Uckange (; ;

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 ...

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 It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...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

. The inhabitants are called ''Uckangeois''.

History

The first traces of the Uckangeois date back to more than 6,000 years with the discovery in the 1960s of remains between Ébange and Uckange; located in a disputed area in the Middle Ages, the town of Uckange was sometimes seen as Luxembourg, over the centuries. It belonged to the former Duchy of

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

, in the seigneury of

Richemont Compagnie Financière Richemont S.A., commonly known as Richemont, is a Switzerland-based luxury goods holding company founded in 1988 by South African businessman Johann Rupert. Through its various subsidiaries, Richemont produces and sells jew ...

- Rodemack. The village was ceded to France in 1659 (Treaty of the Pyrenees). The town experienced its greatest expansion at the end of the 19th century, with the establishment of STUMM font factories. Today this factory, which produced cast iron, is closed since 1991, but a blast furnace, the U4, remains and is considered as a historical monument. This industrial heritage is the center of a vast cultural project since 2005. The first visits began in September–October 2007. Although relatively modest, the city has known great importance in the past. Indeed, it was located near the Roman road leading 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 ...

, on the banks of the

, which has had a railway network since 1850. Uckange is also known by beer lovers because the compagny Ensel brewed beer from 1868 to 1940. The town is also known for its bakery specialty, the Wagotine, produced since 1961.

Population

Geography

Climate

The local climate is mild with few extremes of temperature and ample precipitation in all months. The

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

subtype for this climate is " Cfb" (Marine West Coast Climate). Many areas have rainfall more than 150 days per year, although the precipitation is often of low intensity. Fog is common in autumn and winter, but thunderstorms are infrequent. Strong gales with high winds may be encountered in winter. Temperatures in the winter tend to be mild, while summer temperatures are moderate.

Cultural heritage and architecture

U4 blast furnace park

The park is a cultural project housed in the old furnace. It includes, among other, art exhibitions and guided tours by former steel workers. File:U4 la nuit.jpg, U4 furnace at night File:U4.jpg, The garden of the park File:Uckange - Parc du haut-fourneau U4 - 12.JPG, alt=

Notable residents

* Carmelo Micciche * Stéphane Haar

References

External links

* Communes of Moselle (department) Moselle communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia {{Thionville-geo-stub