Arc Héré

Place Stanislas in the city of Nancy is the most significant landmark in the city. That being said, the square has nothing really much to see apart from the statue of Stanislaus the exiled king of Poland who had the square constructed. The square was built as a dedication to King Louis XV who happens to be Stanislaus’ son-in-law. Most of the interesting parts of the square are all around the square and not in it. There are several impressive buildings around the square including the Hôtel de Ville de Nancy which is the town hall of Nancy. One of the more significant features of the square is slightly further out of the square – Arc Héré.

Arc Héré is a triumphal arch to the north of Place Stanislas. Just follow the street directly across the Hôtel de Ville and you can quickly see the arch. Like the square, the arch is also dedicated to King Louis XV. There used to be an old arch here because they replaced it with Arc Héré. The current arc has images for Roman mythology on it. It also includes Apollo with whom King Louis XV is compared with. There is also the king’s insignia here so that there is no doubt whom this arch was built for. The arch sits right between two buildings and walking towards it gives the feeling of going to someplace grand after passing the gates. I can see that this place would be very beautiful at night, it is a pity that I won’t be here for that.

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