Région: Lorraine
Département: Moselle
Mayor: Jean-Marie Rausch
Area: 41.94 km²
Population: 200,000 (approx.)
Density: 2951/km² (1999 census)
Latitude: 49° 07 '13" N
Longitude: 06° 10' 40" E

Quick Facts

Metz is a city in the North-East of France, capital of the Lorraine région and of the département of Moselle. It is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille.

Although historically Nancy was the capital of the duchy of Lorraine and later the French province of Lorraine, it was Metz which was chosen as the capital of the newly created région of Lorraine in the middle of the 20th century.

In ancient times Metz, then known as Divodurum (the town at the holy mountain), was the capital of the Celtic Mediomatrici, and the name of this tribe, contracted into Mettis, formed the origin of the present name.

The administrative capital of Lorraine, the seat of the regional institutions, and a traditional centre of exchanges conducive to trade, Metz with the 200,000 people who live in the city and its suburbs, is today seeing a logical development in the service area.