Moselle (department)

French department

Moselle is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Moselle river. The prefecture (capital) of Moselle is Metz.

Moselle
Prefecture building of the Moselle department, in Metz
Prefecture building of the Moselle department, in Metz
Flag of Moselle
Coat of arms of Moselle
Location of Moselle in France
Location of Moselle in France
Coordinates: 49°02′02″N 6°39′43″E / 49.03389°N 6.66194°E / 49.03389; 6.66194
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
Département4 March 1790
PrefectureMetz
SubprefecturesChâteau-Salins, Forbach, Sarreguemines, Thionville
Government
 • PresidentPatrick Weiten
Area
 • Total6,216.3 km2 (2,400.1 sq mi)
Population
 (2014)[3]
 • Total1,045,154
 • Density170/km2 (440/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+1 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+2 (CEST)
ISO 3166 codeFR-57
Arrondissements5
Cantons27
Communes727
WebsiteMoselle Council

History

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Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was divided in nine districts: Metz, Bitche, Boulay, Briey, Longwy, Morhange, Sarreguemines, Sarrelouis and Thionville, with Metz as is capital.[4]

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the nine districts were changed into four arrondissements: Metz, Briey, Sarreguemines and Thionville.[4]

The Moselle department was eliminated in 1871 when part of the territory became part of Germany; the remaining parts were combined with the Meurthe department to form Meurthe-et-Moselle.

In 1919, a new department of Moselle was formed.

In 2015, several arrondissements were eliminated and their territories passed to the remaining arrondissements,[5] and only 5 were kept: Forbach-Boulay-Moselle, Metz, Sarrebourg-Château-Salins, Sarreguemines and Thionville.

Geography

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The Moselle department is in the Grand Est region and borders only 2 departments: Meurthe-et-Moselle to the south and west, and Bas-Rhin to the east. To the north, the department borders Germany and to the northwest with Luxembourg.

Moselle has an area of 6,216.3 km2 (2,400 sq mi).[2] Its highest point is Grossman (48°33′31″N 07°13′29″E / 48.55861°N 7.22472°E / 48.55861; 7.22472 (Grossman)) in the western part of the department on the border with the Bas-Rhin department; it is 986 m (3,235 ft) high.[6]

The main rivers in the department are the Moselle, the Saar and the Seille.

Climate

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The area around Metz, at an altitude of about 189 m (620 ft), is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Metz is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".[7]

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Metz is 756.9 mm (29.8 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 78.7 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is April with an average of 50.8 mm (2.0 in).

The average temperature for the year in Metz is 10.7 °C (51.3 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 19.7 °C (67.5 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 2.2 °C (36.0 °F)

Climate data for Metz, France
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 4.8
(40.6)
6.5
(43.7)
11.0
(51.8)
15.0
(59.0)
19.5
(67.1)
22.7
(72.9)
25.3
(77.5)
24.8
(76.6)
20.4
(68.7)
15.1
(59.2)
9.5
(49.1)
5.5
(41.9)
15.0
(59.0)
Daily mean °C (°F) 2.2
(36.0)
3.1
(37.6)
6.7
(44.1)
9.9
(49.8)
14.2
(57.6)
17.4
(63.3)
19.7
(67.5)
19.2
(66.6)
15.4
(59.7)
11.1
(52.0)
6.1
(43.0)
3.1
(37.6)
10.7
(51.2)
Average low °C (°F) −0.5
(31.1)
−0.4
(31.3)
2.4
(36.3)
4.7
(40.5)
8.9
(48.0)
12.0
(53.6)
14.0
(57.2)
13.6
(56.5)
10.4
(50.7)
7.1
(44.8)
3.2
(37.8)
0.7
(33.3)
6.3
(43.4)
Average rainfall mm (inches) 64.2
(2.53)
57.1
(2.25)
61.8
(2.43)
50.5
(1.99)
58.9
(2.32)
61.7
(2.43)
63.7
(2.51)
61.1
(2.41)
63.8
(2.51)
71.9
(2.83)
63.9
(2.52)
79.2
(3.12)
757.8
(29.85)
Source: Weatherbase.com [1]

Administration

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Moselle is managed by the Departmental Council of Moselle in Metz. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

Administrative divisions

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There are 5 arrondissements (districts), 27 cantons and 727 communes (municipalities) in Moselle.[8]

Arrondissements of Moselle
INSEE
code
Arrondissement Capital Population[9]
(2014)
Area[10]
(km²)
Density
(Inh./km²)
Communes
573 Forbach-Boulay-Moselle Forbach 245,222 1,283.3 191.1 169
575 Sarrebourg-Château-Salins Sarrebourg 93,481 1,966.9 47.5 230
576 Sarreguemines Sarreguemines 99,772 935.9 106.6 83
577 Thionville Thionville 264,858 941.5 281.3 105
579 Metz Metz 341,821 1,088.7 314.0 140

The following is a list of the 27 cantons of the Moselle department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[11]

  1. Algrange (5701)
  2. Bitche (5702)
  3. Boulay-Moselle (5703)
  4. Bouzonville (5704)
  5. Les Coteaux de Moselle (5705)
  6. Fameck (5706)
  7. Faulquemont (5707)
  8. Forbach (5708)
  9. Freyming-Merlebach (5709)
  10. Hayange (5710)
  11. Metz-1 (5711)
  12. Metz-2 (5712)
  13. Metz-3 (5713)
  14. Metzervisse (5714)
  15. Montigny-lès-Metz (5715)
  16. Le Pays Messin (5716)
  17. Phalsbourg (5715)
  18. Rombas (5718)
  19. Saint-Avold (5719)
  20. Sarralbe (5720)
  21. Sarrebourg (5721)
  22. Sarreguemines (5722)
  23. Le Saulnois (5723)
  24. Le Sillon Mosellan (5724)
  25. Stiring-Wendel (5725)
  26. Thionville (5726)
  27. Yutz (5727)

Demographics

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The inhabitants of the Moselle department are known, in French, as Mosellans or (women: Mosellanes),[12]

Moselle had a population, in 2014, of 1,045,154,[3] for a population density of 168.1 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Metz, with 341,821 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.[10]

Evolution of the population in Moselle

The 10 communes with more inhabitants in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department are:

City Population
(2015)
Arrondissement
Metz 117,492 Metz
Thionville 40,665 Thionville
Forbach 21,639 Forbach-Boulay-Moselle
Montigny-lès-Metz 21,430 Metz
Sarreguemines 21,236 Sarreguemines
Yutz 16,064 Thionville
Saint-Avold 15,748 Forbach-Boulay-Moselle
Hayange 15,658 Thionville
Creutzwald 13,255 Forbach-Boulay-Moselle
Woippy 13,608 Metz

Economy

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In the 19th century, the economy of was characterized by heavy industry, especially steel and iron factories. After the weakening of these industries at the end of the 20th century, the department has tried to promote new economic activities based on industry and technology.

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References

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  1. "Le président" (in French). Conseil départamental de la Moselle. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  2. 2.0 2.1 "Département de la Moselle (57)". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  3. 3.0 3.1 "Populations légales 2014 des départements et des collectivités d'outre-mer" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  4. 4.0 4.1 "Historique de la Moselle". Le SPLAF (in French). Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  5. "Décret n° 2014-1721 du 29 décembre 2014 portant suppression des arrondissements de Boulay-Moselle, de Château-Salins, de Thionville-Ouest et de Metz-Campagne (département de la Moselle)" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 19 December 2016.
  6. "Grossman, France". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  7. "Metz, France - Köppen Climate Classification". Weatherbase. Retrieved 20 December 2016.
  8. "Département de la Moselle (57)" (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  9. "Régions, départements, arrondissements, cantons et communes" (PDF). Populations légales 2014 (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  10. 10.0 10.1 "Département de Moselle (57) et Arrondissements". Comparateur de territoire (in French). Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques - INSEE. Retrieved 2 January 2018.
  11. "Décret n° 2014-183 du 18 février 2014 portant délimitation des cantons dans le département de la Moselle" (in French). Légifrance.gouv.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2016.
  12. "Habitants du départment: Moselle" (in French). habitants.fr. Retrieved 21 December 2016.

Other websites

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