Moselle is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the Moselle river. The prefecture (capital) of Moselle is Metz.

Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was divided in nine districts: Metz, Bitche, Boulay, Briey, Longwy, Morhange, Sarreguemines, Sarrelouis and Thionville, with Metz as is capital.[4]

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the nine districts were changed into four arrondissements: Metz, Briey, Sarreguemines and Thionville.[4]

The Moselle department was eliminated in 1871 when part of the territory became part of Germany; the remaining parts were combined with the Meurthe department to form Meurthe-et-Moselle.

In 1919, a new department of Moselle was formed.

In 2015, several arrondissements were eliminated and their territories passed to the remaining arrondissements,[5] and only 5 were kept: Forbach-Boulay-Moselle, Metz, Sarrebourg-Château-Salins, Sarreguemines and Thionville.

The Moselle department is in the Grand Est region and borders only 2 departments: Meurthe-et-Moselle to the south and west, and Bas-Rhin to the east. To the north, the department borders Germany and to the northwest with Luxembourg.

Moselle has an area of 6,216.3 km2 (2,400 sq mi).[2] Its highest point is Grossman (48°33′31″N 07°13′29″E﻿ / ﻿48.55861°N 7.22472°E﻿ / 48.55861; 7.22472﻿ (Grossman)) in the western part of the department on the border with the Bas-Rhin department; it is 986 m (3,235 ft) high.[6]

The main rivers in the department are the Moselle, the Saar and the Seille.

The area around Metz, at an altitude of about 189 m (620 ft), is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Metz is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb".[7]

The average amount of precipitation for the year in Metz is 756.9 mm (29.8 in). The month with the most precipitation on average is December with 78.7 mm (3.1 in) of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is April with an average of 50.8 mm (2.0 in).

The average temperature for the year in Metz is 10.7 °C (51.3 °F). The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of 19.7 °C (67.5 °F). The coolest month on average is January, with an average temperature of 2.2 °C (36.0 °F)

Moselle is managed by the Departmental Council of Moselle in Metz. The department is part of the Grand Est region.

There are 5 arrondissements (districts), 27 cantons and 727 communes (municipalities) in Moselle.[8]

The following is a list of the 27 cantons of the Moselle department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:[11]

The inhabitants of the Moselle department are known, in French, as Mosellans or (women: Mosellanes),[12]

Moselle had a population, in 2014, of 1,045,154,[3] for a population density of 168.1 inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Metz, with 341,821 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.[10]

Evolution of the population in Moselle

The 10 communes with more inhabitants in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department are:

In the 19th century, the economy of was characterized by heavy industry, especially steel and iron factories. 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.

Saint-Étienne cathedral in Metz.

Metz cathedral.

View of the Saar river and casino, Sarreguemines.

The Opera house in Metz.

Château de Volkrange, Thionville.