transformed into an industrial site and then a military site (1785). In 1855, the Jesuits founded a college, adding a neo-baroque chapel decorated with stained glass by Laurent-Charles Marshal. The college, interrupted during the German annexations (1870-1918, 1940-1945), closed in 1970. The Abbey and 17th century buildings then became the Lorraine region hotel until 2015. Ranked a historic monument in 1972, it preserves a classical cloister with baroque looks, a well with the Four Cardinal Vertus, and a monumental staircase.

The abbey church, a three-vessel church-hall type, has a two-level Corinthian facade, surmounted by a curvilinear pediment and an oval oculus. The quadripartite vaults, the broken arched bays and the hanging keys in the shape of floral buttons illustrate the synthesis of styles. After damage during World War II (damaging the stained glass windows in 1940), the building was restored in 1975 (roof) and 2001 (inside). Today, it symbolizes the Messin religious and architectural heritage, marked by successive reallocations.

Conventual buildings, whose facades and roofs are protected, contain remarkable elements such as the cloister with its courtyard and carved well. The monumental 17th century staircase, located in the northwest wing, and the chapel of Notre-Dame-du-Perpetuel-Secours (1855-1857) bear witness to Jesuit additions. The fountain of Place Hocquard, symbolizing the four Lorraine departments, recalls the former regional function of the site. The abbey, owned by the commune, remains a unique example of Baroque and Gothic heritage in Lorraine.

Future

Since 1983, the restored abbey has been the seat of the Lorraine Regional Council and serves as a hotel in the Grand East Region.

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