Maison des Têtes

The cozy little square that opens up on the right side of the street gives you a perfect view of the beautiful facade of Maison des Têtes. Fournirue Street, where it stands, has been known for its stunning buildings since the late Middle Ages. Metz’s bourgeoisie had been stacking up the cash since the 13th century, and come the Renaissance, the city started throwing up fancy new buildings and bourgeois houses left and right. Maison des Têtes is like a time capsule from that prosperous era. It was built in the 16th century by Jean Aubry, a wealthy silversmith who probably worked in the same street. Those sculpted busts of three men or gentlemen and two dames in period clothing that perch above the windows are supposed to represent famous folks from Metz, but their identities remain a mystery. The ones you see today are just replicas. Four of the original busts are chilling at the Musée de la Cour d’Or in Metz, while the fifth one took a trip across the pond to the United States and now hangs out at the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston.