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°E / 48.667; 6.167Coordinates: 48°40′N 06°10′E / 48.667°N 6.167°E / 48.667; 6.167
Country France
Region Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Prefecture Nancy
Subprefectures Briey
Lunéville
Toul
Government
 • President of the General Council Mathieu Klein
Area1
 • Total 5,246 km2 (2,025 sq mi)
Population (2012)
 • Total 733,266
 • Rank 28th
 • Density 140/km2 (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 km2

Meurthe-et-Moselle (French pronunciation: ​[mœʁte mɔzɛl]) is a department in the Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine 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 Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine 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:

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

See also

External links

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