Metz
Metz (Divodurum in Latin ; pop. 125,000) is the capital of the Lorraine region and of the Moselle department. It was founded at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille. The city has a particularily rich history.
Metz was the birthplace of Paul Verlaine (1844-1896), widely regarded as one of the greatest French poets.
History
Metz was one of the first place to be settled permanently in France. Occupied during the Paleolithic (200,000 years ago) and the Neolithic (10,000 years ago), it was the Ligurians, from Italy, who created the first agricultural society in the region, some 5,000 years ago. They remain there for about 2,000 years.
Around 1,200 BCE, Divodurum (the old name of Metz, meaning "holy mount") becomes the capital of a Celtic tribe known as the Mediomatrici, who control the region between the Meuse, the Moselle and the Saar Rivers. The name of this tribe, abbreviated to Mettis, formed the origin of the present name.
Divodurum became a major city of Roman Gaul, more populous than Lutetia (i.e. Paris). It was already famous for its Moselle wine, and had one of the largest amphitheatres of the country. One of the last Roman strongholds to surrender to the Germanic tribes, it was captured by Attila in 451, and finally passed, about the end of the fifth century, through peaceful negotiations into the hands of the Franks. The oldest Christian church within the city walls was the oratory of St. Stephen, in the 5th century.
During the Merovingian period (511-751), Metz was the capital of the north-eastern half of the Frankish Kingdom, known as Austrasia. Charlemagne thought of making it its imperial capital, but opted for Aachen instead.
At the split of the Carolingian Enpire in 843, Metz became the capital of the Kingdom of Lotharingia (Lotharii Regnum in Latin), inherited by the eldest of Charlemagne's three grandchildren, Lothair I. Lotharingia, which originally spread from Rome to the Netherlands, was split in three parts upon Lothair I's death : Italy, Provence, and the region spreading from eastern France to the Netherlands, also known as Lotharingia, ruled by his eldest son, Lothair II. When the second king died heirless in 869, his uncles Charles the Bald and Louis the German agreed to divide his realm.
The Duchy of Lotharingia was created as an independent duchy from 910, then split between Lower and Upper Lotharingia in 959. Metz remained the capital of Upper Lotharingia, gradually known as Lorraine, until the 11th century, when Nancy replaced it.
Metz then became a Free Imperial City within the Holy Roman Empire, as well as the seat of the Bishopric of Metz, founded in the 3rd century. The Bishopric of Metz, along with those of Toul and Verdun, was de facto annexed to France by Henry II in 1552, and officially so by the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648.
Metz is besieged during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, and ceded to the German Empire by the Treaty of Frankfurt the next year. It would act as the capital of Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine from 1871 until 1919, when Metz was returned to France.
Sightseeing
Metz Cathedral
The main attraction of this old bishopric is naturally the St. Stephen Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint Etienne). It was created by joining two perpendicular churches around 1220: the nave of St. Stephen, built in the 13th century, was attached to the north side of an older Roman church. The construction of the rest of the edifice lasted until 1520.
One particularity is that the clock towers are not located on the façade, as is usual in Gothic structures, but on the sides. The vaulting of the nave (41m high) is the third highest in France.
The cathedral is renowned for its stained glass windows, which cover the largest area in France (6,500 m2). It has the largest Gothic windows in Europe. The stained glass windows were created by Hermann of Munster, Theobald of Lixheim (both in the 14th century), Valentin Bousch (16th century), and by the painters Marc Chagall (1887-1985), Jacques Villon (1875-1963) and Roger Bissière (1888-1965) in the 1950's.
Others sights
Metz has kept parts of its old city walls. Apart from that, the touristic attractions are mostly limited to churches. Let's note St-Pierre-aux-Nonnains, the oldest church in France, built between 380 and 395AD as a Roman gymnasium, and converted into a Christian church in the 7th century.
How to get there
TGV Est network
Metz is the main traffic hub at the crossroads of Germany, Luxembourg and North-Eastern France. To the north, the E25 motorway connects it to Luxembourg (65km). To the south, the E21-23 leads to Nancy (55km), then forks off to Dijon (E21) and Besançon (E23). Eastwards, the E50 passes through Verdun (65km), Reims (180km), and ultimately Paris (310km). The E50 and E25 merge west of Metz, then split again into the E50 toward Saarbrücken (70km) and Mannheim (200km), and the E25 toward Strasbourg (150km) and Colmar (200 km).
Since June 2007, the new TGV-Est line operates between Paris and Metz in only 1h25min, instead of 3h30min for regular trains. There are regular trains from/to Nancy (40min), Luxembourg (45min), Saarbrücken (about 1h), Verdun (1h30min), Strasbourg (1h45min). and Brussels (3h30min).
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