Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The former institute of zoology of Nancy, built in 1933 by the brothers Jacques and Michel André, is inspired by the modernist architecture of Frank Lloyd Wright. This blind building, designed to preserve the collections of natural history, now houses the Muséum-Aquarium de Nancy (MAN), a museum and aquariums. Ranked a historic monument in 2016, it illustrates the scientific heritage of Lorraine, from the cabinets of 18th century curiosities to its current vocation as a scientific culture.

The origins of the museum date back to 1752, when Stanislas Leszczynski founded a Royal College of Medicine in Nancy, bringing together 17 offices of regional curiosities. These collections, made up of fossils, grasslands and naturalized animals, were first used for teaching before being neglected after 1804. Their preservation and enrichment resumed in 1854 with the creation of the Faculty of Science, under the impulse of naturalists such as Dominique-Alexandre Godron.

In the 20th century, Lucien Cuénot, director of the natural history firm, initiated the construction of a new building for the Zoology Institute, inaugurated in 1933. The collections are central, while in the 1970s tropical aquariums were added under Bruno Condé's direction. In 2004, MAN received the label Musée de France, protecting its 140,000 specimens, including 600 exhibits in the zoology gallery renovated in 2005.

The architecture of the building, combining reinforced concrete and metal structure, reflects the Art Deco research of the 1930s. Its windowless façade, designed to preserve collections, makes it a unique example of the heritage of the country. The site, located on Rue Sainte-Catherine, also includes the ancient Botanical Garden Godron and an amphitheater of 298 places, always active for scientific events.

Today, the Museum-Aquarium combines conservation and pedagogy, with 57 aquariums with 80 freshwater species and 110 marine species. Her temporary exhibitions, such as Hair, from the hair of the beast to the chin (2020), and her educational activities (school visits, children's workshops) make her a living place of diffusion of science, anchored in the university history of Lorraine.

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