Lorraine: overview
Industrial towns contrast with unspoilt countryside in Lorraine, which hugs the slopes of the Vosges and extends north to the borders of Germany, Luxembourg and Belgium. Finally incorporated into the French Crown in 1788, Lorraine – along with neighbouring Alsace – was later claimed by Germany, which wanted its coal and iron ore, and the two regions shuttled backwards and forwards between the rival states from 1871 to 1944. Verdun was the site of a major battle in World War I and was badly damaged by bombing in 1944. Amid the devastations of war and the more recent depression of the region’s declining coal, iron and steel industries, the historic town of Nancy stands out as a gleaming survivor.
Places to visit in Lorraine
Verdun
More than any other battlefield, Verdun represents the horrors of World War I for the French. Between 1916 and 1918, an estimated 800,000 men died on the battlefields on the hills above the River Meuse. A visit to the giant forts, the grassy remains of trenches, and the towering ossuary of Douaumont, is an immensely moving experience. Today the theme of Franco-German reconciliation dominates and Verdun has been made World Centre for Peace and Human Rights.
Nancy owes its 18th-century elegance to the dukes of Lorraine, as seen in their residence, now part of the Musée Lorrain. Today a modern university city, it is also notable for the Art Nouveau buildings created by the Ecole de Nancy. Surrounded by elegant classical mansions and gilded wrought-iron grilles with ornamental gateways that frame the marble fountains of Neptune and Amphitrite, Nancy’s place Stanislas is one of the most harmonious urban spaces in Europe.Metz
Lorraine’s regional capital, Metz, stands near the confluence of the rivers Seille and Moselle. The city’s most conspicuous monument is the Cathédrale St-Etienne, with the largest stained-glass windows in the world – some by Marc Chagall. Metz has suffered from its reputation as an industrial city but it is going through a resurgence. Most emblematic of the change is the opening in 2010 of the spectacular Centre Pompidou-Metz, a branch of the famous cultural centre in Paris. Housed in a dramatic hexagonal building, the museum holds exhibitions of modern art.
The Vosges
In the southeast, Lorraine is joined to Alsace by the Vosges mountains, rising to 1424m (4,670ft) and popular with walkers. From the Lorraine side, the slopes rise quietly in dark green forests. From Epinal, a town with medieval fortifications, parks, gardens and an arboretum, the highway follows the Moselle River upstream to its source in the high Vosges. Bussang and Gérardmer‚ beside a beautiful lake, are hill resorts with fine skiing and hiking trails.
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