Abbey of Saint-Arnould

It stood in front of medieval ramparts of the Hôpital Notre Dame de Bon Secours,[2] near the Roman road leading to Toul and Lyon.

Charlemagne made this abbey the burial place of his family: his wife Hildegarde, sisters, son, Emperor Louis the Pious, and Bishop Drogo[2] were all buried here.

[5] During the French Revolution, the Abbey was confiscated as property of the state, the monks were expelled, and the imperial tombs were destroyed.

It was "walled up" above one of the entrances to the chapel of the abbey during the Reign of Terror (1793-1794), following an edict from the mayor of Metz ordering all religious images to be hidden from public view; but it was rediscovered in 1990 during construction work (the site of the chapel is the current tennis court behind the Governor's Palace).

Dated around the 10th century, it is one of the most beautiful polychrome Pietà known in the world (according to the experts participating in the symposium organized by the Renaissance old Metz in association with the Ministry of Defence and the land area of the COMMAND North East: 11 May 2007).

Later, a 42 m high turret was constructed during the Second French Empire, to observe the maneuvers of artillery on Mont Saint-Quentin.