Abbatial Palace of Gorze

En un regard

Le château en bref

At the foot of the Moselle hills, in the village of Gorze, the abbatial palace is one of the few large buildings in a Baroque spirit in Lorraine. It stands on the site of the Benedictine abbey founded in the mid-8th century by Saint Chrodegang, Bishop of Metz, which was a major centre of monastic reform in the Middle Ages. Built from 1696 to 1700 for the commendatory abbot Philipp Eberhard von Löwenstein, under the direction of Pierre Bourdict, it unfolds in wings around a courtyard, above a garden laid out in terraces whose staircases, entrance gate and retaining walls adorned with fountains form a theatrical setting; a private chapel, wrought ironwork and stucco complete the ensemble. Seized as national property during the Revolution, the palace then served as a poorhouse, military hospital, barracks, hospice annex and convent, before being attached to the Gorze retirement home, a departmental public institution that owns it. Partly listed as a historic monument in 1932, then in full for its historic parts in 2006, it is now awaiting a new use.