| Meuse | |
|---|---|
| |
| Coat of arms of the Meuse department | |
| Location | |
| |
| Administration | |
| Department number: | 55 |
| Region: | Lorraine |
| Prefecture: | Bar-le-Duc |
| Subprefectures: | Commercy Verdun |
| Arrondissements: | 3 |
| Cantons: | 31 |
| Communes: | 498 |
| President of the General Council: | Christian Namy |
| Statistics | |
| Population | Ranked 88th |
| -1999 | 192,198 |
| Population density: | 31/km² |
| Land area¹: | 6211 km² |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². | |
| |
Meuse is a department in northeast France, named after the Meuse River.
Contents |
History
Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former provinces of Barrois (area of Bar-le-Duc) and Three Bishoprics (area of Verdun). The department was one of the great battlefields of World War I; an important battle was fought in 1916 at Verdun.
Geography
Meuse is part of the current region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the French departments of Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Belgium on the north. The important rivers are the following:
Demographics
The population has decreased sharply since the 19th century, with the rural exodus to the cities.
See also
- Cantons of the Meuse department
- Communes of the Meuse department
- Arrondissements of the Meuse department
External links
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General council website
- Official Tourist Board website
- Rhine-Meuse delta studies
