Meurthe-et-Moselle

Meurthe-et-Moselle
Department
Prefecture building of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department, in Nancy
Coat of arms
Location of Meurthe-et-Moselle in France
Coordinates: 48°40′N 06°10′E / 48.667°N 6.167°ECoordinates: 48°40′N 06°10′E / 48.667°N 6.167°E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Prefecture	Nancy
Subprefectures	Briey Lunéville Toul
Government
• President of the General Council	Mathieu Klein
Area^1
• Total	5,246 km^2 (2,025 sq mi)
Population (2013)
• Total	731,004
• Rank	33rd
• Density	140/km^2 (360/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
Department number	54
Arrondissements	4
Cantons	23
Communes	594
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km^2

Meurthe-et-Moselle (French pronunciation: ​[mœʁte mɔzɛl]) is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.

History

Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French territory.

The current boundary between Meurthe-et-Moselle and Moselle was the border between France and Germany from 1871 to 1919 and again between 1940 and 1944. The only subsequent change took place in 1997 and involved the incorporation, for administrative reasons, of the little commune of Han-devant-Pierrepont which had previously fallen within the Meuse department.

Geography

Meurthe-et-Moselle is part of the administrative region of Grand Est and the traditional region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the departments of Meuse, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle; and by the nations of Luxembourg and Belgium. Parts of Meurthe-et-Moselle belong to the Lorraine Regional Natural Park.

The department extends for 130 km from north to south and is between 7 and 103 km wide.

Its chief rivers are:

• the Moselle
• the Meurthe
• the Chiers
• the Vezouze

Most Populous Meurthe-et-Moselle communes^[1]

Rank	Commune	Canton	Arrondissement	Population
1	Nancy	Nancy-1 Nancy-2 Nancy-3	Nancy	104,072
2	Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy	Vandœuvre-lès-Nancy	Nancy	29,836
3	Lunéville	Lunéville-1 Lunéville-2	Lunéville	19,516
4	Toul	Toul	Toul	16,128
5	Pont-à-Mousson	Pont-à-Mousson	Nancy	14,792
6	Laxou	Laxou	Nancy	14,681
7	Villers-lès-Nancy	Laxou	Nancy	14,133
8	Longwy	Longwy	Briey	14,092
9	Dombasle-sur-Meurthe	Lunéville-1	Nancy	9,953
10	Maxéville	Val de Lorraine Sud	Nancy	9,796

Economy

The economy was highly dependent on mining until the 1960s. There are iron, salt, and lime extraction sites. The urban area around Nancy has a very dynamic economy based largely on services, research, and higher education.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are known as Meurthe-et-Mosellans. The area around Nancy has become highly urbanized, whereas the Saintois in the south is quite rural.

Tourism

• 
  Detail of the Place Stanislas in Nancy, a UNESCO World Heritage Site
• 
  Walls and cathedral of Toul
• 
  House near the château of Prény
• 
  General Lasalle monument in Lunéville
• 
  The Moselle river near Pont-à-Mousson

See also

• Arrondissements of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
• Cantons of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
• Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department

References

1. "Insee - Populations légales 2013". Insee. Retrieved September 11, 2016.

External links

• Prefecture website (French)
• General council website (French)
• Tourism website (French)