The story of this place
Stanisław Leszczyński, twice deposed king of Poland and father-in-law of Louis XV, was granted the Duchy of Lorraine as a consolation and made Nancy his capital. Between 1752 and 1755 he laid out one of the most perfect royal squares in Europe, uniting the medieval old town with a new city through a harmonious ensemble of neoclassical palaces, a triumphal arch and dazzling gilded wrought-iron gates and fountains by Jean Lamour. On Lorraine's absorption into France on Stanisław's death in 1766, the square became French. Originally Place Royale with a statue of Louis XV, it was renamed for its creator in 1831. The luminous square is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.