Since early antiquity, Metz has been one of the largest towns in eastern France. Thanks to its position on the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille, and also to its position on the intersection of two important trade routes running from the Mediterranean to the North Sea, and from Strasbourg to Reims, it has become a commercial settlement.
The capital of the Mediomatrics, from 51 B.C., a large
Roman centre, it became the capital of the Merovingian kingdom, Austrasia,
then the intellectual centre for the Carolingians, and an independent city
during the Middle Ages.
As such, it rivalled some of the great cities of Flanders, Italy and Germany.
The town was taken over by the French King Henri II in 1552, but it was only in 1658, through the treaty of Westphalia that it finally became part of France. Its commercial function changed to a military one, that of defending France, and Vauban was able to claim that "Metz defends the Kingdom".
The 18th Century was a great period of town planning for Metz. Metz developed as an economic centre between 1800 and 1870, thanks to its iron and coal industries.
The town of Metz experienced two annexations by Germany,
the first between 1870 and 1918, the second between 1940 and 1944. Since
1945, Metz has continued its development as a commercial and administrative
centre. Metz, the capital of Lorraine, positioned in the heart of Europe,
looks forward to its European future.
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