Sarreguemines (; German: ''Saargemünd'' ;

Lorraine Franconian Lorraine Franconian ( native name: or ; or '; ) is an ambiguous designation for dialects of West Central German (), a group of High German dialects spoken in the Moselle department of the former northeastern French region of Lorraine (See ...

: ''Saargemìnn'') 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 of the

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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

administrative region Administrative divisions (also administrative units, administrative regions, subnational entities, or constituent states, as well as many similar generic terms) are geographical areas into which a particular independent sovereign state is divi ...

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 ...

. It is the seat of an

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

and a canton. As of 2020, the town's population was 20,555. The inhabitants of the commune are known as ''Sarregueminois'' and ''Sarregueminoises'' in French.

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 France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and ...

and the

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

, east of

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 ...

, northwest of

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

by rail, and at the junction of the lines to

Trier Trier ( , ; ), formerly and traditionally known in English as Trèves ( , ) and Triers (see also Names of Trier in different languages, names in other languages), is a city on the banks of the Moselle (river), Moselle in Germany. It lies in a v ...

and

Sarrebourg Sarrebourg (; also , ; Lorraine Franconian: ; older ) 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 located in the ...

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

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, th ...

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

Guebenhouse Guebenhouse (; ) 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 France, off ...

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 France, of ...

and Woustviller that were added to the canton of Sarralbe, were merged into one ''canton of Sarreguemines'' on 1 January 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 kings and dukes 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 ...

, and passed with

Lorraine Lorraine, also , ; ; Lorrain: ''Louréne''; Lorraine Franconian: ''Lottringe''; ; ; is a cultural and historical region in Eastern France, now located in the administrative region of Grand Est. Its name stems from the medieval kingdom of ...

in 1766 to France. French Influence: The fortunes of Sarreguemines took another turn in 1766 when it passed from Lorraine to France. This period saw the town further develop its industries, including the production of plush velvet, leather, faience, porcelain, and papier-mâché boxes, primarily utilized for snuffboxes. Sarreguemines became renowned for its artisanal craftsmanship and artistic traditions. It was transferred to

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 ...

in 1871, with the Treaty of Frankfurt following the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. 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 Ceramic glaze, pottery glaze suitable for painted decoration, by the addition of an stannous oxide, oxide of tin to the Slip (c ...

and porcelain, and was a centre for making

papier-mâché file:JacmelMardiGras.jpg, upright=1.3, Mardi Gras papier-mâché masks, Haiti Papier-mâché ( , , - the French term "mâché" here means "crushed and ground") is a versatile craft technique with roots in ancient China, in which waste paper is s ...

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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. On 21–23 December 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 (1766–1823),

Peer of France The Peerage of France () was a hereditary distinction within the French nobility which appeared in 1180 during the Middle Ages. The prestigious title and position of Peer of France () was held by the greatest, highest-ranking members of the Fr ...

and a French statesman * Auguste Hilarion Touret (1797 – 1858) - French philhellene officer and a participant in the War of Independence of Greece * Maximilian von Jaunez (1873–1947), industrialist and politician *

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 (1910-1996), Knight's Cross holder * Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart (1914-1944), pilot * Céleste Lett (born 1951), politician * Michel Roth (born 1959), chef * Eric Hassli (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 lea ...

* Lucien Schmitthäusler (1935–2020), writer and educator * Matthieu Sprick (born 1981), French cyclist * Erza Muqoli (born 2005), French singer * Aurélie Muller (born 1990), French swimmer

References

External links

* * http://realtravel.com/sarreguemines-lorraine-travel-guide-d1772892-1.html * http://www.travelpost.com/EU/France/Lorraine/Saargemund/6224215 * http://www.voyage-scolaire.com/france/sarregms/index.html * http://www.sarreguemines-museum.com
Médiathèque d'Agglomération Sarreguemines Confluences
Communes of Moselle (department) Subprefectures in France Moselle communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Sarreguemines-geo-stub