Palais Ducal (Ducal Palace)

Palais Ducal (Ducal Palace) Review

This palace, built in the 13th century, completely restored at the end of the 15th century and again after a fire at the end of the 19th century, is now occupied by the Musée Lorrain (Lorraine History Museum). At the main entrance (80 yards down the street from a stunning Flamboyant Renaissance portal), a spiral stone staircase leads up to the palace's most impressive room, the Galerie des Cerfs (Stags Gallery). Exhibits here (including pictures, armor, and books) recapture the Renaissance mood of the 16th century—one of elegance and merrymaking, with an undercurrent of stern morality: an elaborate series of huge tapestries, La Condemnation du Banquet (Condemnation of the Banquet), expounds on the evils of drunkenness and gluttony. Exhibits showcase Stanislas and his court, including his oft-portrayed dwarf; a section on Nancy in the revolutionary era; and works of Lorraine native sons, including a collection of Jacques Callot engravings and a handful of works by Georges de La Tour.