Stanislaw Leszczynski went down in the history of the Commonwealth as a ruler who ruled it twice (1704-1709; 1733-1736). However, each time he lost the battle for the throne and was forced to leave his homeland. His lot, however, was not that of a wanderer and political émigré, but a long, peaceful and prosperous reign in the Duchy of Lorraine. The church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours in Nancy contains the mausoleums of King Stanislas Leszczyński and his wife Catherine Opalynska.

Peace of Vienna and its provisions

The Peace of Vienna (1738) ended the War of the Polish Succession (fought between 1733-1735 between Bavaria, France and Spain on the one hand and Austria, Denmark, Prussia and Russia on the other). It was, in the Republic, a conflict between the factions of Stanisław Leszczyński and Augustus III Sas, and, in Europe, a rivalry between France and the Habsburg monarchy over the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar (then part of the Empire ruled by the Austrian Habsburgs) and lands in Italy.

Under the Peace of Vienna, Louis XV obtained for his father-in-law, Stanislas Leszczynski, the dethroned ruler of the Republic, lifelong power in the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar. Their previous ruler, Francis III of Lorraine, on the condition that the duchy was handed over to Leszczyński, was given permission to marry the heiress of the Habsburg states, Archduchess Maria Theresa (daughter of Emperor Charles VI), and the prospect of the imperial crown in the future; meanwhile, he took over the rule of the Grand Duchy of Tuscany.

Stanislaus Leszczynski as ruler of Lorraine

After relinquishing the throne of Poland and Lithuania (1736), Stanislas Leszczynski formally took over for life in Lorraine, which was to be incorporated into France after his death (as an outstanding dowry of his daughter, Marie, wife of Louis XV). French interests in Lorraine were secured by an agreement signed at Meudon (1736). In return for a fixed salary, paid by Louis XV, Leszczynski gave up his profits from taxes. The gradual incorporation of the country into France was carried out by the chancellor appointed by Versailles, Antoine-Martin Chaumont de La Galaizière (Minister of Finance, Justice and Police).

Stanisław Leszczyński - from despised figurehead to symbol of independence

At the age of almost sixty, Stanisław Leszczyński thus retired into a prosperous political retirement. His new subjects welcomed him reluctantly at first, regretfully bidding farewell to his native Vaudémont dynasty. During his 30-year reign, this attitude changed dramatically.

Stanislas Leszczyński's numerous achievements in Lorraine, made in the spirit of Enlightenment reforms, include the modernisation of the ducal domain, the foundation of churches and more than 50 charitable institutions, the extension of the capital Nancy (including the Among the reforms to be mentioned are the modernisation of the ducal domain, the foundation of more than 50 charitable institutions, the expansion of Nancy (including the creation of the Place Royal, today's Place Stanislas, linking the Old and New Towns with the new town hall and triumphal arch, the creation of a botanical garden), the development of educational institutions (the creation in 1750 of a public library in Nancy and of a scientific society, the Académie Stanislas; the reactivation of the school of chivalry in Luneville in 1737, and the foundation of the Royal College of Medicine in Nancy in 1752).

The last Duke of Lorraine has passed into legend as a ruler touring the principality in an independently driven, small, open carriage, curiously engaging in chitchat with his subjects. With his long, fruitful and stable reign, Stanislaus Leszczyński won the respect of his subjects. When he died in 1766, at the age of 88 years and 4 months, he was the longest-surviving Polish monarch.

His statue of Louis XV in Nancy's Place Royal was destroyed during the French Revolution; in its place, with public donations, a Leszczyński statue was erected (1830), and the square was renamed Stanislas Square. The prince-prince became a symbol of Lorraine's last years of independence - all the more so as Louis XV, after the duchy was incorporated into France, deliberately nullified much of his father-in-law's legacy (including abolishing the academy and having many of the collections transported to Paris and Versailles).

History of the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours - Leszczyński's mausoleum in Nancy

The beginning of Leszczynski's reign coincided with the erection of the Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours church in Nancy (1737-1741). The church was designed by Léopold Emmanuel Héré de Corny, court architect to the ruler of Lorraine. The building was erected on a site symbolising the independence of the duchy, where a small Marian shrine (chapel and hermitage) had existed since the end of the 15th century, commemorating the victory of the Lorraine-Swiss coalition over the troops of the Duke of Burgundy. It is reasonable to assume that the new church was intended to serve as the ancestral mausoleum of Stanislas Leszczynski, who did not wish to be laid to rest in the church of St Francis of the Congregation of Cordeliers (Franciscans) - the traditional burial place of earlier Lorraine rulers.

The architecture of the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours in Nancy

Constrained by the available space, Emmanuel Héré gave the narrow façade a slender shape. The height is emphasised by a tower with a bell tower, topped by a spire. The façade of the church is accentuated by four semi-columns in the great order, supporting the beam and the gable, in the middle of which there is a cartouche with the coat of arms of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and Wieniawa Leszczyński. The portal is flanked by niches with statues of St Stanislaus and St Catherine. Above the central window of the façade is a decorative cartouche with the motto "caritas" of the Order of Minors serving in the sanctuary. The stucco decoration of the walls of the high (18 m), narrow nave of the church is the work of Louis and Nicolas Manciaux, while the paintings on the vault were done in 1742 by Joseph Gilles, known as le Provençal.

The church suffered damage during the French Revolution, and the remains of the monarch were twice profaned at the time (after many passages, they were deposited in Wawel Cathedral in 1938).

Tombstones of the Leszczynski family in Nancy - Catherine of Opalinski

The first to be laid to rest in the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours in Nancy was Stanislaw's wife, Catherine of Opalinski (1680-1747). Her tombstone by Nicolas Sébastien Adam (1749) was commissioned by her husband. It is a large-scale monument in a style reminiscent of the works of Gianlorenzo Bernini (Italian sculptor, painter and architect, one of the most eminent artists of the Baroque era). The Queen, depicted in white marble contrasting with the dominant black of the tomb, with her hands folded in a prayerful gesture, kneels on the sarcophagus, an angel (scepter and crown laid at her feet) leads her to heaven, flashes of which illuminate her face. At the bottom of the composition is a figure of a gilded eagle with a crown soaring into flight.

Tombstones of the Leszczyński family in Nancy - Stanislas Leszczyński

The aged Stanislas Leszczynski died on 23 February 1766 at his favourite residence, the Château de Lunéville. Death was the result of an unfortunate accident (burns). The monarch's body was laid to rest in a church in Nancy on 3 March of the same year. The cost of making the royal mausoleum was borne by Queen Marie Leszczynska and the municipality of Nancy. The monument was designed by Louis-Claude Vassé, whose work was completed after his death by his pupil, Félix Lecomte (1775).

The tomb monument has a pyramidal shape, typical of the period, rising opposite his wife's tombstone, and has the same layout. The semi-recumbent figure of the deceased, leaning on his left arm, looking into the distance, carved in white marble (contrasting with the dominant black of the tomb), rests on a sarcophagus.

The ruler holds the insignia of the Order of the Holy Spirit, the highest decoration of pre-revolutionary France, his right hand supporting a sceptre; next to the figure lies the crown of the Duchy of Lorraine. At the base of the composition are personifications: Mercy (on the right) and a kneeling Lorraine affectionately turning her gaze towards the sovereign. Between them is a globe half wrapped in a mourning veil.

The sarcophagus of Stanisław Leszczyński is considered one of the most important works of monumental sarcophagus sculpture of the second half of the 18th century. Removed and destroyed during the Revolution, it was placed again in the church of Notre-Dame-de-Bonsecours in the 19th century.

The Nancy church also houses: a monument to the heart of Marie Leszczynska, wife of Louis XV, in the form of a small white marble medallion on a pedestal with the bust of the queen, cradled by two weeping angels (one holding her heart in his hand) and wrapped in a mourning veil (also the work of Vassé'a) and the tomb of François Maximilian Ossoliński (Grand Treasurer of the Crown, cousin and one of Leszczyński's closest supporters), chiseled by Nicolas Sébastien Adam.