Meuse
| Meuse | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| — Department — | |||
|
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| Location of Meuse in France | |||
| Coordinates: 49°00′N 05°20′E / 49°N 5.333°ECoordinates: 49°00′N 05°20′E / 49°N 5.333°E | |||
| Country | France | ||
| Region | Lorraine | ||
| Prefecture | Bar-le-Duc | ||
| Subprefectures | Commercy Verdun |
||
| Government | |||
| • President of the General Council | Christian Namy | ||
| Area1 | |||
| • Total | 6,211 km2 (2,398 sq mi) | ||
| Population (1999) | |||
| • Total | 192,198 | ||
| • Rank | 88th | ||
| • Density | 31/km2 (80/sq mi) | ||
| Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | ||
| • Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | ||
| Department number | 55 | ||
| Arrondissements | 3 | ||
| Cantons | 31 | ||
| Communes | 498 | ||
| ^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2 | |||
Meuse (French pronunciation: [møz]) is a department in northeast France, named after the River Meuse.
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[edit] History
Meuse is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the former provinces of Barrois (area of Bar-le-Duc) and Three Bishoprics (area of Verdun).
The department was one of the great battlefields of World War I; an important battle was fought in 1916 at Verdun.
[edit] Geography
Meuse is part of the current region of Lorraine and is surrounded by the French departments of Ardennes, Marne, Haute-Marne, Vosges, Meurthe-et-Moselle, and Belgium on the north. Parts of Meuse belong to Parc naturel régional de Lorraine.
The important rivers are the following:
[edit] Demographics
The population has decreased sharply since the 19th century, with the rural exodus to the cities.
[edit] See also
- Cantons of the Meuse department
- Communes of the Meuse department
- Arrondissements of the Meuse department
[edit] External links
- (French) Prefecture website
- (French) General council website
- (English) Meuse Tourism Guide
- (French) Official Tourist Board website
- (English) Rhine-Meuse delta studies
- Bibliography on Water Resources and International Law Peace Palace Library