Metz [mɛs]1 Listen is a French commune located in the Moselle department, in Lorraine. Department prefecture, since January 1, 2016, it has been part of the Grand Est administrative region, of which it hosts the plenary assemblies. Metz and its surroundings, which were part of the Trois-Évêchés from 1552 to 1790, were landlocked between the Duchy of Luxembourg (until 1659), ducal Lorraine and the Duchy of Bar until 1766. Furthermore, the city was from 19742 to 2015 the capital of the Lorraine region.

A city known since pre-Roman antiquity, the Celtic oppidum of the Mediomatrics, known by the Latin name of Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then as Mettis, became the capital of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia in the sixth century AD. A trading city of the Carolingian Empire, Metz is the seat of a powerful bishopric, and an important trading and banking city of the Holy Roman Empire. Coveted by its neighbors (and debtors) then by the Kingdom of France, Metz became a protectorate and a French stronghold in the 16th century, before being annexed by the German Empire at the end of the 19th century (Alsace-Moselle). Once again French after the First World War, it was de facto annexed by the Third Reich from 1940 to 1944.

The city presents a significant architectural diversity, from antiquity to the 20th century, rich in a strong medieval and classical heritage, of French influence, but also Germanic, particularly in the imperial district, developed during the annexation of the Alsace-Lorraine, representative of Wilhelmian architecture3. The Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains church, in the city center, is one of the oldest churches in the world, and the oldest church in France.

At the last census in 2019, Metz had 118,489 inhabitants, making it the most populous municipality in Lorraine and the third in the Grand Est, after Strasbourg and Reims. Its agglomeration has 285,000 inhabitants4 and its metropolitan area, 367,000 inhabitants in 20175, making it, after that of Nancy, the second metropolitan area in Lorraine and the third in the Grand Est after those of Strasbourg and Nancy. Its inhabitants are called Messins.

Establishing itself as a city of communication and information and communication technologies with its Technopole and its “Internet City” label from 2000 to 20156, the ancient merchant and military city wanted to be a “garden city” emanating its urban and architectural landscape along the water and parks, through a pioneering policy in France in terms of urban ecology7,8,a.

In 2010, the opening of the Pompidou-Metz center symbolizes the modernization of the city and its image, which began in the early 2000s. Thus, Metz seeks to establish itself as a platform for modern and contemporary art through new urban cultural policies. The city is also seeking UNESCO classification for its ancient heritage represented by Saint-Étienne Cathedral, one of the most important Gothic cathedrals in France9, and its imperial district.

A quality location and a favorable site explain the three thousand year old past of Metz, which was born and developed at the confluence of two rivers, the Moselle and the Seille with a determining economic role. Inside this confluence zone, the butte du Haut de Sainte-Croix constitutes the cradle of the city.
Geographical and political connections

    3rd century BC AD : oppidum of Médiomatrics73
    52 BC AD : Roman Republic then Roman Empire, Belgian Gaul, province of Trier74
    3rd century: bishopric of Metz
    5th century: kingdom of the Franks75
        511: Kingdom of Reims
        548: kingdom of Metz
        556 - 560: kingdom of Soissons
        561: kingdom of Reims
        751: Kingdom of Austrasia
    768: Carolingian Empire
    843: Median Francia
    855: Lotharingia
    925: Holy Roman Empire
        959: Duchy of Upper Lotharingia
        beginning of the 11th century: Episcopal principality of Metz
        1234: Messina Republic76
        1552: de facto annexation of the bishoprics of Metz, Toul and Verdun by the Kingdom of France
    1648: Treaty of Westphalia, de jure annexation to the French monarchy. France is thus confirmed in the possession of the Trois-Évêchés
    1871: German Empire
    1918: Third Republic (France)
    1940: de facto annexation by the Third Reich77
    Since 1944: France
        1974-2015: Metz is the prefecture of the Lorraine region

Prehistory and protohistory

In 1882, a handaxe dating back to 200,000 BC. AD was discovered in a sand pit in Montigny-lès-Metz78. The men living during this period were hunter-gatherers, living according to the non-sedentary lifestyle specific to nomads and whose movements were linked in part to their food supply.

The Hauts-de-Sainte-Croix have yielded some sherds from the 4th millennium BC. BC, but the attested occupation of the site does not begin until the 1st century BC. AD with the presence of hut funds and sites for wooden and cob houses as well as a necropolis with cinerary urns79.
The oppidum of Médiomatrics

The name of the Mediomatrics people, a Celtic tribe who would give their name to Metz, appears in a story by the Roman general Julius Caesarb. This tribe certainly settled in the 3rd century BC. AD on a territory stretching from Argonne to the Moselle Vosges. From the Argonne and under the Seille valley, the territory was occupied by the Leuques founders of Toul. The space beyond the Vosges had been abandoned to the Triboques. The Médiomatrics built their main oppidum, that is to say their capital, at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille on the hill of Sainte-Croix. This oppidum was notably an economic center bringing together workshops of artisans working metals and terracotta. An oligarchic-type assembly, made up of the heads of the main families, held power. The social organization, hierarchical, was based on three classes: the knights or nobles, the plebs and the slaves.
Divodurum and the Gallo-Roman period
Main article: Divodurum Mediomatricorum.
Model of Divodurum

The Romans occupied the site from 58 BC. AD Aware of its strategic position, they transformed the agricultural city into an administrative city and