Rombas (; ; Lorrain: ''Rombéch'') is a commune in the

Moselle The Moselle ( , ; ; ) is a river that rises in the Vosges mountains and flows through north-eastern France and Luxembourg to western Germany. It is a bank (geography), left bank tributary of the Rhine, which it joins at Koblenz. A sm ...

department in

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

in north-eastern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Geography

Rombas is located in the lower

Orne Orne (; or ) is a département in the northwest of France, named after the river Orne. It had a population of 279,942 in 2019.Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and

Thionville Thionville (; ; ) is a city in the northeastern French Departments of France, department of Moselle (department), Moselle. The city is located on the left bank of the river Moselle (river), Moselle, opposite its suburb Yutz. History Thionvi ...

History

* The first human settlements date back to the

Upper Paleolithic The Upper Paleolithic (or Upper Palaeolithic) is the third and last subdivision of the Paleolithic or Old Stone Age. Very broadly, it dates to between 50,000 and 12,000 years ago (the beginning of the Holocene), according to some theories ...

(-15,000 BP) on the site called ''Les Roches''. * Discovery in 1870 at the site called ''La tuilerie de Ramonville'' of

Neolithic The Neolithic or New Stone Age (from Ancient Greek, Greek 'new' and 'stone') is an archaeological period, the final division of the Stone Age in Mesopotamia, Asia, Europe and Africa (c. 10,000 BCE to c. 2,000 BCE). It saw the Neolithic Revo ...

axes (-4,000 BP) * The Germanic frank ''Rumo'' founded Rombas in the 5th century. * The town went through several name changes over the course of history, it has been named ''Romesbach'' in 972, ''Romabach'' in 984, ''Rumesbach'' in 1128, ''Ramisbach'' in 1160–1162, ''Romesbas'' in 1185, ''Romebac'' in 1245, ''Romebair'' in 1247, ''Roumebac'' in 1280, ''Rombair'' in 1335–1338, ''Rombas'' in the 15th century, ''Rombach'' from 1870 to 1918 while absorbed by

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

; and finally ''Rombas'' from 1918.

Population

Sights

* The Drince tower, located on the edge of Pierrevillers, it overlooks Rombas at its highest elevation, between

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and

. * The ''Fond Saint-Martin'' and ''Les Roches''. * The old church, demolished in 1755, was heavily

fortified A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Lat ...

. * The ''St Remy'' church, 1756, was replaced in 1938 by a modern church. Sculpture : ''Christ de Pitie'' from 16th century.

Notable people from Rombas

* Mireille Guiliano, French-American author, born in Moyeuvre-Grande, 1946. * Marie Hackin, archaeologist and

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

member, born in Rombas, 1905.

Bibliography

* Jean-Jacques Sitek, ''Rombas, mémoire de la Vallée de l'Orne'', 1993. * Jean-Jacques Sitek, ''Rombas, Hier et Aujourd'hui'', 1999.

Notes & references

* Translated from the French Wikipedia article 12 June 2008 (UTC)

External links

Official website of the town of Rombas

List of Rombas' mayors

Site about Rombas with live webcam
{{Authority control Communes of Moselle (department)