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Origin and history

The Porte Désilles, also known as the Désilles Memorial, is a triumphal arch erected at Nancy between 1782 and 1784 by architect Didier-Joseph-François Mélin. Commanded by the Count of Stainville, it was to mark the northern entrance of the Leopold course and honour the Nacéans who died for American independence, particularly during the Battle of Yorktown (1781). Originally named "Porte Neuve", she then took the names of "Porte Saint-Louis" and "Porte Stainville" before being renamed in 1867 in tribute to Lieutenant Désilles, who died in 1790 during a military mutiny.

The door, 12 meters high with its decorations, presents three openings and bas-reliefs carved by Joseph Söntgen. The inner side celebrates the Treaty of Versailles of 1783, while the outer side represents the Battle of Nancy of 1477. Ranked a historic monument in 1925, it became the official memorial of the city, paying tribute to the victims of multiple conflicts, from the Indochina wars to the Algerian war, through the Harki.

His present name commemorates the heroic act of Lieutenant Désilles, who, to avoid a bloodbath between French soldiers, threw himself on a cannon during the mutiny of Nancy in 1790. The door also carries inscriptions honouring the Nacéans who died for American independence, as well as plaques dedicated to civilian and military victims of the twentieth century conflicts. Its location, at the intersection of the Leopold courtyard and the Place de Luxembourg, makes it a central symbol of the nean memory.

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