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72-667: The district was established in 1969 by merging the former districts of Bernkastel and Wittlich. The district is situated on both banks of the Moselle , which crosses the territory from southwest to northeast. The country rises to the Eifel in the north and the Hunsrück in the south. A great number of tributaries rise in the Eifel and flow into the Moselle. In the very south of the district

144-403: A 36 km (22 mi) long condominium from Apach, a common Germany–Luxembourg sovereign area with a division of responsibilities set out in a 1976 agreement. The International Moselle Company, initially set up in 1957 to finance the construction of the river's upgrade, manages the shipping charges and the operation and maintenance of the waterway which they are used to fund. Today the Moselle

216-545: A drive to cross the Moselle at Dieulouard and split the German forces. Under the orders of Major General Manton S. Eddy, the 80th Infantry Division was given the objective of establishing a bridgehead that would allow Combat Command A (CCA) of the 4th Armored Division to advance into the rear of German forces and encircle the city of Nancy. On September 13, 1944, the 80th Division launched their assault accompanied by extensive artillery and air support, which helped to suppress

288-569: A few communes near Sierck-les-Bains (both territories until then part of the Moselle department) to Austria. On the other hand, the Treaty confirmed the French annexations of 1793, and furthermore, the south of the Napoleonic department of Sarre was ceded to France, including the town of Lebach , the city of Saarbrücken , and the rich coal basin nearby. France thus became a net beneficiary of

360-627: A literary theme as early as the 4th century. In his poem dated 371, called Mosella , which was published in 483 hexameters , this poet of the Late Antiquity and teacher at the Trier Imperial Court ( Kaiserhof ) described a journey from Bingen over the Hunsrück hills to the Moselle and then following its course to Trier on the road named after him, the Via Ausonia. Ausonius describes flourishing and rich landscapes along

432-517: A major decline in the number of so-called Nebenerwerbswinzer (vintners for whom it is a secondary occupation), and the small, family farming operations that, until the end of the 1960s formed the majority of wine businesses. Comparative figures by the Chamber of Agriculture for Rhineland-Palatinate for several wine villages on the Lower Moselle show that there were still 797 wine businesses in

504-645: A more nuanced view of Moselle wine that, a few years before, had been characterised by overproduction, label scandals and cheap offers. On 10 November 2006 in Burg , the Moselle Regional Initiative was founded. The introduction of the Moselle as an umbrella brand was based on that of the Eifel region and covers products and services from the areas of agriculture, forestry, tourism, handicrafts and nature. Moselle (department) Moselle ( French pronunciation: [mɔzɛl] )

576-803: A number of local traditions, notably the Kirb festivals celebrated in October in rural areas, Mardi Gras parades in Sarreguemines , and the August mirabelle festival in Metz which includes a variety of cultural activities. The Opéra-Théâtre de Metz , is the oldest active theater in France and has continuously operated from the 18th century. Metz also has a number of concert halls that offer diverse events such as comedy shows and symphony orchestras. Thionville

648-609: A path running for 365 km (227 mi) from Perl on the Upper Moselle to Koblenz . Numerous Moselle Trail "partner trails", the so-called side branches ( Seitensprünge ) and "dream paths" ( Traumpfade ) enhance the hiking network in the Moselle Valley. The ADAC 's Rallye Deutschland has taken place since 2000 in the vineyards along the Moselle at Veldenz , Dhron , Piesport , Minheim , Kesten , Trittenheim , Fell , Ruwertal and Trier . At Koblenz Locks

720-418: A total acceptance of French law arose because some of Bismarck 's reforms included strong protections for civil and social rights. After much discussion and uncertainty, Paris accepted in 1924 that pre-existing German law would apply in certain fields, notably hunting, economic life, local government relationships, health insurance, and social rights. Many of the relevant statues continue to be referred to in

792-636: 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 small part of Belgium is in its basin as it includes the Sauer and the Our . Its lower course "twists and turns its way between Trier and Koblenz along one of Germany's most beautiful river valleys." In this section

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864-531: Is also car-free as part of Happy Moselle Day. A number of notable castles and ruins adorn the heights above the Moselle valley and many are visible on a boat trip on the Moselle. In 1910, a hiking trail, the Moselle Ridgeway, was established which runs for 185 km (115 mi) on the Eifel side and 262 km (163 mi) on the Hunsrück side. Another unusual trail runs from Ediger-Eller via

936-517: Is home to the NEST (Nord-Est Théâtre). Moselle and Alsace to its east have their own laws in certain fields. The statutes in question date primarily from the period 1871–1919 when the area was part of the German Empire . With the return of Alsace-Lorraine to France in 1919, many in central government assumed that the recovered territories would be subject to French law. Local resistance to

1008-962: Is navigable for large cargo ships up to 110 metres (360 ft) long from the Rhine in Koblenz up to Neuves-Maisons , south of Nancy. For smaller ships it is connected to other parts of France through the Canal de la Meuse and the Canal de la Marne au Rhin . There are locks in Koblenz , Lehmen , Müden , Fankel , Sankt Aldegund , Enkirch , Zeltingen , Wintrich , Detzem , Trier , Grevenmacher , Palzem , Apach , Kœnigsmacker , Thionville , Richemont , Talange , Metz , Ars-sur-Moselle , Pagny-sur-Moselle , Blénod-lès-Pont-à-Mousson , Custines , Pompey , Aingeray , Fontenoy-sur-Moselle , Toul , Villey-le-Sec , and Neuves-Maisons. By 1970 more than 10 million tonnes of goods were being transported on

1080-532: Is on German soil in the states of Rhineland-Palatinate and Saarland ; the Luxembourg part has an area of about 1,300 ha (3,200 acres) (see Wine in Luxembourg ). Upstream on the Moselle the vineyards extend into France as far as Seille in the region of Côtes de Moselle with an area of 130 ha (320 acres) and to the region around Toul ( Côtes de Toul ) covering 110 ha (270 acres). The German Moselle wine region, including its tributaries, bears

1152-688: Is on the Moselle, at the site of the France–Germany–Luxembourg tripoint, that the Schengen Agreement was signed in 1985, leading to the abolishment of border controls within the Schengen Area . The Moselle valley between Metz and Thionville is an industrial area, with coal mining and steel manufacturers. The Moselle valley is famous for its scenery and wine. Most well-known is the German Mosel wine region , while

1224-690: Is the Erbeskopf (818 m), the highest peak in the Hunsrück and Rhineland-Palatinate. The coat of arms displays: At one time, the Borough of Milton Keynes was the twinned region of the district of Bernkastel-Wittlich . 49°59′13″N 6°53′23″E  /  49.98694°N 6.88972°E  / 49.98694; 6.88972 Moselle (river) The Moselle ( / m oʊ ˈ z ɛ l / moh- ZEL , French: [mɔzɛl] ; German : Mosel [ˈmoːzl̩] ; Luxembourgish : Musel [ˈmuzəl] )

1296-557: Is the most populous department in Lorraine , in the northeast of France , and is named after the river Moselle , a tributary of the Rhine , which flows through the western part of the department. It had a population of 1,046,543 in 2019. Inhabitants of the department are known as Mosellans . On 4 March 1790 Moselle became one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution . In 1793, France annexed

1368-632: The Atlas Linguarum Europae , to investigate the Germanic dialects used in these areas: Arzviller , Guessling , Petit-Réderching and Rodemack . Linguistically , Platt can be further subdivided into three varieties, going from east to west: Rhenish Franconian , Moselle Franconian , and Luxembourgish . The president of the Departmental Council is Patrick Weiten, elected in 2011. Eastern Moselle has preserved

1440-579: The Calmont Trail to Bremm through the steepest vineyard in Europe. Before the construction of barrages the Moselle was a popular route for folding kayaks which is why many of the weirs have boat channels. The river is still used today by canoeists , especially during the annual week-long lock closures when no commercial shipping is permitted. In April 2014 the Moselle Trail was opened,

1512-760: The French Government "to initiate, before the establishment of the Common Market , negotiations with the governments concerned in order to achieve a rapid implementation of the canalisation of the Moselle between Thionville and Koblenz . The River was canalised between Metz and Thionville , via a canal opened in 1964 by the Grand Duchess, Charlotte of Luxembourg , the Federal Chancellor of Germany, Konrad Adenauer and their host, Charles de Gaulle , President of France. It

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1584-501: The German Empire by the Treaty of Frankfurt on the grounds that most of the population in those areas spoke German dialects . Bismarck omitted only one-fifth of Moselle (the arrondissement of Briey in the extreme west of the department) from annexation, (Bismarck later regretted his decision when it was discovered that the region of Briey and Longwy had rich iron-ore deposits.) The Moselle department ceased to exist on 18 May 1871, and

1656-636: The Groupe Derhan . During these years more than 10,000 Mosellans were deported to camps, many to the Sudetenland , for publicly opposing the annexation. The United States Army liberated Moselle from Nazi Germany in the Battle of Metz in September 1944, although combat continued in the northeastern part of the department until March 1945. Moselle was returned to French governance in 1945 with

1728-625: The Moselle valley forms the division between the Eifel and Hunsrück mountain regions. The average flow rate of the Moselle at its mouth is 328 m /s (11,600 cu ft/s), making it the second largest tributary of the Rhine by volume after the Aare (560 m /s; 20,000 cu ft/s) and bigger than the Main and Neckar . The section of the Moselle from the France – Germany – Luxembourg tripoint near Schengen to its confluence with

1800-500: The Mosellum offers exhibitions about the migration of fish in the Moselle as well as water ecology, navigation and power generation. With the construction of the visitor and information centre the most modern fish ladder along the Moselle was opened. The Moselle winegrowing region lies along the Moselle with a cultivated area of about 10,540 ha (26,000 acres). The largest part, currently just under 9,000 ha (22,000 acres),

1872-757: The Quaternary period, the Rhenish Massif slowly rose, the meanders of the Moselle were formed between the Trier Valley and the Neuwied Basin . The highest navigable water level (HSW) is 6.95 m (22 ft 10 in) and normal level (NSt) is 2.00 m (6 ft 7 in) at the Trier Gauge ( Pegel Trier ). High water : Low water : The Moselle was known to the Romans by

1944-571: The Rhenish Massif , the most striking of which is the Cochemer Krampen between Bremm and Cochem . Also typical are its vineyard terraces. From the tripoint the Moselle marks the entire Saarland–Luxembourg border. The catchment area of the Moselle is 28,286 km (10,921 sq mi) in area. The French part covers 15,360 km (5,930 sq mi), about 54 percent of the entire catchment. The German state of Rhineland-Palatinate has 6,980 km (2,690 sq mi),

2016-583: The Rhine at the Deutsches Eck in Koblenz at a height of 59 m (194 ft) above NHN sea level. The length of the river in France is 313 km (194 mi), for 39 km (24 mi) it forms the border between Germany and Luxembourg, and 208 km (129 mi) is solely within Germany. The Moselle flows through the Lorraine region, west of the Vosges. Further downstream, in Germany,

2088-632: The Saar near Konz shortly before Trier is in Germany known (geographically incorrectly ) as the Upper Moselle . The section from Trier to Pünderich is the Middle Moselle , the section between Pünderich and its mouth in Koblenz as the Lower Moselle or Terraced Moselle ( Terrassenmosel ). Characteristic of the Middle and Lower Moselle are its wide meanders cut deeply into the highlands of

2160-565: The Saarland 2,569 km (992 sq mi), Luxembourg 2,521 km (973 sq mi), Wallonia in Belgium 767 km (296 sq mi) and North Rhine-Westphalia , 88 km (34 sq mi). The three largest tributaries of the Moselle are, in alphabetical order, the Meurthe , the Saar and the Sauer . The Meurthe was the old upper course of the Moselle, until

2232-599: The enclaves of Manderen , Momerstroff , and the County of Kriechingen – all possessions of princes of the Duchy of Luxemburg – a state of the Holy Roman Empire, and incorporated them into the Moselle department. In 1795, the seigneurie de Lixing was also integrated into the Moselle department. One of its first prefects was the comte de Vaublanc , from 1805 to 1814. By the Treaty of Paris of 1814 following

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2304-490: The 19th century, Moselle's economy was characterized by heavy industry, especially steel and iron works. After the weakening of these industries at the end of the 20th century, the department has tried to promote new economic activities based on industry and technology, such as the Cattenom Nuclear Power Plant . The Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Moselle created the "Achat-Moselle" website in

2376-468: The 2000s to address issues of e-commerce and in-person commerce. The site helps local businesses to create pages showcasing their services, boosting their visibility and potential activity. The inhabitants of the department are called Mosellans in French . The population has remained relatively stable since World War II and now exceeds 1 million, located mostly in the urban area around Metz and along

2448-503: The German defenses. The division managed to establish a foothold on the east bank of the river, securing a bridgehead at Dieulouard. With the bridgehead secured, Combat Command A of the 4th Armored Division crossed the Moselle and advanced towards Nancy, encircling the city and cutting off German supply lines. The 80th Division continued its advance, pushing towards the northeast and engaging in fierce combat with German forces. The operations to capture Nancy continued until September 15 when

2520-480: The Luxembourg winegrowing region is called Moselle Luxembourgeoise and the French region is called AOC Moselle . Most notable among the wines produced here are Riesling , Elbling , Müller-Thurgau , Kerner , and Auxerrois . The German part of the Moselle is a tourist destination. After the Second World War, France pressed to be able to ply the Moselle with larger ships in order to be able to link

2592-567: The Middle and Lower Moselle. There are also yachting or sports marinas in the following places: Koblenz , Winningen , Brodenbach , Burgen , Löf , Hatzenport , Senheim , Treis , Traben-Trarbach , Kues , Neumagen , Pölich , Schweich , Trier and Konz . The Moselle is linked near Toul via the Canal de la Marne au Rhin with inter alia the Meuse , the Saône and the Rhône . Other canals link

2664-465: The Moselle are: From Trier downstream the Moselle separates the two Central Upland ranges of the Eifel (to the northwest) and the Hunsrück (to the southeast). The Vosges , the present source region of the Moselle, were formed about 50 million years ago. In the Miocene and Pliocene epochs the ancient Moselle ( Urmosel ) was already a tributary of the ancient Rhine ( Ur-Rhein ). When, in

2736-734: The Moselle at its confluence is the Moselotte , which is about 40% greater by volumetric flow and thus represents the main branch of the Moselle system. At its mouth, the Moselle delivers 328 m /s (11,600 cu ft/s) of water into the Rhine after flowing for 544 km (338 mi). Madon , Terrouin , Esch , Rupt de Mad , Orne , Fensch , Gander , Syre , Sauer , Kyll , Salm , Lieser , Alf , Endert , Brohlbach , Elz . Moselotte , Vologne , Meurthe , Seille , Saar , Olewiger Bach , Avelsbach , Ruwer , Feller Bach , Dhron , Ahringsbach , Kautenbach , Lützbach , Flaumbach , Altlayer Bach , Baybach , Ehrbach . Towns along

2808-499: The Moselle department since 1790. At the end of 1815, Austria transferred all these territories to Prussia , making for the first time a shared border for those two states. Thus, by the end of 1815, the Moselle department finally had the limits that it would keep until 1871. It was slightly smaller than at its creation in 1790, the incorporation of the Austrian enclaves not compensating for the loss of Saarlouis, Rehlingen, Tholey, and

2880-714: The Moselle valley run the Moselle Wine Route and the Moselle Cycleway, which may be cycled from Metz in France via Trier to Koblenz on the River Rhine , a distance of 311 km (193 mi). Between Koblenz and Trier, large sections run on the trackbed of the old Moselle Valley Railway, far from the noise and fumes of motor vehicles. Every year on the Sunday after Pentecost , the 140 km (87 mi) of road between Schweich and Cochem

2952-540: The Moselle, the majority on towed barges. Upstream freight mainly comprised fuel and ores; downstream the main goods were steel products, gravel and rocks. There is an inland port at Trier , a transshipment site in Zell (Mosel) ; and there are other ports in Mertert , Thionville , Metz and Frouard . In addition to freighters there are also pleasure boats for tourists between the very busy wine villages and small towns of

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3024-546: The Treaty of Paris: all the new territories ceded to her being far larger and more strategically useful than the few territories ceded to Austria. All these new territories were incorporated into the Moselle department, and giving Moselle a larger area than it had had since 1790. However, with the return of Napoleon (March 1815) and his final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo (June 1815), the Treaty of Paris in November 1815 imposed much harsher conditions on France. Tholey and

3096-549: The annexed part of Lorraine (Bezirk Lothringen) was reconstituted as the new department of Moselle. Thus, the Moselle department was reborn, but with quite different borders from those before 1871. Having lost the area of Briey, it had now gained the areas of Château-Salins and Sarrebourg which before 1871 had formed one-third of the Meurthe department and which had been part of the Reichsland of Alsace-Lorraine since 1871. The new Moselle department now reached its current area of 6,216 km (2,400 sq mi), larger than

3168-510: The canal via Breisach. In 1958 work began and by 26 May 1964 the Moselle could be officially opened from Metz to Koblenz as a major waterway for shipping with 14 locks . France extended it by 1979 as far as Neuves-Maisons . With that, 394 km (245 mi) of the Moselle have been upgraded with a total of 28 locks. In the years 1992 to 1999 the navigable channel was deepened from 2.7 m (8 ft 10 in) to 3.0 m (9 ft 10 in), which enables 1,500-tonne freighters to use

3240-402: The city was liberated by the combined efforts of the 80th Infantry Division and the 4th Armored Division. The successful crossing of the Moselle River and the capture of Nancy dealt a significant blow to German defenses in northeastern France and further contributed to the Allied advance towards Germany. In the act of 10 April 1952 ratifying the treaty instituted by the ECSC , Article 2 charged

3312-433: The communes around Sierck-les-Bains were still to be ceded as agreed in 1814, but the south of the Sarre department with Saarbrücken was withdrawn from France. In addition, France had to cede to Austria the area of Rehlingen (now in Saarland) as well as the strategic fort-town of Saarlouis and the territory around it, all territories and towns which France had controlled since the 17th century, and which had formed part of

3384-440: The communes around Sierck-les-Bains. Between 1815 and 1871, the department had an area of 5,387 km (2,080 sq mi). Its prefecture (capital) was Metz . It had four arrondissements : Metz, Briey , Sarreguemines , and Thionville . After the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, almost all of the Moselle department, along with Alsace and portions of the Meurthe and Vosges departments, went to

3456-463: The department, especially around Saulnois , has remained more rural. A significant minority of inhabitants of the department (fewer than 100,000) speak a German dialect known as platt lorrain or Lothringer Platt (see Lorraine Franconian and Linguistic boundary of Moselle ). The German dialect is found primarily in the northeast section of the department, which borders Alsace , Luxembourg , and Germany . Four sites in Moselle were included in

3528-415: The development of tourism in the department. The creation of more hotels, camp sites, hiking trails, bicycle paths, and other tourist services have significantly increased the number of tourists in Moselle. The Conseil départemental de la Moselle created an "Organ Trail" to display a number of the department's 650 organs, many of which were built in the area and have historic significance. The oldest organ in

3600-482: The early 1960s, but by the early 2000s there were only just under 100. There has been the opposite trend amongst the established traditional wine estates and more recent vintners with a sound education in oenology and business management, who have increased their business through the reclamation of once renowned, but long forgotten sites. The end of the 20th century saw the rediscovery of the use of special terroir in order to improve quality and value, which has led to

3672-438: The eastern four-fifths of Moselle was annexed to Germany merged with the also German-annexed eastern third of the Meurthe Department into the German Department of Lorraine , based in Metz, within the newly established Imperial State of Alsace-Lorraine . France merged the remaining area of Briey with the truncated Meurthe department to create the new Meurthe-et-Moselle department (a new name chosen on purpose to remind people of

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3744-413: The first defeat and abdication of Napoleon , France had to surrender almost all the territory it had conquered since 1792. In northeastern France, the Treaty did not restore the 1792 borders, however, but defined a new frontier to put an end to the convoluted nature of the border, with all its enclaves and exclaves. As a result, France ceded the exclave of Tholey (now in Saarland , Germany ) as well as

3816-634: The growing and manufacturing name of "Mosel". For marketing reasons the agricultural authorities of the region have divided it into six winegrowing areas. The wine literature and specialist press, by contrast, divide the region into four areas based on geomorphological, micro-climatic and also historical reasons: The wine industry on the German Moselle has been declining for decades. In 2005, statistics showed there were 10,375 ha (25,640 acres) of vineyard; by 2012 this had fallen to just 8,491 ha (20,980 acres). The vineyards that have fallen fallow are mostly those on extremely steep hillsides. There has been

3888-414: The industrial regions of Lorraine . When, in 1955, the population on the Saar voted to belong to West Germany, France demanded as "compensation" an upgrade of the Moselle. On 27 October 1956 they concluded the Moselle Treaty with Germany and Luxembourg for a canalisation of the Moselle and conceded to Germany in return the extension of the Grand Canal d'Alsace on the Upper Rhine instead of an extension of

3960-477: The land to the north is the Eifel which stretches into Belgium ; to the south lies the Hunsrück . The river flows through a region that was cultivated by the Romans. Today, its hillsides are covered by terraced vineyards where "some of the best Rieslings grow". Many castle ruins sit on the hilltops above wine villages and towns along the slopes. Traben-Trarbach with its art nouveau architecture and Bernkastel-Kues with its traditional market square are two of

4032-458: The latter captured the former upper reaches of the Meuse and took it over. However, the Meuse only delivered a little more water than the Meurthe at its confluence. The Saar is the biggest of all the tributaries (78.2 m /s; 2,760 cu ft/s) as well as the longest (246 km; 153 mi). The Sauer is the largest left-hand tributary and drains the region on either side of the German-Luxembourg border. The largest tributary relative to

4104-542: The local German Lorraine Franconian dialects ceased to be used in the public realm. In recent years there has been a revival of the old dialects and distinct Franco-German culture of the region with the onset of open borders between France and Germany as members of the European Union 's Schengen Treaty . Moselle is part of the current region of Grand Est and is surrounded by the French departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle and Bas-Rhin , as well as Germany (states of Saarland and Rhineland-Palatinate ) and Luxembourg in

4176-420: The lost Moselle department) with its préfecture at Nancy . In 1919, following the French victory in the First World War , Germany returned Alsace-Lorraine to France under the terms of the Treaty of Versailles . However, it was decided not to recreate the old separate departments of Meurthe and Moselle by reverting to the old department borders of before 1871. Instead, Meurthe-et-Moselle was left untouched, and

4248-448: The many tourist attractions on the Moselle river. The name Moselle is derived from the Celtic name form, Mosela , via the Latin Mosella , a diminutive form of Mosa , the Latin description of the Meuse , which used to flow parallel to the Moselle. So the Mosella was the "Little Meuse". The Moselle is first recorded by Tacitus in Book 13 of his Annals and in Book 4 of his Histories . The Roman poet Ausonius made it

4320-400: The name of Flumen Musalla (in the Tabula Peutingeriana ), and the river was romanticised by the poet Ausonius around 371. From 1815, the Moselle formed the border between the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg and Prussia ( German Empire in 1871). During World War II the Moselle was a barrier as the Allies advanced toward Berlin. In September 1944, the American Third Army in France mounted

4392-593: The north. Parts of Moselle belong to Parc naturel régional de Lorraine . The following are the most important rivers: The department is geographically organized around the Moselle valley. The region was long considered a march between Alsace and the north, remaining relatively poor until the 19th century, and was consequently less urbanized and populous than other regions at the time. The environment has undergone heavy industrialization linked to iron deposits in Lorraine , which have artificialized valleys and river banks. Industries have created vast land holdings in

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4464-464: The old Moselle because the areas of Château-Salins and Sarrebourg were far larger than the area of Briey and Longwy. When the Second World War was declared on 3 September 1939, around 30% of Moselle's territory lay between the Maginot Line and the German frontier. 302,732 people, around 45% of the department's population, were evacuated to departments in central and western France during September 1939. Of those evacuated, around 200,000 returned after

4536-431: The original German, as they have never been formally translated. One major difference with French law is the absence of the formal separation between church and state : several mainstream denominations of the Christian church as well as the Jewish faith benefit from state funding, despite principles applied rigorously in the rest of France. Over the past twenty years the Conseil départemental de la Moselle has encouraged

4608-479: The river Moselle . If the Moselle department still existed in its limits of between 1815 and 1871, its population at the 1999 French census would have been 1,089,804 inhabitants. The current Moselle department, whose limits were set in 1919, had less population, with only 1,023,447 inhabitants. This is because the industrial area of Briey and Longwy lost in 1871 is more populated than the rural areas of Château-Salins and Sarrebourg gained in 1919. The southern part of

4680-421: The river and in the valley of the Moselle, thanks to the policies of their Roman rulers. The river subsequently gave its name to two French republican départements : Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle . The source of the Moselle is at 715 m (2,346 ft) above sea level on the Col de Bussang on the western slopes of the Ballon d'Alsace in the Vosges . After 544 km (338 mi) it discharges into

4752-409: The river to the North Sea and even the Mediterranean . There is a total of 28 changes of level on the Moselle: With the exception of Detzem, all the structures at each change in level are laid-out side by side; the lock is by one riverbank, the weir in the middle and the hydropower plant on the other bank. Between the lock and weir are a boat slipway and channel and boat lock, while between

4824-456: The river, a 20% increase in capacity. The channel has a width of 40 m (130 ft), more on the bends. The Moselle Commission , founded in 1962 with its head office in Trier, is responsible for navigation. The Moselle Shipping Police Act which it has produced is valid in all three participant states from Metz to Koblenz. In 1921 the Moselle (Mo) became a Reich waterway, today it is a federal waterway ( Bundeswasserstraße ) from Apach at

4896-407: The same frontiers as in 1919. The department was hit particularly hard during the war: the American bombardments in the spring of 1944 caused widespread collateral damage; 23% of the communes in Moselle were 50% destroyed, and 8% of the communes were than 75% destroyed. As a result of German aggression during the war, the French Government actively discouraged the German heritage of the region, and

4968-400: The tripoint to its mouth on the Rhine at kilometre point 592.29 in Koblenz. The waterway is 242 km (150 mi) long and managed by the Trier and Koblenz Water and Shipping Offices ( Wasser- und Schifffahrtsämtern Trier und Koblenz ). It is categorized as a European waterway of Class Vb. Its kilometrage begins at its mouth at kilometre point 0 and runs upstream. Since 1816 it has formed

5040-469: The valleys by buying land from agriculturists and profiting from water rights . Questions of environmental degradation were politicized at the end of the 19th century. Since then, one academic has argued that a consensus has been reached in the region regarding pollution, which is seen as the price of continuing the steel industry. The most populous commune is Metz , the prefecture. As of 2019, there are 8 communes with more than 15,000 inhabitants: In

5112-421: The war. In spite of the 22 June 1940 armistice, Moselle was again annexed by Germany in July of that year by becoming part of the Gau Westmark . Adolf Hitler considered Moselle and Alsace parts of Germany, and as a result the inhabitants were drafted into the German Wehrmacht . Several organized groups were formed in resistance to the German occupation, notably the Groupe Mario , led by Jean Burger , and

5184-575: The weir and the power station is the fish ladder . The structures have been blended into the landscape through their low-level design; this was achieved by the choice of sector gates for the weir, vertically lowering upper gates and mitred lower lock gates. The water levels and hydropower works are controlled by the Fankel Central Control Station ( Zentralwarte Fankel ) of the RWE Power Company at Fankel . Through

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