Meisenthal (;

Lorraine Franconian Lorraine Franconian (Lorraine Franconian: ''Plàtt'' or ''lottrìnger Plàtt''; french: francique lorrain or ''platt lorrain''; german: Lothringisch) is an ambiguous designation for dialects of West Central German (german: Westmitteldeutsch), ...

: ''Meisedal'') 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

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it jo ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

of the

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 It superseded three former administrat ...

administrative region Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The village belongs to the

Pays de Bitche The Pays de Bitche (, literally ''Land of Bitche'', german: Bitscherland or ) is a natural region located in the Moselle department of the Grand Est region of France. It corresponds to the present French part of the former principality of Zweibrü ...

and to the

Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park The Northern Vosges Regional Natural Park ( French: ''Parc naturel régional des Vosges du Nord'') is a protected area of woodland, wetland, farmland and historical sites in the region Grand Est in northeastern France. The area was officially de ...

. As of the 2013 France census, the village's population is 697. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Val-Mésangeois'' and ''Val-Mésangeoises''. Christmas decoration

The village is famous for the Centre International d'Art Verrier (CIAV; ''international center for

studio glass Studio glass is the modern use of glass as an artistic medium to produce sculptures or three-dimensional artworks. The glass objects created are intended to make a sculptural or decorative statement. Though usage varies, the term is properly res ...

''). Glass has been produced in Meisenthal since the early 18th century, and since the 19th century

Christmas decoration A Christmas decoration is any of several types of ornamentation used at Christmastide and the greater holiday season. The traditional colors of Christmas are pine green (evergreen), snow white, and heart red. Gold and silver are also very co ...

s from Meisenthal were famous. It has been suggested that in the mid 19th century a shortage of apples inspired the local glass blowers to produce baubles to be used as decorations for Christmas trees instead.

References

External links

Centre International d’Art Verrier (CIAV)
Communes of Moselle (department) {{Sarreguemines-geo-stub

See also

References

External links