Moselle
Coat of arms of the Moselle department
Location
Administration
Department number:	57
Region:	Lorraine
Prefecture:	Metz (2 arrondissements: Metz-Ville, Metz-Campagne)
Subprefectures:	Boulay-Moselle Château-Salins Forbach Sarrebourg Sarreguemines Thionville (2 arrondissements: Thionville-Est, Thionville-Ouest)
Arrondissements:	9
Cantons:	51
Communes:	730
President of the General Council:	Philippe Leroy
Statistics
Population	Ranked 19th
-1999	1,023,447
Population density:	165/km²
Land area¹:	6216 km²
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². The term administration, as used in the context of Government, differs according to Jurisdiction. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Lorraine (Lothringen is one of the 26 régions of France. It is the only administrative region with two cities of equal importance Metz and Nancy A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' Metz (mɛs in French) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and Préfecture Subprefectures (sous-préfectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. Boulay-Moselle (German Bolchen is a commune of the Moselle département, in France. Château-Salins (Salzburg from 1941-44 Salzburgen) is a commune of the Moselle département, in France. Forbach is also a town in south-western Germany. Forbach is a town and commune, in the Moselle département Sarrebourg (Saarburg is a town in Lorraine, France. It lies in the département Sarreguemines (German Saargemünd) is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in Lorraine, northeastern Thionville (Diedenhofen Diedennuewen Diedenhoven is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in the Lorraine The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The nine arrondissements of the Moselle department are Arrondissement of Boulay-Moselle, ( subprefecture: Boulay-Moselle The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The following is a list of the 51 cantons of the Moselle department, in France, sorted by arrondissement: Arrondissement The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The following is a list of the 730 communes of the Moselle département, in France. In France, the President of the General Council (French Président du conseil général) is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here areas between 1000 km2 and 10000 km2 An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open

Moselle is a département in the east of France named after the Moselle River. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Moselle (Moselle Mosel Musel is a River flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany.

History

Moselle is one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year It was created from the former province of Lorraine. The Kingdom of France was organised into Provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the département Lorraine (Lorraine Lothringen is a historical area in present-day northeast France.

In 1793, the foreign enclaves of Manderen, Lixing-lès-Rouhling, Momerstroff, and Créhange (Kriechingen), all possessions of princes of the German Holy Roman Empire, were annexed by France and incorporated into the Moselle département. Manderen is a Village and commune in the Moselle département of north-eastern France. Lixing-lès-Rouhling is a village and commune in the Moselle département of France. Momerstroff is a Village and commune in the Moselle département of north-eastern France. Créhange (German Kriechingen is a Village and commune in the Moselle département of north-eastern France. The Holy Roman Empire ( HRE; German Heiliges Römisches Reich (HRR, Latin Sacrum Romanum Imperium (SRI was a union of territories in

By the Treaty of Paris of 1814 following the first defeat and abdication of Napoleon, France had to surrender almost all its conquests since 1792. The Treaty of Paris, signed on 30 May 1814 ended the war between France and the Sixth Coalition. Napoleon Bonaparte (15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821 was a French military and political leader who had a significant impact on the History of Europe. On the northeastern border, France was not restored to its 1792 borders, but a new border was established to put an end to the convoluted nature of the border, with all its enclaves and exclaves. As a result, the French exclave of Tholey (now in Saarland, Germany) as well as a few communes near Sierck-les-Bains (both territories until then part of the Moselle département) were ceded to Austria. Tholey is a municipality in the district of Sankt Wendel, in Saarland, Germany. Saarland (ˈzaːɐ̯lant in German; French: Sarre) is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. Sierck-les-Bains is a Village and commune in the Moselle département of north-eastern France. On the other hand, the French annexations of 1793 were confirmed, and what's more the south of the Napoleonic département of Sarre was ceded to France, including the town of Lebach, the city of Saarbrücken, and the rich coal basin nearby. Sarre is the name of a department of the First French Empire which is now part of Germany and Belgium. Lebach is a town in the district of Saarlouis, in Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken (ˈzaːɐ̯ˈbrʏkn in German; Sarrebruck is the capital of the state of Saarland in Germany. France was thus a net beneficiary of the Treaty of Paris, all the new territories ceded to her being far larger and more strategic than the few territories ceded to Austria. All these new territories were incorporated into the Moselle département, and so Moselle had now a larger territory than ever since 1790.

However, with the return of Napoleon and his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo, the Congress of Vienna in 1815 imposed much harsher conditions on France. In the Battle of Waterloo (Sunday 18 June 1815 near Waterloo Belgium The Congress of Vienna was a conference of ambassadors of the major powers of Europe, chaired by the Austrian statesman Clemens Wenzel von Metternich Tholey and the communes around Sierck-les-Bains were still to be ceded as agreed in 1814, but the south of the Sarre département with Saarbrücken was withdrawn from France. In addition, France had to cede to Austria the area of Rehlingen (now in Saarland) as well as the strategic fort-town of Saarlouis and the territory around it, all territories and towns which had been French since the 17th century, and which were part of the Moselle département since 1790. Austria (Österreich ( officially the Republic of Austria (Republik Österreich Rehlingen is a municipality in the district of Lüneburg, in Lower Saxony, Germany. Saarlouis (zaːrˈlʊɪ in German; French: Sarrelouis) is a city in the Saarland, Germany, capital of the district of Saarlouis In the end of 1815, Austria gave all these territories to Prussia, and it is from them that Prussia invaded France in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871. Prussia ( Latin: Borussia, Prutenia; Prūsija Prūsija Prusy Old Prussian: Prūsa) was most recently a historic state The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871

Thus, by the end of 1815, the Moselle département had finally the limits that it would keep until 1871. It was slightly smaller than at its creation in 1790, the incorporation of the Austrian enclaves not compensating the loss of Saarlouis, Rehlingen, Tholey, and the communes around Sierck-les-Bains. Between 1815 and 1871, the département had an area of 5,387 km² (2,080 sq. miles). Its prefecture (capital) was Metz. A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' Metz (mɛs in French) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and Préfecture It had four arrondissements: Metz, Briey, Sarreguemines, and Thionville. The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. Briey is a commune of the Meurthe-et-Moselle Departement, in France, located above and in a steep section of the valley of the little, some Sarreguemines (German Saargemünd) is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in Lorraine, northeastern Thionville (Diedenhofen Diedennuewen Diedenhoven is a town and commune in the Moselle département, in the Lorraine

After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, almost all of the Moselle département, along with Alsace and portions of the Meurthe and Vosges départements, were annexed to the German Empire by the Treaty of Frankfurt on the ground that the population in those areas spoke German dialects. The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War ( 19 July, 1870 — 10 May, 1871 Alsace (Alsace alzas Alsatian and Elsass pre-1996 German: Elsaß; Alsatia is one of the 26 Regions of France, located on the eastern Meurthe is a former département of France. Its Préfecture (capital was Nancy. Vosges (voːʒ is a French department, named after the Vosges mountain range. The German Empire is the name commonly used in English to describe Germany from 1871 to 1918 when it was a semi- Constitutional monarchy: beginning with the Unification The Treaty of Frankfurt (Le traité de Francfort Friede von Frankfurt was a Peace treaty signed in Frankfurt on May 10, 1871, at the end of German dialect is dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant shift, and the Dialect continuum that connects the German with Only one-fifth of Moselle (arrondissement of Briey in the extreme west of the département) was spared annexation by Bismarck, as it was a French-speaking area. Bismarck later bitterly regretted his decision when it was discovered that the region of Briey and Longwy was rich with iron ore. Longwy (lɔ̃wi in French Langich is a Town and commune located in the Meurthe-et-Moselle département in northeastern France The Moselle département ceased to exist on May 18, 1871, and the territories annexed to Germany became part of the Reichsland of Elsaß-Lothringen. Events 1152 - Henry II of England marries Eleanor of Aquitaine. Year 1871 ( MDCCCLXXI) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common Alsace-Lorraine (Reichsland Elsaß-Lothringen generally Elsass - Lothringen) was a territorial entity created by the German Empire in 1871 The remaining area of Briey was merged with the truncated Meurthe département to create the new Meurthe-et-Moselle département (a new name chosen on purpose to remind people of the lost Moselle département) with its préfecture at Nancy. Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the northeast of France named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers Nancy (nɑ̃si archaic Nanzig Nanzeg is a city and commune in the Lorraine région of northeastern France

In 1919, with the French victory in the First World War, Alsace-Lorraine was returned to France by Germany at the Treaty of Versailles. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All The Treaty of Versailles was one of the peace treaties at the end of World War I. However, it was not decided to recreate the old départements of Meurthe and Moselle by reverting to the old département borders of before 1871. Instead, Meurthe-et-Moselle was left untouched, and the four-fifth of Moselle that had been annexed by Germany in 1871 were merged with the one-third of Meurthe also annexed in 1871 to create a new département of Moselle. Thus, the Moselle département was reborn, but its borders were quite different from those before 1871. Having lost the area of Briey, it had now gained the areas of Château-Salins and Sarrebourg which before 1871 were in the Meurthe département (being one-third of it) and which had been part of the Reichsland of Elsaß-Lothringen since 1871. Château-Salins (Salzburg from 1941-44 Salzburgen) is a commune of the Moselle département, in France. Sarrebourg (Saarburg is a town in Lorraine, France. It lies in the département

The new Moselle département now had its current area of 6,216 km² (2,400 sq. miles), larger than the old Moselle because the areas of Château-Salins and Sarrebourg were far larger than the area of Briey and Longwy.

During World War II Moselle became part of the Gau Westmark at the armistice of June 22, 1940. World War II, or the Second World War, (often abbreviated WWII) was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including Events 217 BC - Battle of Raphia: Ptolemy IV of Egypt defeats Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom. Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. Adolf Hitler considered Moselle and Alsace part of Germany.

Moselle was liberated by the American army in 1944 and returned to France, with the same limits as in 1919. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the As a consequence of these German annexations, the population of Moselle is known to be fiercely patriotic (French patriotism); and anti-German feelings remained in Moselle for a much longer time than in the rest of France, despite the fact that originally the inhabitants of Moselle were German dialect speakers.

Geography

Moselle is part of the current region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the French départements of Meurthe-et-Moselle and Bas-Rhin, as well as Germany (states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate) and Luxembourg in the north. France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Lorraine (Lothringen is one of the 26 régions of France. It is the only administrative region with two cities of equal importance Metz and Nancy Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the northeast of France named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers Bas-Rhin is a ''département'' of France. The name means "Lower Rhine " Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany ( ˈbʊndəsʁepuˌbliːk ˈdɔʏtʃlant is a Country in Central Europe. Saarland (ˈzaːɐ̯lant in German; French: Sarre) is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Rhineland-Palatinate (Rheinland-Pfalz is one of the 16 federal states (German Bundesländer) of Germany. Luxembourg (Groussherzogtum Lëtzebuerg Grand-Duché de Luxembourg Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small Landlocked country in Western Europe, bordered by

The following are the most important rivers:

• Moselle
• Sarre
• Seille

Demographics

The inhabitants of the département are called Mosellans in French. The Moselle (Moselle Mosel Musel is a River flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany. The Saar ( French: Sarre) is a River in northeastern France and western Germany, and a right tributary of the Moselle River The Seille (sɛj is a River in the French région of Lorraine, right tributary of the Moselle River. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people

The population has remained relatively stable since World War II and now exceeds 1 million, located mostly in the urban area around Metz and along the Moselle River. Metz (mɛs in French) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and Préfecture The Moselle (Moselle Mosel Musel is a River flowing through France, Luxembourg and Germany.

If the Moselle département still existed in its limits of between 1815-1871, its population at the 1999 French census would have been 1,089,804 inhabitants. The current Moselle département, whose limits were set in 1919, had less population, with only 1,023,447 inhabitants. This is because the industrial area of Briey and Longwy lost in 1871 is more populated than the rural areas of Château-Salins and Sarrebourg gained in 1919.

A significant minority of inhabitants of the département (fewer than 100,000) speak a Germanic dialect known as platt lorrain or Lothringer Platt (see Lorraine Franconian). Lorraine Franconian (francique mosellan platt lorrain platt mosellan is a designation in practice ambiguous for Dialects of German spoken in the north-eastern Linguistically, Platt can be further subdivided into three varieties, going from east to west: Rhenish Franconian, Moselle Franconian, and Luxembourgish. Rhine Franconian (German Rheinfränkisch) or Rhenish Franconian, is a Dialect family of West Central German. Moselle Franconian is a group of High German Dialects spoken in parts of the German states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate, Luxembourgish (lb Lëtzebuergesch Luxembourgeois Luxemburgisch Luxemburgs Lussimbordjwès also called Luxembourgian, also spelled Luxemburgish, is one of

See also

• Cantons of the Moselle department
• Communes of the Moselle department
• Arrondissements of the Moselle department

External links

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) Conseil General website
• (French)/(Platt) Plattweb
• (French) Moselle's Websites Directory