| Meurthe-et-Moselle | |
|---|---|
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| Coat of arms of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department | |
| Location | |
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| Administration | |
| Department number: | 54 |
| Region: | Lorraine |
| Prefecture: | Nancy |
| Subprefectures: | Briey Lunéville Toul |
| Arrondissements: | 4 |
| Cantons: | 44 |
| Communes: | 594 |
| President of the General Council: | Michel Dinet |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 28th |
| -1999 | 713,779 |
| Population density: | 136/km² |
| Land area¹: | 5246 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
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Meurthe-et-Moselle is a department in the northeast of France named after the Meurthe and Moselle rivers.
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History
Meurthe-et-Moselle was created in 1871 at the end of the Franco-Prussian War from the parts of the former departments of Moselle and Meurthe which remained French territory. The current boundary between Meurthe-et-Moselle and Moselle was the border between France and Germany from 1871 to 1919.
Geography
Meurthe-et-Moselle is part of the region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the departments of Meuse, Vosges, Bas-Rhin, and Moselle and by the nations of Luxembourg and Belgium. Its extends from north to south for 130 kilometers and between 7 and 103 kilometers from west to east. The important rivers are the following:
Economy
The economy was highly dependent on mining until the 1960s. There are iron, salt, and lime extraction sites. The urban area around Nancy has a very dynamic economy based largely on services, research, and higher education.
Demographics
The inhabitants of the department are called Meurthe-et-Mosellans. The area around Nancy has become highly urbanized, whereas the Santois in the south is quite rural.
See also
- Cantons of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
- Communes of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
- Arrondissements of the Meurthe-et-Moselle department
External links
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General council website
- (French) Tourism website
