The Citadel Gate, a Renaissance remnant
A few metres from the famous Craffe gate, the Citadelle gate is an elegant vestige of Nancy's Renaissance fortifications. Raised in 1598, it still marks the boundary between the Old Town and the Trois-Maisons suburb.
A gate born of the fortifications
Built in 1598 by architect Florent Drouin le Jeune, the gate was first named the Notre-Dame gate. It served as an entrance to the citadel and opened between two bastions nicknamed "the duke" and "the marquis", in tribute to Duke Charles III and his son, the marquis of Pont. Nancy then had several gates defending the walled town; most of the ramparts have since vanished, but this gate was preserved. Listed as a historic monument as early as 1910, it bears witness to the fortified face the ducal city presented at the end of the 16th century.
The Renaissance style in stone
Unlike the Craffe gate, medieval and flanked by round towers, the Citadelle gate shows the more ordered lines of the Renaissance. Its worked façade, punctuated by carved elements, reflects the era's taste for learned and symbolic architecture. It is easily admired from the outside, by looking up at its stone ornament. The two gates, so close and so different, offer a striking shortcut through the evolution of the art of fortification, from the Middle Ages to the end of the 16th century.
At the edge of the Old Town
The gate marks the transition between the Old Town and the Trois-Maisons suburb. That curious name comes, it is said, from the destruction of a nearby village of which only three houses were spared. Here you slip from an old quarter of lanes and weathered façades towards more open suburbs. It is an ideal crossing point to extend the walk north of the Old Town, between the Craffe gate, the gardens laid out on the former ramparts and the cobbled alleys that give old Nancy all its charm.
Infos pratiques
Adresse : rue Henry Deglin, 54000 Nancy
Questions fréquentes
What is the difference with the Craffe gate?
The Craffe gate is medieval, with its big round towers; the Citadelle gate, from 1598, is Renaissance. They stand just a few metres apart.
Can you visit the Citadelle gate?
It is a monument admired freely from the street, on the outside. There is no organised indoor visit: you enjoy it mainly in passing, during a walk through the Old Town.
Where does the name "Trois-Maisons" come from?
Tradition holds that a nearby village was destroyed and only three houses were spared, giving its name to the suburb that begins beyond the gate.
Wikimedia Commons — Pymouss · Wikimedia Commons — rene boulay
