Meuse

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For the river, see Meuse (river).
Meuse
—  Department  —
Prefecture building of the Meuse department, in Bar-le-Duc

Coat of arms
Location of Meuse in France
Coordinates: 49°00′N 05°20′E / 49.000°N 5.333°E / 49.000; 5.333Coordinates: 49°00′N 05°20′E / 49.000°N 5.333°E / 49.000; 5.333
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 Bad rounding here31/km2 (Bad rounding here80/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.

Contents

History [edit]

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.

Geography [edit]

Spring in Meuse

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:

Population [edit]

The population has decreased sharply since the 19th century, with the rural exodus to the cities.

Tourism [edit]

See also [edit]

External links [edit]

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