Meuse

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For the river, see Meuse (river).
Meuse
Department
Prefecture building of the Meuse department, in Bar-le-Duc

Coat of arms
Location of Meuse in France
Coordinates: 49°00′N 05°20′E / 49.000°N 5.333°E / 49.000; 5.333Coordinates: 49°00′N 05°20′E / 49.000°N 5.333°E / 49.000; 5.333
Country France
Region Lorraine
Prefecture Bar-le-Duc
Subprefectures Commercy
Verdun
Government
 • President of the General Council Christian Namy
Area1
 • Total 6,211 km2 (2,398 sq mi)
Population (1999)
 • Total 192,198
 • Rank 88th
 • Density 31/km2 (80/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 55
Arrondissements 3
Cantons 31
Communes 498
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Meuse (French pronunciation: ​[møz]) is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.

History

Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former provinces of Barrois (area of Bar-le-Duc) and Three Bishoprics (area of Verdun).

The department was one of the great battlefields of World War I; an important battle was fought in 1916 at Verdun.

Geography

Spring in Meuse

Meuse is part of the current region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the French departments of Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Belgium on the north. Parts of Meuse belong to Parc naturel régional de Lorraine.

The important rivers are the following:

Population

The population has decreased sharply since the 19th century, with the rural exodus to the cities.

Tourism

See also

External links

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