Nancy

Administrative centre of the département of Meurthe-et-Moselle in the Lorraine region of France, on the River Meurthe and the Rhine and Marne Canal, 280 km/175 mi east of Paris; population (1999) 103,600, conurbation 331,200. Nancy dates from the 11th century. It has a university (founded in 1572, transferred here in 1797) and is the seat of a bishopric; building of the cathedral was began in 1703 by J H Mansart.

Industry Nancy has iron and sodium industries, and numerous manufactures, including machinery, textiles, glass, and pottery.

Architecture The old part of the town has narrow, irregular streets, and the modern part has broad, open streets commanding a view of the surrounding hills. The centre of the town has one of the finest collections of 18th-century buildings in France. This part of the town was designed by Stanislas Leczinski, the deposed king of Poland and Louis XV's father-in-law, working with the architect Héré and the ironworker Lamour. Leczinski was installed as Duke of Lorraine on the understanding that the province was returned to France on his death.

History Nancy is the former capital of Lorraine, the ruling dukes being buried in the 15th-century Eglise des Cordeliers. It was taken by France in 1633, was later lost, and finally became French in 1766. Charles the Bold, duke of Burgundy, was killed in a battle here in 1477.