Bar-le-Duc, Administrative division in Grand Est, France
Bar-le-Duc is a town in the Meuse department of Grand Est. It sits along the Ornain River and divides into an upper town on a hill and a lower town in the valley below.
The town served as the seat of the Dukes of Bar during the Middle Ages and experienced prosperity through trade in the 16th century. After the French Revolution it became the prefecture of the newly created Meuse department.
Each canton within the Bar-le-Duc arrondissement maintains local traditions through agricultural fairs, regional markets, and seasonal celebrations throughout the year.
The old town sits on a hill and can be reached on foot via staircases or by car along winding streets. The center is easy to explore in a morning, and parking is available in the lower part of town.
The church of Saint-Étienne holds a skeleton sculpture by Ligier Richier, a Renaissance work so anatomically precise that medical students once used it for teaching purposes. The upper town still shows traces of old defensive structures that once protected the ducal residence.
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