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Origin and history

The Maison des deux Sirènes, built in 1586-1587 in Nancy, is a Renaissance mansion, commissioned by Raymond Luyton, room valet of Henri II of Lorraine. Its name comes from the two bearded tritons carved in high relief at the corner of the building, often confused with sirens. The building, organized around an inner courtyard, features facades adorned with Tuscan and Corinthian pilasters, sill bays, and a remarkable interior staircase with distribution galleries.

The hotel has undergone several changes over the centuries: in the 18th century, the windows on the first floor were equipped with ironwork railings and the interior decorations were redone (lambing, chimneys, ceilings). The court was covered before 1830, and a commercial front was replaced by a bay on the ground floor in the late 19th or early 20th century. In 1929, the entrance door was transferred to the Haussonville hotel after its purchase by Mr. Ambrose. Rehabilitation in 1988 resulted in the restoration of the bays and the removal of later added partitions.

Ranked a Historic Monument in 1945 for its facades and roofs, the Maison des deux Sirènes illustrates the Renaissance's Lorrain civil architecture. It is part of the numerous private hotels built in Nancy for the aristocracy of the Duchy of Lorraine, especially under the influence of Dukes Henri II and Stanislas Leszczynski. Its interior décor preserves stone and marble fireplaces, as well as a staircase designed for its elegance.

The building is also linked to local historical events, such as the ephemeral refuge of Cardinal Nicolas-François de Vaudémont and his wife in 1634, before their departure from Nancy. The archival sources (AD 54, Dom Calmet) and dendrochronological studies confirm its construction in 1586-1587, making one of the rare preserved examples of Renaissance hotels in Nancy, before the classical transformations of the eighteenth century.

Located at 5 rue Saint-Michel, the Maison des deux Sirènes is distinguished by its roof in pavilion and in scale tiles, as well as by decorative elements such as mascarons and ornamental cartridges. Its four-body plan (A, B, C, D) around a courtyard reflects a spatial organization typical of the noble homes of the time, adapted to the needs of representation and daily life.

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