Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Chastenoy Hotel, located at 92 Grande-Rue in Nancy, is an emblematic building of the Lorraine Renaissance, built in the second half of the 16th century. It is distinguished by its deep architecture, with three building bodies and two interior courtyards. The first courtyard houses a spiral staircase leading to openwork balustrade galleries, while the entrance door, flanked by pilasters and lion heads, is inspired by antiquity. The mascaron above the door could represent a jellyfish head or that of the wife of François de Chastenoy, owner of the place.

François de Chastenoy, squire and adviser to Duke Charles III of Lorraine (1545-1608), was the first known owner of this hotel. The weapons of François de Chastenoy and his wife, once carved on the pediment, have now disappeared. The entrance door and the well of the second courtyard, as well as the facades and roofs of the first courtyard, have been protected as historical monuments since 1944 and 1945.

The hotel illustrates the influence of ancient art in Renaissance Lorrain civil architecture. Its decor, combining mythological symbols and plant elements, reflects the taste of elites for scholarship and prestige. Partially classified, it bears witness to the aristocratic heritage of the Neance, in a historical district like Ville-vieille, the heart of the Ducale city under Charles III.

The successive protections (registration in 1944 for facades, classification in 1945 for the door and well) underline its heritage importance. Today, the Chastenoy hotel remains a remarkable example of Lorrain domestic architecture, marked by its blend of classical rigour and symbolic ornamentation, typical of urban residences of the modern era.

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