Metz ( ; ; , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est region. Located near the tripoint along the junction of France, Germany and Luxembourg,Says J.M. (2010) La Moselle, une rivière européenne. Eds. Serpenoise. the city forms a central part of the European Greater Region and the SaarLorLux euroregion.
Metz has a rich 3,000-year history,Bour R. (2007) Histoire de Metz, nouvelle édition. Eds. Serpenoise. having variously been a Celtic oppidum, an important Gallo-Roman city,Vigneron B. (1986) Metz antique: Divodurum Mediomatricorum. Eds. Maisonneuve. the Merovingian capital of Austrasia,Huguenin A. (2011) Histoire du royaume mérovingien d'Austrasie. Eds. des Paraiges. pp. 134,275 the birthplace of the Carolingian dynasty,Settipani C. (1989) Les ancêtres de Charlemagne. Ed. Société atlantique d'impression. pp. 3–49 a cradle of the Gregorian chant,Demollière C.J. (2004) L'art du chantre carolingien. Eds. Serpenoise. and one of the oldest republics in Europe.Roemer F. (2007) Les institutions de la République messine. Eds. Serpenoise. The city has been steeped in French culture, but has been strongly influenced by German culture due to its location and history.Weyland A. (2010) Moselle plurielle: identité complexe & complexes identitaires. Eds. Serpenoise.
Because of its historical, cultural and architectural background, Metz has been submitted on France's UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List. The city features noteworthy buildings such as the Gothic Saint-Stephen Cathedral with its largest expanse of stained-glass windows in the world,Collectif (2009) Monumental 2009 – semestriel 1. Coll. Monumental. Eds. Guides archeologiques de la France. the Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains being the oldest church in France,Delestre X. (1988) Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains (Metz – Moselle): de l'époque romaine à l'époque gothique. Eds. Guides archeologiques de la France. its Imperial Station Palace displaying the apartment of the German Kaiser,Schontz A. (2008) La gare de Metz. Eds. Serpenoise. or its Opera House, the oldest one working in France.Masson G. (2002) L'Opéra-théâtre de Metz. Ed. Klopp, Gerard. Metz is home to some world-class venues including the Arsenal Concert Hall and the Centre Pompidou-Metz museum.
A basin of urban ecology,Pelt J.M. (1977) L'Homme re-naturé. Eds. Seuil. Metz gained its nickname of The Green City (), as it has extensive open grounds and public gardens. The historic city centre is one of the largest commercial pedestrian areas in France.Hamel S. and Walter J. (2000) Metz. Ecologie urbaine et convivialité. Ed. Autrement.
A historic garrison town, Metz is the economic heart of the Lorraine region, specialising in information technology and automotive industries. Metz is home to the University of Lorraine, Georgia Tech Europe, and a centre for applied research and development in the materials sector, notably in metallurgy and metallography, the heritage of the Lorraine region's past in the iron and steel industry.Gendarme R. (1985) Sidérurgie en Lorraine, les coulées du futur. Eds. Presses Universitaires de Nancy.
Etymology In ancient times, the town was known as "city of Mediomatrici", being inhabited by the tribe of the same name.Martin P. (2010) Metz, 2000 years of history. Eds. Serpenoise. pp. 8–9 After its integration into the Roman Empire, the city was called Divodurum Mediomatricum, meaning Holy Village or Holy Fortress of the Mediomatrici,Toussaint M. (1948) Metz à l'époque gallo-romaine. Eds. Impr. P. Even. pp. 21–22 then it was known as Mediomatrix. During the 5th century AD, the name evolved to "Mettis", which gave rise to the current spelling, Metz, but also spellings such as Mès, which are no longer used, but reflect its actual pronunciation in French (like "mess")..
History
Metz has a recorded history dating back over 2,000 years. Before the conquest of Gaul by Julius Caesar in 52 BC, it was the oppidum of the Celtic Mediomatrici tribe. Integrated into the Roman Empire, Metz became quickly one of the principal towns of Gaul with a population of 40,000, until the barbarian depredations and its transfer to the Franks about the end of the 5th century.Di Rocco A. (2009) Année 451 : la bataille qui sauva l'Occident. Eds. Thélès. pp. 156–158 Gibbon E (1788) History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. 4:35 Between the 6th and 8th centuries, the city was the residence of the Merovingian kings of Austrasia. After the Treaty of Verdun in 843, Metz became the capital of the Kingdom of Lotharingia and was ultimately integrated into the Holy Roman Empire, being granted semi-independent status. During the 12th century, Metz became a republic and the Republic of Metz stood until the 15th century.
With the signature of the Treaty of Chambord in 1552, Metz passed into the hands of the Kings of France.Brasme P. (2011) Quand Metz reçoit la France. Eds. des Paraiges. pp. 17–34 As the German Protestant Princes who traded Metz (alongside Toul and Verdun) for the promise of French military assistance, had no authority to cede territory of the Holy Roman Empire, the change of jurisdiction was not recognised by the Holy Roman Empire until the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648. Under French rule, Metz was selected as capital of the Three Bishoprics and became a strategic fortified town.Vigneron B. (2010) Le dernier siècle de la république de Metz. Eds. du Panthéon. With creation of the departments by the Estates-General of 1789, Metz was chosen as capital of the Department of Moselle.
Although largely French-speaking, after the Franco-Prussian War and under the Treaty of Frankfurt of 1871 the city became part of the German Empire, being part of the Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine and serving as capital of the Bezirk Lothringen.Roth F. (2011) La Lorraine Annexée – version 2011, nouvelle édition. Eds. Serpenoise.
Metz remained German until the end of the First World War, when it reverted to France.Berrar J.C. (2009) Metz, retour à la France. Eds. Serpenoise. However, after the Battle of France during the Second World War, the city was annexed by Nazi Germany. In 1944, the attack on the city by the U.S. Third Army removed the city from German rule and Metz reverted one more time to France after World War II.Przybylski S. (2009) La Campagne de Lorraine de 1944, Panther contre Sherman. Eds. Serpenoise. Denis P. (2008) La Libération de la Lorraine, 1940–1945. Eds. Serpenoise.
During the 1950s, Metz was chosen to be the capital of the newly created Lorraine region.Roth F. (2012) Histoire politique de la Lorraine, de 1900 à nos jours. Eds. Serpenoise. With the creation of the European Community and the later European Union, the city has become central to the Greater Region and the SaarLorLux Euroregion.
Geography Metz is located on the banks of the Moselle and the Seille rivers, from the Schengen tripoint where the borders of France, Germany and Luxembourg meet. The city was built in a place where many branches of the Moselle river create several islands, which are encompassed within the urban planning.
The terrain of Metz forms part of the Paris Basin and presents a plateau relief cut by river valleys presenting cuestas in the north–south direction.Leza-Chomard A. and Pautrot C. (2006) Géologie et géographie de la Lorraine. Eds. Serpenoise. Metz and its surrounding countryside are included in the forest and crop Lorraine Regional Natural Park, covering a total area of .
Climate Lorraine has an oceanic climateBeck J.S. (2011) 2000 ans de climat en Alsace et en Lorraine. Eds. Coprur. tending to continental humid. The summers are warm and humid, sometimes stormy, and the warmest month of the year is July, when daytime temperatures average approximately . The winters are cold but not often snowy with temperature dropping to an average low of in January. Lows can be much colder through the night and early morning and rare snow can fall during a period extending from November to February.
The length of the day varies significantly over the course of the year. The shortest day is 21 December with 7:30 hours of sunlight; the longest day is 20 June with 16:30 hours of sunlight. The median cloud cover is 93% and does not vary substantially over the course of the year.
Demographics
Population The inhabitants of Metz are called Messin(e)s. Statistics on the ethnic and religious make up of the population of Metz are haphazard, as the French Republic prohibits making distinctions between citizens regarding race, beliefs, and political and philosophic opinions in the process of census taking.A law from 1872 forbids the collection by the state of census data based on questions about religious beliefs. The French Third Republic considered that kind of information to be private and that any citizen of the Republic should be considered as equal of his mates, regardless his provocative and potentially divisive. In accordance with the concept of laïcité, this principle was reaffirmed by the current French Fifth Republic in a law from 1978, stating that "it is forbidden to collect or process data of a personal nature related to racial or ethnic origins as well as political, philosophic, or religious opinions."
As of 2022, the population of Metz was about 122,000, while the population of Metz metropolitan area was about 377,000. Through history, Metz's population has been affected by the vicissitudes of the wars and annexations involving the city, which have prevented continuous population growth. More recently, the city has suffered from the restructuring of the military and the metallurgy industry. The historical population for the current area of Metz municipality is as follows:
Notable people
Several well-known figures have been linked to the city of Metz throughout its history. Renowned Messins include poet Paul Verlaine, composer Ambroise Thomas and mathematician Jean-Victor Poncelet; numerous well-known German figures were also born in Metz notably during the annexation periods. Moreover, the city has been the residence of people such as writer François Rabelais, Cardinal Mazarin, political thinker Alexis de Tocqueville, artist and the inventor of the motion picture camera Louis Le Prince, French patriot and American Revolutionary War hero Marquis Gilbert du Motier de La Fayette, and Luxembourg-born German-French statesman Robert Schuman.
Law and government
Local law
The local law () applied in Metz is a legal system that operates in parallel with French law. Created in 1919, it preserves the French laws applied in France before 1870 and maintained by the Germans during the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine, but repealed in the rest of France after 1871. It also maintains German laws enacted by the German Empire between 1871 and 1918, specific provisions adopted by the local authorities, and French laws that have been enacted after 1919 to be applicable only in Alsace-Lorraine. This specific local legislation encompasses different areas including religion, social work and finance.
The most striking of the legal differences between France and Alsace-Lorraine is the absence in Alsace-Lorraine of strict secularism, even though a constitutional right of freedom of religion is guaranteed by the French government. Alsace-Lorraine is still governed by a pre-1905 law established by the Concordat of 1801, which provides for the public subsidy of the Roman Catholic, Lutheran and Calvinist churches and the Jewish religion.
Administration