France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

River Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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 It superseded three former administ ...

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Vosges,

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

to the north. Parts of Meuse belong to Parc naturel régional de Lorraine. It had a population of 184,083 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 55 Meuse
INSEE Front lines in

trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which troops are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from artille ...

during

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

ran varying courses through the department and it hosted an important battle/offensive in 1916 in and around Verdun.

History

Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

on 4 March 1790, by order of the National Constituent Assembly. The new departments were to be uniformly administered and approximately equal to one another in size and population. The department was created from the former

provinces A province is almost always an administrative division within a country or state. The term derives from the ancient Roman ''provincia'', which was the major territorial and administrative unit of the Roman Empire's territorial possessions outsi ...

of Barrois (area of Bar-le-Duc) and Three Bishoprics (area of Verdun). From about 500 AD, the

Franks The Franks ( la, Franci or ) were a group of Germanic peoples whose name was first mentioned in 3rd-century Roman sources, and associated with tribes between the Lower Rhine and the Ems River, on the edge of the Roman Empire.H. Schutz: Tools, ...

controlled this part of northeastern France, and the

Carolingian Empire The Carolingian Empire (800–888) was a large Frankish-dominated empire in western and central Europe during the Early Middle Ages. It was ruled by the Carolingian dynasty, which had ruled as kings of the Franks since 751 and as kings of the ...

was the last stage of their rule. The Carolingian territories were divided into three sections in 843 at the

Treaty of Verdun The Treaty of Verdun (), agreed in , divided the Francia, Frankish Empire into three kingdoms among the surviving sons of the emperor Louis the Pious, Louis I, the son and successor of Charlemagne. The treaty was concluded following almost three ...

, and the area that is now the department of Meuse became part of Middle Francia. The new ruler was Lothair I, and on his death in 855, his territory north of the Alps was passed to his second son Lothair II, after whom the hitherto nameless territory was called Lotharingia, which name eventually evolved into the modern Lorraine. Lothair II died without legitimate heirs and Lotharingia was divided into east and west parts. The king of East Francia, Louis the German, received the eastern part and

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a s ...

, king of West Francia, received the western part, which included Meuse, thus effectively establishing the medieval Kingdoms of

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany (FRG),, is a country in Central Europe. It is the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany lies between the Baltic and North Sea to the north and the Alps to the sou ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

. The

Battle of Sedan The Battle of Sedan was fought during the Franco-Prussian War from 1 to 2 September 1870. Resulting in the capture of Emperor Napoleon III and over a hundred thousand troops, it effectively decided the war in favour of Prussia and its allies ...

was fought in the western part of the department during the Franco-Prussian War in 1870. It resulted in the capture of the Emperor Napoleon III and large numbers of his troops and effectively decided the war in favour of

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an ...

and its allies. The area was again a battleground in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

when the Battle of Verdun was fought in 1916. In the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...

it again saw action in another battle when the Germans sought to establish a base from which to capture the Meuse bridges and cross the river.

Geography

Meuse is a department in northeastern France and is part of the region 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 administ ...

. The capital and largest town in the department is Bar-le-Duc, and other large towns are Commercy and Verdun. The northern edge of the department is on the border with Belgium, to the east lies the department of

Meurthe-et-Moselle Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.Vosges, to the southwest lies

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Marne and to the northwest, Ardennes. The main rivers flowing through the department are the

River Meuse The Meuse ( , , , ; wa, Moûze ) or Maas ( , ; li, Maos or ) is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a t ...

, the Aire and the Chiers. A ridge running from south to north separates the watersheds of the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plate ...

and the

Rhine The Rhine ; french: Rhin ; nl, Rijn ; wa, Rén ; li, Rien; rm, label=Sursilvan, Rein, rm, label=Sutsilvan and Surmiran, Ragn, rm, label=Rumantsch Grischun, Vallader and Puter, Rain; it, Reno ; gsw, Rhi(n), including in Alsatian dialect, Al ...

. These hills are called the Argonne and are clothed in oak forests. The area of the department is . The total land area of the department is , and of this, are cultivated for arable crops, are grassland, are woods and forests and are cultivated for the production of grapes. The principal crops grown are wheat, barley and oats, potatoes, oilseed rape, vegetables and fruit. Livestock is raised and timber is extracted from the forests. The main industries are brewing and the manufacture of glass and tiles. Lace-making is a traditional craft in the department. Part of the department is in the Lorraine Regional Natural Park, a stretch of pastoral countryside stretching eastward from

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand Est ...

and Nancy and spanning three departments. The park has many natural habitats including calcareous grassland, forested valleys, wet meadows, ponds and streams. There are many Natura 2000 protected areas and it is an important resting area for migratory birds. Among the different habitats it includes a stretch of coast, the plain of Woëvre, the

Lac de Madine Lac de Madine is a lake at the border between Meurthe-et-Moselle and Meuse departments, France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions an ...

, the Meuse valley and the Hague plateau. The total area of the park is . It has a very small border with Belgium.

Demographics

Since the mid-nineteenth century, the exodus of the countryside inhabitants to the cities has caused the population of rural France to fall. Meuse has no big cities to receive population and the total population of the department has thus decreased. It reached 328,657 inhabitants in 1851, but had fallen to 277,955 by 1911. The First World War dealt a heavy blow to the department, and by 1921, only 207,309 inhabitants were recorded. Many residents had fled, and entire villages that were on or near the front line in 1916 were destroyed. Meuse thus has several uninhabited communes because the villages were never rebuilt, and in fact are known as "Morts pour la France" ("Died for France"); the number of displaced persons from the villages varies from 131 to 718. Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, these communes have been unoccupied with an official population of zero; the villages are

Beaumont-en-Verdunois Beaumont-en-Verdunois () is a commune in the Meuse department of the Grand Est region of northeastern France. Since the Battle of Verdun in 1916, the village has had no permanent residents (official population: 0), as is the case with other destr ...

,

Bezonvaux Bezonvaux () is a commune in the Meuse department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. History Since the end of the Battle of Verdun in 1916, it has been unoccupied (official population: 0) along with Beaumont-en-Verdunois, Haumont- ...

, Cumières-le-Mort-Homme, Fleury-devant-Douaumont, Haumont-près-Samogneux and Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre. In the later part of the twentieth century, the number of inhabitants in the department has varied little, but eventually fell below 200,000 inhabitants in the 1980s. Because of its low population density, Meuse is considered to fall within the empty diagonal.

Principal towns

The most populous commune is Verdun; the prefecture Bar-le-Duc is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 4,000 inhabitants:

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Jérôme Dumont, elected in July 2021.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

The European Beer Museum (Musée Européen de la bière) in Stenay, founded in 1986, is considered the largest of its kind on the continent. File:Bar-le-Duc Place Saint-Pierre.jpg, Bar-le-Duc File:Bar-le-Duc - Eglise Saint-Etienne - Le Transi -192.jpg, ''Le Transi de René de Chalon'' by Ligier Richier in Bar-le-Duc File:10 Château d'Hattonchâtel.jpg,

Château de Hattonchâtel The Château de Hattonchâtel is a château in the '' commune'' of Vigneulles-lès-Hattonchâtel in the Meuse ''département'' of France. The site was fortified in 860 by Hatto, Bishop of Verdun, whose name it bears, on a rocky promontory overloo ...

File:Chapelle castrale Vaucouleurs.jpg, Chapel of Vaucouleurs File:Louvemont-Côte-du-Poivre - Poilu.jpg, Historical reenactment near the Verdun battlefield

References

External links

Prefecture website

Meuse Departmental Council website

Official Tourist Board website
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Grand Est States and territories established in 1790