Baccarat

The crystal works at Baccarat opened in 1764 with royal permission and moved to lead crystal in 1816, which gave the glass its weight, ring and refraction. The town is built around the factory and the Musee Baccarat shows pieces made for tsars, maharajas and exhibitions, including chandeliers and candelabra of a scale ordinary rooms could not hold. The church of Saint-Remy, rebuilt in concrete in 1957 after wartime destruction, is lined with about two hundred and thirty panels of coloured crystal instead of conventional stained glass, an idea that only makes sense in this town. The works still operate and are not generally open.

History

Baccarat began as a suburb of Deneuvre, a town of Roman origin, and its name may come from Bacchi-ara, "altar of Bacchus", the name of a Roman castellum on the heights; it first appears in 1291, and in 1305 Henri, lord of Blâmont, built the Tower of Voués at the foot of the spur, around which the suburb grew. By 1459 the town was known for its drapers and its wine. In 1764 Louis XV authorised a glassworks here at the urging of the Bishop of Metz, who wanted an outlet for the region's firewood; it became a crystal works in 1817 and, sold in 1881 to the Compagnie des Cristalleries, won worldwide fame under the town's name, its workforce bringing new housing, schools, shops and roads. The town hall was built in 1924, and the church, destroyed in October 1944, was rebuilt from 1953 (Wikipedia, Baccarat, Meurthe-et-Moselle).

What you'll find

• The crystal museum - commissioned pieces for royal and exhibition clients.
• Saint-Remy church - concrete walls filled with coloured crystal panels.
• The chandeliers - large lighting pieces made for palaces and expositions.
• The factory town - workers' housing and the works along the Meurthe.

When to go

April to October; the museum opens most of the year with reduced winter hours. The church is open by day. Nancy makes an easy base.

Practical notes

The working factory is closed to general visits, so you see the museum and shop rather than production. The town itself is small and plain. Prices in the shop are what you would expect.

Nearby

Nancy lies west; the Vosges rise to the southeast.

Key facts