VILLERS LES NANCY

A winegrowing village, a fiefdom of lords a few leagues from Nancy, Villers les Nancy calls itself the city of 7 castles. It is placed under the "protection" of Saint Fiacre, patron saint of gardeners? and counts among its remarkable sites, the exceptional Botanical Garden of Montet. A high place of scientific and technical culture, attached to the University of Nancy i and to the Greater Nancy, this garden with its 12,000 species, arid and tropical greenhouses, climbs up the western slope of the city, overlooking the Brabois castle (see its dovecote from the early 18th century). It is one of the most beautiful gardens in Eastern France (in the middle of the site, the Sainte Valérie Chapel). Among the remarkable places of Villers, testimonies of a prestigious past, - the old Cistercian abbey of Clairlieu founded in 1159. Only a few stones remain and an explanatory panel on the road leading to the residential area of Villers Clairlieu, - The Castle of Remicourt which combines original medieval elements, neo-classical and neo-gothic additions. It belongs to the city of Nancy, which has turned it into a youth hostel and an outdoor school. Receptions can be organized there. The small neo-Gothic chapel is a place of Orthodox worship. - The castle of Madame de Graffigny in the heart of the old village, a beautiful 18th century mansion, set in a garden enclosed by high walls. Owned by the town of Villers, it hosts receptions and exhibitions (inside, a beautiful Ecole de Nancy fireplace is being classified). In the garden, there are two cedars of Lebanon planted by Mathieu de Dombasle in the 19th century. Its park hosts the harvest festival in early September. - The Domaine de l'Asnée (8 ha) and its 16th century castle, redesigned in the 19th century, is the property of the diocese, which has turned it into a well-equipped site for meetings and conferences. The park of the castle of Brabois, of about 60 hectares, offers an extraordinary panorama on the agglomeration from its esplanade. With the cellar of the Roêle dedicated to the theater and the auditorium of Ecraignes, the village of Villers presents a dynamic and contemporary cultural face. Book lovers should visit the diocesan library, which houses 130,000 volumes in addition to an old collection of 50,000 remarkable volumes. Curiosity; the speleological Union of the Nancy agglomeration - USAN - organizes twice a year visits of the hydraulic galleries, dating from the end of the 19th century. It is impressive and instructive!