Hombourg-Haut (; ) 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 ...

located in the department of

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 left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A ...

, 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 It superseded three former administr ...

, in the cultural and historical region

Lorraine Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...

, 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 ...

. Hombourg-Haut is an old medieval fortress town, built in the thirteenth century by the

bishops of Metz This is a list of bishops of Metz; the Roman Catholic diocese of Metz now lies in eastern France. To 500 * Clement of Metz (c. 280–300) * Celestius * Felix I * Patient * Victor I 344–346 * Victor II * Simeon * Sambace * Rufus of Metz * Adelphu ...

. The old village lies at the foot of the imposing

collegiate church In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons: a non-monastic or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by ...

in a green and wooded landscape. Nowadays, the city has several neighbourhoods: the old Hombourg, the old village of Hellering, urban areas with

HLM An habitation à loyer modéré (HLM, , ), is a form of low-income housing in France, Algeria, Senegal, and Quebec. It may be public or private, with rent subsidies. HLMs constitute 16% of all housing in France.residential district. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Hombourgeois'' and ''Hombourgeoises''.

History

Middle Ages

After a bitter dispute over the ownership of the castle of "Hombourg-Bas" (the old castle) between the

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of ...

and the

bishop of 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 E ...

, the latter prevailed end of the 12th century. Hombourg remained the property of the prelates of Metz until the 16th century. In 1270, the bishop, Jacques of Lorraine, decided to build a new and splendid

castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified r ...

on the opposite elongated hill, probably from 1245 on. This castle became the main seat of the

bailiwick A bailiwick () is usually the area of jurisdiction of a bailiff, and once also applied to territories in which a privately appointed bailiff exercised the sheriff's functions under a royal or imperial writ. The bailiwick is probably modelled on th ...

of Hombourg/St-Avold. It was the residence of the bishops' representatives and sometimes of the prelates themselves. In front of the castle, Jacques of Lorraine got a fortified town built, surrounded by a long wall, today's "Vieux-Hombourg". Jacques granted his new town privileges and rights and in 1254, he founded a

with 13 capitular canons that was run until 1743. The collegiate got a new church built in 1300 which took almost a century to complete.

Thirty Year's War and the decline

Industrial revolution and steel production

In 1758, Charles de Wendel founded an ironworks at the banks of the Roselle. That was the beginning of the industrial era of Hamburg-Haut. The ironworks was taken over by the d'Hausen family during the First Empire. The Gouvy family from Saarland bought the factory in 1850 and transformed it into a modern

steel plant A steel mill or steelworks is an industrial plant for the manufacture of steel. It may be an integrated steel works carrying out all steps of steelmaking from smelting iron ore to rolled product, but may also be a plant where steel semi-finished ...

. Providing employment to generations of Hombourg's inhabitants, the Gouvy steel mill also supported music, sports, youth movements and other leisure activities. The Münch family continued the work of the Gouvys when they bought the factory in 1935, offering work to almost 250 employees. The plant ceased opérations permanently during the 1980s. Following the mill demolition, a

shopping centre A shopping center ( American English) or shopping centre (Commonwealth English), also called a shopping complex, shopping arcade, shopping plaza or galleria, is a group of shops built together, sometimes under one roof. The first known colle ...

has been built on the site.

Coal mining in the area

Geography

Hombourg-Haut is situated thirty two miles east of

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 ...

(capital of the département de la Moselle) and thirteen miles southwest of

Saarbrücken Saarbrücken (; french: link=no, Sarrebruck ; Rhine Franconian: ''Saarbrigge'' ; lb, Saarbrécken ; lat, Saravipons, lit=The Bridge(s) across the Saar river) is the capital and largest city of the state of Saarland, Germany. Saarbrücken is ...

(Germany). It is surrounded by the following towns and villages: Saint-Avold, Freyming-Merlebach, Betting, Guenviller and Macheren. Map commune FR insee code 57332

The Rosselle, a small affluent of the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name * Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist * Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), E ...

, flows through Hombourg-Haut. Hombourg-Haut Étang Papiermühle 02

Population

City government

Mayors

* Jean Derrieux, 1937-1971 * Albert Muller, 1971–1983 * Jean-Loup Schouller, 1983–2001 * Roland Kazmierczak, 2001-2006 * Jacques Furman, 2008-2014 * Laurent Muller, since 2014

Municipal offices

* The Espace de Wendel: inaugurated in January 2019, this venue is named after the

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 a ...

, ironmasters in Lorraine with an early forge in Hombourg-Haut during the 18th Century (Jean-Charles de Wendel (1708-1784) was the first owner of the forge in Hombourg-Haut where he also built a mansion).

Tourist office

The tourist office is located near the railway station. It is run by the ''

Communauté de communes A ''communauté de communes'' (, "community of communes") is a federation of municipalities (communes) in France. It forms a framework within which local tasks are carried out together. It is the least-integrated form of ''intercommunalité'' (in ...

de Freyming-Merlebach'', a federation of municipalities in the French law.

Culture and heritage sites

Civic sites

Château de Hombourg-Haut The Château de Hombourg-Haut is a ruined castle in the ''commune'' of Hombourg-Haut in the Moselle ''département'' of France. There are few remains. The castle was built around 1254 by the Bishop of Metz, Jacques de Lorraine. It remained the prop ...

, the

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

of the

medieval castle A castle is a type of fortified structure built during the Middle Ages predominantly by the nobility or royalty and by military orders. Scholars debate the scope of the word ''castle'', but usually consider it to be the private fortified ...

and fortress of Hombourg. Château fort * the

of the castle of Hellering (17th century). Château * the Château d'Hausen, is an 18th-century castle. Current home of the local government. File:Hombourg-Haut château 01.jpg, Ruins of the medieval castle File:Les ruines du château de Hellering.JPG, Ruins of the castle of Hellering File:La vieille porte.jpg, La Vieilie Porte File:Le château d'Hausen- XVIIIe siècle (hôtel de ville).jpg, The Château d’Hausen

Religious sites

* Collégiale Saint-Étienne (13th-14th centuries). The church is registered as French national heritage site. Collégiale de Chanoines Saint-Etienne * Saint Catherine's chapel, in the

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style (13th century), is listed as French national heritage site. Chapelle Sainte-Catherine * the Recollect convent (18th century) Ancien couvent des Récollets File:Collégiale Saint-Étienne de Hombourg-Haut SdP-Photography(Serge de Pauli).jpg, The collegiate church of Saint Stephen File:Choeur de la collégiale.JPG, Gothic quire of the collegiate church of Saint Stephen File:Chapelle Sainte-Catherine - Hombourg-Haut (Moselle).JPG, Saint Catherine's chapel File:Couvent recollets Hombourg Haut.JPG, The Recollect convent

Cultural events

* the

Théodore Gouvy International Festival The Théodore Gouvy International Festival (''Festival international Théodore Gouvy'') is an annual festival of classical music held in honour of Franco-German composer, Théodore Gouvy. The festival is located in Hombourg-Haut (region Grand Est ...

has taken place every year since 1989. * the

Carnival Carnival is a Catholic Christian festive season that occurs before the liturgical season of Lent. The main events typically occur during February or early March, during the period historically known as Shrovetide (or Pre-Lent). Carnival t ...

celebrations culminate each year with a very popular and colored

parade A parade is a procession of people, usually organized along a street, often in costume, and often accompanied by marching bands, floats, or sometimes large balloons. Parades are held for a wide range of reasons, but are usually celebrations of s ...

. * the city is home to the ''

Choeur d'hommes de Hombourg-Haut The Chœur d'hommes de Hombourg-Haut is a Men’s chorus in the city Hombourg-Haut ( department of Moselle). Formed in 1865.Under patronage of the Gouvy family It is the oldest male voice choir in the historic region of Lorraine. The choir consi ...

'', one of the oldest

male voice choir A men's chorus or male voice choir (MVC) (German: ''Männerchor''), is a choir consisting of men who sing with either a tenor or bass voice, and whose music is typically arranged into high and low tenors (1st and 2nd tenor), and high and low bass ...

in the region Lorraine, founded in 1865.Website about the choir
/ref>

Twin town

San Giorgio di Pesaro San Giorgio di Pesaro frazione of Terre Roveresche , in the Province of Pesaro e Urbino in the Italian region Marche Marche ( , ) is one of the twenty regions of Italy. In English, the region is sometimes referred to as The Marches ( ). The ...

, Italy

Notable people

Théodore Gouvy Louis Théodore Gouvy (3 July 1819 – 21 April 1898) was a French/German composer. Biography Gouvy was born into a French-speaking family in the village of Goffontaine, then a Prussian village in the Sarre region (now Saarbrücken-Schafbrücke, ...

(1819-1898) composer

References

External links

Official Web Site (french)

Tourist office

Carnival parade 2017 in Hombourg-Haut
{{Authority control Hombourghaut Plus Beaux Villages de France Moselle communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia