Timeline

Heritage classified

Key figures

Origin and history

The Bergeret House is a private hotel designed by architect Lucien Weissenburger between 1903 and 1905 for the printer Albert Bergeret, figure of the nean industry. This emblematic building of the École de Nancy, a movement of Lorrain Art Nouveau, is distinguished by its dynamic facade and innovative metal structure. The major artists of the movement collaborated there: Louis Majorelle (ferroneries and fireplace of the living room), Eugène Vallin (woodwork and ceiling of the dining room), Jacques Gruber (five windows, including the window Roses and seagulls of the hall), Joseph Janin (three sets of glass windows), and Victor Prouvé (toile marouflée du côté du hall, now deposited).

The unifying decorative theme, the coin-du-pape, is found in ironwork and stylized motifs, less exuberant than in the Majorelle villa but just as structured. Originally, the wrought iron gate, now extinct, had marked symmetry and decorative elements in cut sheet metal. Part of the grids, moved to Ménil-Flin, still testify to this. The interior, restored, preserves exceptional decorations such as balconies, the staircase ramp, and the glass windows, despite the loss of some elements (roadways, ceiling of Vallin, window of the winter garden) after 1946, when the state became owner of the site.

Ranked a historic monument in 1996 after a partial inscription in 1975, the Bergeret house is located at 24 rue Lionnois, adjacent to the former Bergeret printing house (1901-1902), also designed by Weissenburger. The building, transformed after the cessation of printing in 1936, now houses services from the University of Lorraine. Its history reflects the alliance between industry, art and heritage, characteristic of Nancy at the turn of the 20th century.

The building was also used as a decor for the film "Etrange Color of the tears of your body" (2012), alongside the Villa Majorelle, highlighting its icon status of Art Nouveau. The archives and recent studies (books by Frédéric Descouturelle, Roselyne Bouvier) document its restoration and its role in the diffusion of the style of École de Nancy, combining technical innovation and plant aesthetics.

The materials used — glass bricks for the winter garden, wrought iron, carved wood — and the collaboration between artisans make it an architectural manifesto. The house embodies the ideal of the union of arts advocated by the École de Nancy, where every detail, from grids to stained glass, contributes to a total work of art. Its complete classification in 1996 enshrines this exceptional heritage dimension.

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