Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' , Lorraine Franconian: ''Saargemìnn'') is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Moselle department of the

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 It superseded three former administra ...

administrative region in north-eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

. It is the seat of an

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

and a canton. As of the 2013 France census, the town's population is 21,572. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Sarregueminois'' and ''Sarregueminoises''.

Geography

Sarreguemines, whose name is a French spelling of the name in local Lorraine-German dialect ''"Saargemin"'', meaning "confluence into the Saar", is located at the confluence of the

Blies The Blies () is a right tributary of the Saar in southwestern Germany (Saarland) and northeastern France (Moselle). The Blies flows from three springs in the Hunsrück near Selbach, Germany. It is roughly 100 km long, ending in the French c ...

and the

Saar Saar or SAAR has several meanings: People Given name *Saar Boubacar (born 1951), Senegalese professional football player * Saar Ganor, Israeli archaeologist *Saar Klein (born 1967), American film editor Surname * Ain Saar (born 1968), Est ...

, east of

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand ...

, northwest of Strasbourg by rail, and at the junction of the lines to

Trier Trier ( , ; lb, Tréier ), formerly known in English as Trèves ( ;) and Triers (see also names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle in Germany. It lies in a valley between low vine-covered hills of red sandstone in the ...

and

Sarrebourg Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older la, Pons Saravi) is a commune of northeastern France. In 1895 a Mithraeum was discovered at Sarrebourg at the mouth of the pass leading from the Vosges Mountains. Geography Sarrebourg is ...

Sarreguemines station The Gare de Sarreguemines () is a railway station near the French/German border on the Haguenau–Hargarten-Falck and the Saarbrücken–Sarreguemines lines, located in the town of Sarreguemines in the French department of Moselle. It was opened ...

has rail connections to Strasbourg, Saarbrücken and Metz. Traditionally Sarreguemines was the head of river navigation on the Saar, its importance being a depot where boats were unloaded.

Population

Administration

Sarreguemines was, from 1985 to 2015, the seat of two

cantons A canton is a type of administrative division of a country. In general, cantons are relatively small in terms of area and population when compared with other administrative divisions such as counties, departments, or provinces. Internationally, t ...

: * Sarreguemines, consisting of the Sarreguemines commune only. * Sarreguemines-Campagne, comprising 21 nearby communes. Both cantons, minus the communes of

Grundviller Grundviller ( or ; german: Grundweiler; Lorraine Franconian: ''Grendwiller'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 commun ...

Guebenhouse Guebenhouse (; german: Gebenhausen) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France. ...

Loupershouse Loupershouse (; ) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Moselle department of France. The communes coo ...

and

Woustviller Woustviller (; german: Wustweiler) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. Population Twin towns * Wustweiler (Germany), since 1996. See also *Communes of the Moselle department The following is a li ...

that were added to the canton of

Sarralbe Sarralbe (; ; Lorraine Franconian: ''Alwe'' or ''Saaralwe'') is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France. See also * Communes of the Moselle department The following is a list of the 725 communes of the Mose ...

, were merged into one ''canton of Sarreguemines'' on January 1, 2015.

History

Sarreguemines, originally a Roman settlement, obtained civic rights early in the 13th century. In 1297 it was ceded by the count of Saarbrücken to the

Duke of Lorraine The rulers of Lorraine have held different posts under different governments over different regions, since its creation as the kingdom of Lotharingia by the Treaty of Prüm, in 855. The first rulers of the newly established region were kings of ...

, and passed with

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 ...

in 1766 to France. It was transferred to

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1871, with the

Treaty of Frankfurt The Treaty of Frankfurt may refer to one of three treaties signed at Frankfurt, as follows: * Treaty of Frankfurt (1489) - Treaty between Maximilian of Austria and the envoys of King Charles VIII of France *Treaty of Frankfurt (1539) - Initiated ...

following the Franco-Prussian War. From 1871 to 1918 it formed part of the German imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine and manufactured plush velvet, leather,

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 a ...

and porcelain, and was a centre for making

papier-mâché upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti upright=1.3, Papier-mâché Catrinas, traditional figures for day of the dead celebrations in Mexico Papier-mâché (, ; , literally "chewed paper") is a composite material consisting of p ...

boxes, mostly used for snuffboxes. It was returned to France after

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

. On December 21–23, 1944, the 44th Infantry Division (United States) threw back three attempts by the Germans to cross the Blies River. An aggressive defense of the Sarreguemines area was continued throughout February and most of March 1945.

Notable people

Sarreguemines was the birthplace of : *

Jean-Pierre Bachasson, comte de Montalivet Jean-Pierre Bachasson, Seigneur and 1st Comte de Montalivet (Neunkirch, now part of Sarreguemines, Moselle, 5 July 1766 – Château de Lagrange,Peer of France and a French statesman * Auguste Hilarion Touret (1797 – 1858) - French

philhellene Philhellenism ("the love of Greek culture") was an intellectual movement prominent mostly at the turn of the 19th century. It contributed to the sentiments that led Europeans such as Lord Byron and Charles Nicolas Fabvier to advocate for Greek i ...

officer and a participant in the War of Independence of Greece *

Hans Traut Hans Traut (25 January 1895 – 9 December 1974) was a German general during World War II. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross with Oak Leaves of Nazi Germany. Traut surrendered to the Red Army troops in the course of the ...

(1895-1974), general * Marianne Oswald (1901-1985), singer *

Karl Ullrich Karl Ullrich (1 December 1910 – 8 May 1996) was the last commander of the SS Division Wiking in the Waffen-SS during World War II. After the war he authored an account of the SS Division Totenkopf. Early life Born December 1 1910 in Saargem� ...

(1910-1996), Knights Cross holder *

Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart (3 May 1914 – 8 June 1944) a former German fighter ace in the Luftwaffe. He was a recipient of the Knight's Cross of the Iron Cross during World War II, awarded by Nazi Germany for extreme battlefield bravery. He was credi ...

(1914-1944), pilot * Céleste Lett (born 1951), politician * Michel Roth (born 1959), chef *

Eric Hassli Eric Hassli (born 3 May 1981) is a French former professional footballer who played as a forward. Career Early career Hassli began his career at his hometown club Sarreguemines FC. In 2000 Hassli moved west to play for FC Metz. In 2002, ...

(born 1981), French

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

* Lucien Schmitthäusler (1935–2020), writer and educator * Matthieu Sprick (born 1981), French cyclist *

Erza Muqoli Erza Muqoli (born 21 September 2005) is a French singer known for having been a contestant on the ninth season (2014–2015) of M6's ''La France a un incroyable talent'' and a founding member (from 2015 to 2018) of the child pop group Kids Unit ...

(born 2005), French singer