Forbach ( , , ; gsw, Fuerboch) is a
commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
in the
French department
In the administrative divisions of France, the department (french: département, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level ("territorial collectivity, territorial collectivities"), between the regions of France, admin ...
of
Moselle, northeastern
French region
France is divided into eighteen administrative regions (french: régions, singular ), of which thirteen are located in metropolitan France (in Europe), while the other five are overseas regions (not to be confused with the overseas collect ...
of
Grand Est
Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten;
Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administra ...
.
It is located on the
German border approximately 15 minutes from the center of
Saarbrücken, Germany, with which it constitutes a cross-border
conurbation, and is part of the Saar-Moselle
Eurodistrict
A eurodistrict is a European administrative entity that contains urban agglomerations which lie across the border between two or more states. A eurodistrict offers a program for cooperation and integration of the towns or communes which it compr ...
. In 2017, Forbach had a population of 21,552 inhabitants,
[Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017]
INSEE which, including its greater urban area, makes it the largest town in the eastern Moselle area.
Until the
Franco-Prussian War, Forbach was in the French orbit. However, after the nearby
Battle of Spicheren in August 1870, the town was occupied by German troops, and at the conclusion of the war annexed to Germany, forming part of the imperial province of
Alsace–Lorraine. The region was returned to France in
1918.
Before the
Schengen Treaty
The Schengen Agreement ( , ) is a treaty which led to the creation of Europe's Schengen Area, in which internal border checks have largely been abolished. It was signed on 14 June 1985, near the town of Schengen, Luxembourg, by five of the t ...
, Forbach was a major border crossing at which
customs procedures were carried out, both for road and for rail transport and travel. Since 2007, the
TGV and
ICE
Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaqu ...
high speed trains connecting
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
and
Frankfurt
Frankfurt, officially Frankfurt am Main (; Hessian: , " Frank ford on the Main"), is the most populous city in the German state of Hesse. Its 791,000 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located on it ...
have stopped at the
station in Forbach, and passengers can now travel to Paris
Gare de l'Est in 1 hour and 45 minutes and to the German financial center and
airport
An airport is an aerodrome with extended facilities, mostly for commercial air transport. Airports usually consists of a landing area, which comprises an aerially accessible open space including at least one operationally active surfa ...
in the Frankfurt and Rhine-Main metropolis in 2 hours.
Its location in the
Saar-Warndt coal mining basin
Saar-Warndt coal mining basin is an area of Germany and France. It has been shaped by two centuries of coal extraction from the start of the 19th century to the start of 21st century; and it represents a significant period in the history of Euro ...
, which extends into eastern Moselle, made Forbach an important mining town, with offices of the Houillères du Bassin de Lorraine (Lorraine coal mining board), a section of the
French Coal Board. When the mining operations were permanently shut down in 2004, Forbach turned to activities in the tourism, service, energy and other industries to rebuild the local economy. The "Musée des Mineurs - Wendel" in the neighboring village of
Petite-Rosselle
Petite-Rosselle (; ; Palatine German: ''Klänrossle'') is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est region in north-eastern France. The commune is separated from neighbouring Großrosseln to its west by the small river Rossel, whi ...
is a coal mining museum which preserves the industrial and cultural heritage from the coal mining era in the Forbach region. It was awarded the "Musées de France" quality label in 2002.
Population
Notable people from Forbach
*
Nicolas Appert
Nicolas Appert (17 November 1749 – 1 June 1841) was the French inventor of airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the "father of Food Science", was a confectioner. Appert described his invention as a way "of conserving all kinds of food ...
(1749–1841), inventor, notably of the canning technique
*
Claire Burger, journalist, screenwriter and film director. Her 2008 short film, ''Forbach'', was awarded by the Cinéfoundation in 2008 and she received the "Ensemble Prize" along with Marie Amachoukeli and Samuel Theis in the category "A Certain Regard" ''(Un Certain Regard)'' for their first feature film,
''Party Girl'', at the 2014 Cannes Film Festival.
*
Jean-Luc Cairon
Jean-Luc Cairon (14 February 1962 – 26 February 2022) was a French-American gymnast, coach and convicted felon.
Career
Cairon was born in Forbach, France. He competed in eight events at the 1984 Summer Olympics.
Cairon was a co-owner and ...
(born 1962), gymnast and coach
*
Helmut Fritz
Éric Greff (; born 19 July 1975 in Forbach, Moselle), better known by his aliases Helmut Fritz and Géronimo, is a French singer-songwriter and record producer. Greff is known for his 2009 single " Ça m'énerve", in which he portrays a German da ...
(born 1975), singer
*
Jean-Nicolas Houchard (1740–1793), French General, whose name appears on the
Arc de Triomphe in Paris
*
Sophie Huber (born 1985), freestyle swimmer
*
Eugene Jolas
John George Eugène Jolas (October 26, 1894 – May 26, 1952) was a writer, translator and literary critic.
Early life
John George Eugène Jolas was born October 26, 1894, in Union Hill, New Jersey (what is today Union City, New Jersey). His p ...
(1894–1952), journalist, poet and translator, best known for founding the modernist Parisian journal ''
transition'' (which published, notably,
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce (2 February 1882 – 13 January 1941) was an Irish novelist, poet, and literary critic. He contributed to the modernist avant-garde movement and is regarded as one of the most influential and important writers of ...
's "
Finnegans Wake
''Finnegans Wake'' is a novel by Irish writer James Joyce. It is well known for its experimental style and reputation as one of the most difficult works of fiction in the Western canon. It has been called "a work of fiction which combines a bod ...
").
*
Patricia Kaas
Patricia Kaas (; born 5 December 1966) is a French singer. Her music is a mix of pop, cabaret, jazz, and chanson.
Since the appearance of her 1988 debut album '' Mademoiselle chante...'', Kaas has sold over 17 million records worldwide. She h ...
(born 1966), singer from
Stiring-Wendel (near Forbach)
*
Christian von Zweibrücken (1782–1859), Bavarian general
*
Sam Hocevar (born 1978),
Debian project leader from 17 April 2007 to 16 April 2008
*
Loris Frasca
Loris Frasca (born 3 July 1995) is a French artistic gymnast. He competed at both the 2018 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships and 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships. He qualified to represent France at the 2020 Summer Olympics in T ...
Olympic Gymnast
See also
*
Communes of the Moselle department
The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):[Train station
A train station, railway station, railroad station or depot is a railway facility where trains stop to load or unload passengers, freight or both. It generally consists of at least one platform, one track and a station building providing s ...]
Notes
External links
*
Eurodistrict website
English website for the Musée les Mineurs-Wendel
{{Authority control
Communes of Moselle (department)
Subprefectures in France
Duchy of Lorraine
