Petite-Rosselle (; ; Palatine German: ''Klänrossle'') 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 It superseded three former administrat ...

region 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 commune is separated from neighbouring

Großrosseln Großrosseln (; french: Grande-Rosselle) is a village and a municipality in the district of Saarbrücken, in Saarland, Germany. It is situated on the border with France, approximately 12 km west of Saarbrücken. The neighbouring municipality ...

to its west by the small river Rossel, which forms the border between France and Germany. It has 6,322 inhabitants (2018).

History

From the year's 843 signing of 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 ...

, the location of the present commune fell within the territory of Middle Francia. Between 925–1542, it was part of the

Duchy of Lorraine The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy. It was founded in 959 following t ...

, within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire was a Polity, political entity in Western Europe, Western, Central Europe, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its Dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, dissolution i ...

. From 1542-1766 it was in the independent Duchy of Lorraine. Between 1766-1871 it was incorporated into France. Periodic wars between France and Germany led to the establishment of the frontier along the river Moselle. Between 1871–1918 the

Imperial Territory of Alsace-Lorraine Imperial is that which relates to an empire, emperor, or imperialism. Imperial or The Imperial may also refer to: Places United States * Imperial, California * Imperial, Missouri * Imperial, Nebraska * Imperial, Pennsylvania * Imperial, Texa ...

, including Petite-Rosselle, was annexed by the

German Empire The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...

. Following the

Treaty of Versailles The Treaty of Versailles (french: Traité de Versailles; german: Versailler Vertrag, ) was the most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. It was signed on 28 June ...

, Petite-Rosselle returned to French control and remained so until

Nazi Germany Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

again annexed the Moselle on 25 July 1940, incorporating it as

CdZ-Gebiet Lothringen The Civil Administration Area of Lorraine (CdZ=Chef der Zivilverwaltung) () was an administrative division of the Gau Westmark from 1940 to 1945. History After the outbreak of the Second World War and the defeat of France in 1940, the ''départe ...

into the

Gau Westmark The Gau Westmark (English: ''Western March'') was an administrative division of Nazi Germany from 1933 to 1945. From 1925 to 1933, it was a regional subdivision of the Nazi Party. History The Nazi Gau (plural Gaue) system was established at a part ...

. Petite-Roselle shares most of its history with Großrosseln (). The united commune of Rosselle was founded in 1290, and the lesser and greater parts of the commune on either side of the river were legally separated in 1326. The river Rosselle marks the border between France and Germany.

Mining

Coal was discovered in the vicinity of the town in 1856 by the

de Wendel family The Wendel family (french: de Wendel) is an industrialist family from the Lorraine region of France. During the 19th and 20th centuries, the family gained both industrial and political power. As a result, the family also attracted controversy as an ...

. Mining became the principal economic activity in the commune. Today all mining operations have closed, though several mines have been conserved for historical purposes as part of the

Carreau Wendel Museum The Carreau Wendel Museum is the museum of the Wendel-Vuillemin coal pit, in Petite-Rosselle on the Saarland, Lorraine border ( Saar-Warndt coal mining basin). Though often in Germany, since 1945 it has been in Moselle department France. The muse ...

.The history of the Explor Wendel Park
Parc Explor Wendel

Population

Twin towns

(

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

)

References

External links