Bar-le-Duc

Bar-le-Duc is a town in northeastern France, in the Meuse département, of which it is the préfecture (capital).

Sights

The Ville Haute, which is reached by staircases and steep narrow thoroughfares, is intersected by a long, quiet street, bordered by houses of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. In this quarter are the remains (16th century) of the chateau of the dukes of Bar, dismantled in 1670, the old clock-tower, and the college, built in the latter half of the 16th century. Its church of St Pierre (14th and 15th centuries) contains a skilfully-carved effigy in white stone of a half-decayed corpse, the work of Ligier Richier (1500-1572), a pupil of Michelangelo erected to the memory of Rene de Chalons (d. 1544).

Related Topics:
Dukes of Bar - 1670 - Ligier Richier - Michelangelo - Rene de Chalons

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The lower town contains the official buildings and two or three churches, but these are of little interest. Among the statues of distinguished natives of the town is one to Charles Nicolas Oudinot, whose house serves as the hotel-de-ville.

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