Saint-Avold (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Sänt Avuur'') 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 department in

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 It superseded three former administra ...

in north-eastern

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 area ...

. It is situated twenty-eight miles (45 km) 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 ...

, France and seventeen miles (27 km) southwest of Saarbrücken, Germany.

History

The Saint-Avold area has frequently suffered invasions and since the nineteenth century has been controlled alternately by German and French authorities. The original Abbey of Saint Nabor began as an oratory for a sixth-century

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

. Gradually a complex developed after it received the relics of Saint Nabor, and the church was rebuilt in the eighteenth century, in part following Baroque style. It was designated as a

basilica In Ancient Roman architecture, a basilica is a large public building with multiple functions, typically built alongside the town's Forum (Roman), forum. The basilica was in the Latin West equivalent to a stoa in the Greek East. The building ...

. 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 coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

, the monastery and church suffered extensive damage; the cloisters were destroyed. The ancient parish church was sacrificed in exchange for keeping Saint Nabor. The abbey also suffered bombing damage during

World War II 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 vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

, but much of the church has been restored. The Saint-Avold Synagogue is a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

synagogue near Place Paul-Collin. The current synagogue building, completed in 1956, replaces a nearby synagogue which was also destroyed during World War II.

Population

Lorraine American Cemetery

Just north of the town is the site of Europe's largest United States'

military cemetery, the Lorraine American Cemetery and Memorial, with the graves of 10,489 American soldiers who died during

. Most of the men were killed during the United States' drive to expel German forces from the fortress city of

toward the Siegfried Line and the

Rhine River ), Surselva, Graubünden, Switzerland , source1_coordinates= , source1_elevation = , source2 = Rein Posteriur/Hinterrhein , source2_location = Paradies Glacier, Graubünden, Switzerland , source2_coordinates= , source ...

. The soldiers were mostly from the U.S. Seventh Army's Infantry and Armored divisions and its cavalry groups.

Climate

Climate in this area has mild differences between highs and lows, and there is adequate rainfall year-round. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification is one of the most widely used climate classification systems. It was first published by German-Russian climatologist Wladimir Köppen (1846–1940) in 1884, with several later modifications by Köppen, notabl ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate/ Oceanic climate).Climate Summary for Saint-Avold, France
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Sister cities

Notable people

* Louis Aloyse Risse (1850–1925), engineer born in Saint-Avold who designed the Grand Concourse in the

Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

in New York. *

Erich Isselhorst Erich Isselhorst (5 February 1906 – 23 February 1948) was a German war criminal and ''Schutzstaffel'' (SS) member before and during World War II. Between 1942 and 1943, during the German invasion of the Soviet Union, Isselhorst was an ''Einsatzk ...

, (1906–1948), Nazi war criminal, executed in Strasbourg in 1948 * Adrienne Thomas (1897–1980), novelist. *

Umut Bozok Umut Dilan Bozok (born 19 September 1996) is a professional footballer who plays as a striker for Süper Lig club Trabzonspor. Born in France, he plays for the Turkey national team. Club career Bozok began playing football with his local club ...