Metz is a French commune located in the Moselle department, in Lorraine.

City known since pre-Roman antiquity, the Celtic oppidum of Mediomatrics, known under the Latin name of Divodurum Mediomatricorum , then like Mettis , becomes in the sixth century of our era the capital of the Frankish kingdom of Austrasia. Commercial city of the Carolingian Empire, Metz is the seat of a powerful bishopric, and an important commercial and banking city of the Holy Roman Empire. Coveted by its neighbors (and expense) and by the Kingdom of France, Metz became a protectorate and a French stronghold at the XVI ^th  century, before being annexed by the German Empire in the late XIX ^th century (Alsace-Moselle). Again French after the First World War, it will be annexed de facto by the Third Reich from 1940 to 1944.

The city has an important architectural diversity, from antiquity to the XX ^th century, rich of a strong medieval and classical heritage, of French influence, but also German, particularly in the imperial district, built during the annexation of ‘Alsace-Lorraine, representative of Wilhelmian architecture. Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains Church, in the city center, is one of the oldest churches in the world, and the oldest church in France. Its inhabitants are called the Messins .

The ancient merchant and military city wanted to be a “garden city”, spanning its urban and architectural landscape along the water and the parks, through a pioneering policy in France in terms of urban ecology.

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

 (source: Wikipedia)