Longwy (; older german: Langich, ; lb, label=
Luxemburgish, Lonkech) is a
commune in the
French department of
Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meurthe-et-Moselle () is a department in the Grand Est region of France, named after the rivers Meurthe and Moselle. It had a population of 733,760 in 2019.[Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...]
, administrative region of
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 It superseded three former administr ...
, northeastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
The inhabitants are known as ''Longoviciens''.
In 2008, the ''ville neuve'' ("New Town") was listed as a
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) aimed at promoting world peace and security through international coope ...
World Heritage Site
A World Heritage Site is a landmark or area with legal protection by an international convention administered by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). World Heritage Sites are designated by UNESCO for ...
, as part of the "
Fortifications of Vauban" group for its contributions to the development of military architecture and engineering.
Economy
Longwy has historically been an industrial center of the
Lorraine
Lorraine , also , , ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; german: Lothringen ; lb, Loutrengen; nl, Lotharingen is a cultural and historical region in Northeastern France, now located in the administrative region of Gra ...
iron mining district. Factories lined the river in historic postcards.
The town is also known for its artistic
faience
Faience or faïence (; ) is the general English language term for fine tin-glazed pottery. The invention of a white pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an oxide of tin to the slip of a lead glaze, was a major ...
, produced there since 1798. It is produced today by the Société des faïenceries de Longwy et Senelle, often in cooperation with artists and ceramists.
Overglaze enamel decoration, known as ''émaux'' and often in a manner similar to
cloisonné, has been produced in Longwy ceramics since 1872. Initially produced under the direction of Amadeo de Carenza, this style reached a peak in the
Art Deco
Art Deco, short for the French ''Arts Décoratifs'', and sometimes just called Deco, is a style of visual arts, architecture, and product design, that first appeared in France in the 1910s (just before World War I), and flourished in the Unit ...
style, retailed by the Parisian department store
Printemps.
Transport
Route nationale 52
The Route Nationale 52 is a French trunk road (Route nationale) between Marange-Silvange and Aubange ( Belgium). This road is a dual carriageway between Rombas and Fameck and between Crusnes and Aubange (Belgium), but it is also a two-way road be ...
(part of
European route E411) passes through Longwy.
Longwy station has rail connections to Luxembourg, Charleville-Mézières and Nancy.
History
Longwy initially belonged to
Lotharingia
Lotharingia ( la, regnum Lotharii regnum Lothariense Lotharingia; french: Lotharingie; german: Reich des Lothar Lotharingien Mittelreich; nl, Lotharingen) was a short-lived medieval successor kingdom of the Carolingian Empire. As a more durable ...
. After the division of that kingdom, the town became part of
Upper Lorraine and ultimately the
Duchy of Bar. Longwy was ceded to
Wenceslaus I of Luxembourg in 1368, but was returned to Bar in 1378. The Duchy of Bar was then annexed into the
Duchy of Lorraine
The Duchy of Lorraine (french: Lorraine ; german: Lothringen ), originally Upper Lorraine, was a duchy now included in the larger present-day region of Lorraine in northeastern France. Its capital was Nancy.
It was founded in 959 following th ...
in 1480.
From 1648 to 1660 Longwy was part of the
Kingdom of France
The Kingdom of France ( fro, Reaume de France; frm, Royaulme de France; french: link=yes, Royaume de France) is the historiographical name or umbrella term given to various political entities of France in the medieval and early modern period. ...
, returning to the Duchy of Lorraine afterwards. It was made part of France again in 1670, a situation which was finalized in the
Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678.
Vauban fortified the town during the reign of
Louis XIV
Louis XIV (Louis Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was List of French monarchs, King of France from 14 May 1643 until his death in 1715. His reign of 72 years and 110 days is the Li ...
, having demolished the medieval
Château de Longwy, of which one tower remains.
After the French defeat in the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, almost all of the
Moselle
The Moselle ( , ; german: Mosel ; lb, Musel ) 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 ...
department, along with
Alsace
Alsace (, ; ; Low Alemannic German/ gsw-FR, Elsàss ; german: Elsass ; la, Alsatia) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in eastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine next to Germany and Switzerland. In 2020, it had ...
and portions of the Meurthe and Vosges departments, was ceded to the
German Empire
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
by the
Treaty of Frankfurt on the ground that the population in those areas spoke
German dialects
German dialects are the various traditional local varieties of the German language. Though varied by region, those of the southern half of Germany beneath the Benrath line are dominated by the geographical spread of the High German consonant s ...
. Only one fifth of Moselle, including Longwy, was spared annexation.
Otto von Bismarck
Otto, Prince of Bismarck, Count of Bismarck-Schönhausen, Duke of Lauenburg (, ; 1 April 1815 – 30 July 1898), born Otto Eduard Leopold von Bismarck, was a conservative German statesman and diplomat. From his origins in the upper class of ...
later bitterly regretted his decision when it was discovered that the region of Briey and Longwy was rich with iron ore, exploited by the
Aciéries de Longwy
The Société des aciéries de Longwy (Longwy Steelworks Co.) was a steelworks located in Longwy, Meurthe-et-Moselle, France.
Foundation
The Société des Aciéries de Longwy was founded on 1 June 1880 by a merger of the Usine du Prieuré and the ...
among other members of the cartel
Comptoir Métallurgique de Longwy.
After the
Battle of the Ardennes in August 1914, Longwy was occupied by the
Imperial German army
The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (german: Deutsches Heer), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the l ...
until the
1918 Armistice. At the start of the war the fort at Longwy was commanded by Lieutenant Colonel
Natalis Constant Darche. With a force of 3,500 men he was able to hold up the German
5th Army for three weeks.
Population
People
*
Count Claude Florimond de Mercy
Count Claudius Florimund de Mercy (1666 – 29 June 1734) was an Imperial field marshal, born at Longwy in Lorraine, now in France. His grandfather was the Bavarian field marshal Franz Freiherr von Mercy.
Mercy entered the Austrian army ...
(1666–1734),
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a political entity in Western, Central, and Southern Europe that developed during the Early Middle Ages and continued until its dissolution in 1806 during the Napoleonic Wars.
From the accession of Otto I in 962 unt ...
Field Marshal
*
François Dominique Séraphin François Dominique Séraphin (15 February 1747 – 5 December 1800) was a French entertainer who developed and popularised shadow plays in France. The art form would go on to be copied across Europe.
Shadow plays
Séraphin was born in Longwy, nea ...
(1747–1800), French
puppeteer
A puppeteer is a person who manipulates an inanimate object, called a puppet, to create the illusion that the puppet is alive. The puppet is often shaped like a human, animal, or legendary creature. The puppeteer may be visible to or hidden fr ...
*
Jean-Baptiste Fresez
Jean-Baptiste Fresez (1800–1867) was Luxembourg's most important 19th-century painter. He is remembered above all for his almost photographic images of the City of Luxembourg."Frenez, Jean-Baptiste", ''Luxemburger Lexikon'', Editions Guy Binsf ...
(1800–1867),
Luxembourg
Luxembourg ( ; lb, Lëtzebuerg ; french: link=no, Luxembourg; german: link=no, Luxemburg), officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, ; french: link=no, Grand-Duché de Luxembourg ; german: link=no, Großherzogtum Luxemburg is a small lan ...
ish painter
*
Paul Delisse
Paul Lespagne Delisse (12 July 1817 – 8 September 1888) was a 19th-century French classical trombonist.
Born in Longwy, département Meurthe et Moselle, he became a soloist at the Opéra-Comique and the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts ...
(1817–1888), French trombonist
*
Geneviève de Fontenay
Geneviève Suzanne Marie-Thérèse Mulmann (born 30 August 1932), known professionally as Geneviève de Fontenay (), is a French businesswoman who served as the president of the Miss France Committee from 1981 until 2007. After leaving her positi ...
(born 1932), French businesswoman
References
External links
*
Town council website
{{Authority control
Communes of Meurthe-et-Moselle
Vauban fortifications in France
Three Bishoprics