The museum's history

The "Musée historique lorrain" project was born in the minds of a small group of Lorraine scholars in the first half of the 19th century. At a time when the Middle Ages were being rediscovered in Nancy, these enthusiasts set themselves the goal of establishing a museum dedicated to the history of Lorraine in the former ducal palace. This ambition began to take shape in 1848, with the founding of the Société d'Archéologie lorraine (now the Société d'Histoire de la Lorraine et du Musée lorrain). Thanks to the tenacity of the Society's leaders, a first museum opened on 10 September 1850, occupying only the lower gallery of the former ducal palace. In 1862, an important step was taken with the integration of the Galerie des Cerfs into the museum. However, these initial efforts came to an abrupt halt in July 1871, when a fire ravaged the site. Under the direction of the architect Emile Boeswillwald, the palace was restored and the museum reopened to the public in 1875.

In 1911, under the impetus of Charles Sadoul, founder of the review Le Pays Lorrain in 1904, the institution opened its doors to popular arts and traditions. In the 1930s, Pierre Marot undertook a vast project to modernise and expand the museum, annexing the former boys' school built on the site by Prosper Morey in the 1870s, as well as the Cordeliers church. The museum grew from 7 to 31 rooms. In the 1950s, the museum moved its archaeological section, then managed by Albert France-Lanord, to the buildings at the back of the courtyard of the ducal palace. In 1981, on the initiative of Abbé Jacques Choux, the rooms devoted to popular arts and traditions were transferred to the former Cordeliers convent.

In 2000, following approval of the scientific and cultural project, the City of Nancy, in conjunction with the Société d'Histoire de la Lorraine et du Musée lorrain, embarked on a project to redevelop and extend the museum. The aim of the project is to improve access to the palace, open up the site to the city, and showcase the museum's exceptional collections more effectively, in particular by using the most contemporary media tools.

In April 2018, five years after the international architecture competition, the museum closed its doors to the public after a last weekend of celebration. Only the Cordeliers church, which now houses some of the major sculptures in the museum's collection, remains open to the public.