Metz, a city in the North-East of France (Lorraine), is 3,000
years old. It therefore has a very extensive architectural
eclecticism joining Antiquity to the twentieth century. Its history
is closely linked to its border location, which gives it a face that
is both French and German, particularly with its “Imperial Quarter”.
An exceptional heritage which has earned the city center its
inclusion on the French indicative list of Unesco heritage in 2014.
Its popular image as a gray and industrial garrison town is
gradually disappearing, because it contradicts the reality of a very
commercial and friendly, natural and cultural city, whose colors and
richness bear witness to a filled history that has given it a
dimension. picturesque.
The name of the city is pronounced
like "mass", the pronunciation of "t" is very little appreciated by
Metz, as for the city of Brussels which is pronounced as
"brusselle". The city presents an important architectural diversity,
from antiquity to the twentieth century, rich in a strong medieval
and classical heritage, of French influence, but also Germanic,
especially in the imperial district, built during the annexation of
the Alsace-Lorraine, representative of Wilhelmian architecture. Metz
seeks to establish itself as a platform for modern and contemporary
art through new urban cultural policies.
The years of belonging to the German Reich until 1918 had a strong impact on the cityscape of Metz and made itself felt above all in the military and civil architecture (e.g. train station, today still medallions of the Hohenzollern emperors). To this day, one can easily distinguish the "German" or "Prussian" from the "French" Metz. This duality is part of the city's history, much like Strasbourg. In contrast to Strasbourg, where the majority of people spoke German, Metz was and remained a predominantly French city.
Sainte-Glossinde Abbey
former Abbey of Saint
Arnulf
Gothic cathedral Saint-Étienne de Metz (Cathedral of St.
Stephen) (with 6500 m² of stained glass windows, designed by Marc
Chagall, among others)
Convent of the Recollects in Metz
Reformed Church: Temple Neuf (Protestant City Church Metz)
Notre-Dame de l'Assomption
Saint Eucaire
Saint Livier
Sainte-Lucie (with 12th-century choir tower)
Saint Martin
Saint-Maximin (with windows by Jean Cocteau)
Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains (also Saint-Pierre-de-la-Citadelle, Saint
Peter on the Citadel or Saint Peter to the Nuns in Rue de la
Citadelle), 4th-century basilica
Saint Vincent
Sainte-Ségolène
(13th/14th/19th centuries)
Templar Chapel
13./15. Century: Place Saint-Louis, Place Sainte-Croix, Place
Saint-Jacques
18th century: Place de la Comédie, Place d'Armes,
Place Saint-Thiébault, Place de France
provisions magazine
Hôtel de Gargan, historical building complex from
the 15th century
Hôtel Saint-Livier, from the 13th and 16th/17th
centuries century
Hôtel de Ville (Town Hall), 18th century
Public buildings from the period between 1871 and 1918
Palais
du Gouverneur, built 1902–1905
Poste centrale (main post office),
built 1905–1911, architect Jürgen Kröger
Gare de Metz-Ville
(Central Station), built 1905–1908, architect Jürgen Kröger
remains of the city fortifications
Fort Goeben (Fort de Queuleu)
Porte des Allemands (German Gate)
Porte Serpenoise (Roman Gate)
Tour Camoufle (Camoufle Tower)
theaters and function rooms
Grand Theater
Quartier Impérial, Wilhelmine district of the early
20th century.
Les Arènes, modern event hall for sports events and
rock concerts, built 2000-2001, architect Paul Chemetov
Arsenal
de Metz, large modern concert hall in the old armory, also regularly
offers art exhibitions, built 1987-1989, architect Ricardo Bofill
Museums
Art History Museum - Musée d'Art et d'Histoire
Municipal Museum – Cour d'Or
Regional Contemporary Art Collection
– Fonds Régional d’Art Contemporain (49 Nord 6 Est – Frac Lorraine)
at the Hôtel Saint-Livier
The Center Pompidou-Metz is a
contemporary art center and opened in May 2010.
Metz hosts the
literary festival L'Été du Livre every summer.
By plane
Metz-Nancy-Lorraine Airport (IATA: ETZ) is located 25 km
south of the city. However, this is only important for domestic French
flights and for flights from the Mediterranean region. See Article
Moselle. Luxembourg Airport (IATA: LUX) is more important. The airports
near Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA: CDG) and Paris Orly Airport
(IATA: ORY) are also easily accessible.
By train
Metz-Ville is
connected to the new TGV connection from Luxembourg to Paris. Thus, the
city is only 1 hour 24 minutes away from Paris.
The Lorraine TGV
station is 20 km from Metz and 5 km west of the airport. See Article
Moselle
By bus
FLIXBUS long-distance bus connection N710
Düsseldorf ↔ Cologne North ↔ Bonn ↔ Mendig ↔ Trier ↔ Luxembourg ↔ Metz ↔
Lyon Part-Dieu ↔ Montpellier ↔ Barcelona.
In the street
The A4
east-west motorway from Strasbourg to Paris, which runs via Metz, is
almost entirely toll. The continuation of the German A6
(Ludwigshafen-Saarbrücken), the A320, is toll-free from the Goldene
Bremm border crossing to the A4 motorway junction near
Freyming-Merlebach. From there continue on the toll road A4
(Freyming-Merlebach to Metz costs 4.60 euros, as of 08/2019).
The
A31 north-south motorway from Luxembourg to Metz and beyond to Toul is
toll-free.
By bicycle
Moselle cycle path
SaarLorLux cycle
route
The largely car-free core area of the city can generally be explored
on foot; from the banks of the Moselle, the paths are a little steeper
for a short stretch, so that wheelchair users may need assistance.
There are some parking lots and multi-storey car parks, but they are
not always easy to reach. The car park at the cathedral is a bit older
and therefore narrow. We recommend the new car park at the Center
Pompidou (also: Gare de Metz Center Pompidou) right next to the train
station, which has over 1000 parking spaces spread over 3 underground
floors, is easy to access (entrances on Rue aux Arènes and Avenue André
Malraux) and has spacious parking areas that are also suitable for SUVs.
From here, all sights are within easy walking distance.
public
transport
Public transport is through Le Met', in the inner city area
there are two free minibus routes M81 (.pdf) (Mon-Sat 7am-8pm every 30
minutes) and M83 (.pdf) (Mon-Sat 7am-8pm every 12 minutes ). The M83
line also runs in the pedestrian zone and in these sections boarding can
be signaled by hand signals. This line also goes to the Center Pompidou.
On the water
In summer (until 30/10) there is also a river
shuttle - la navette fluviale - a line on the water. Two electric boats
operate from the Moyen-Pont bridge to Longeville Center on the other
side of the Moselle. The journey takes 30 minutes and normal tickets
apply.
The city of Metz was founded around 1000 BC by the Celtic tribe of
the Mediomatrics. The fortified settlement on the Sainte-croix hill is
conquered by the Romans in 52 BC. From now on, the city of Divodurum
(Götterburg) became one of the largest and most prosperous of Gaul in
the area of the Mediomatrics. It was also called Mediomatrica, from
which the abbreviation Metä, Metis, Mattä and Metz arose.
After
it in the middle of the 5th cent. destroyed by the Huns under Attila, it
became part of the Frankish Empire and soon became the capital of
Austrasia. Louis the Pious found his tomb in the Abbey of St. Arnold. In
843 it passed to Lothar I and after the death of his son Lothar II with
most of Lorraine in the Treaty of Mersen in 870 to the East Franconian
(German) Empire. It was initially under the rule of the bishop, who was
also responsible for appointing the burgrave. After this office at the
beginning of the 13th century. was extinguished, Metz acquired the
rights of a free imperial city, but was not very prominent as such in
the Middle Ages. Despite its mixed population, it attached great
importance to its belonging to the German Empire. Charles IV announced
the Golden Bull here at the Reichstag in 1356, which had previously come
about at Nuremberg.
In 1444 the city was besieged by the French,
but not conquered. In 1543, part of the citizenry tried to carry out the
Reformation in Metz with the help of Farel, but failed due to the
resistance of the Cardinal of Lorraine, and the Emperor also banned
evangelical sermons. The Catholic party in the council and the high
clergy facilitated the occupation of the city by the French under
Montmorency in 1552, who acted in agreement with the Protestant princes;
but the majority of the citizens were extremely dissatisfied with the
change of rule, and many Germans emigrated. On April 18, 1552, King
Henry II entered Metz and commissioned Duke Francis de Guise to defend
it, who also held out against Charles V in a memorable siege from
October 19, 1552 to January 1, 1553. At the same time, the city lost its
self-government, and the bishop assumed the right to appoint the
authorities. Louis XIII made Metz the seat of a parliament in 1633.
In the Peace of Westphalia (1648), France was formally granted full
sovereignty over Metz, Toul and Verdun; but the old size of the city was
gone, and while it had 60,000 inhabitants before 1552, it numbered only
22,000 in 1698, since very many Huguenots left Metz and for the most
part settled in Frankfurt (Oder); only in the 19th century did Metz
regain special importance. Metz endured several sieges and
encirclements, including those in 1814 and 1815, without being forced to
surrender, until the Franco-Prussian War broke out for Metz in 1870 with
far-reaching consequences. The city, occupied by German troops on
October 29, 1870, was ceded to Germany in the Peace of Frankfurt.
Through the provisions of the Versailles Treaty, Metz returned to
France, where it has remained to this day. Today the city has about
120,000 inhabitants.