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Gravelotte

Coordinates: 49°06′38″N 6°01′50″E / 49.1106°N 6.0306°E / 49.1106; 6.0306
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Gravelotte
The church in Gravelotte
The church in Gravelotte
Coat of arms of Gravelotte
Location of Gravelotte
Map
Gravelotte is located in France
Gravelotte
Gravelotte
Gravelotte is located in Grand Est
Gravelotte
Gravelotte
Coordinates: 49°06′38″N 6°01′50″E / 49.1106°N 6.0306°E / 49.1106; 6.0306
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentMoselle
ArrondissementMetz
CantonLes Coteaux de Moselle
IntercommunalityMetz Métropole
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Michel Torloting[1]
Area
1
5.66 km2 (2.19 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
810
 • Density140/km2 (370/sq mi)
Demonym(s)Gravelottin, Gravelottine
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
57256 /57130
Elevation221–325 m (725–1,066 ft)
Websitewww.gravelotte.org
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Gravelotte (French pronunciation: [ɡʁavlɔt]; German: Gravelotte) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France, 11 km west of Metz. It is part of the functional area (aire d'attraction) of Metz.[3] Its population is 827 (2019).[4]

From 1871 until the end of World War I in 1918, it was the westernmost city of Germany.

History

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Gravelotte is located between Metz and the former French-German frontier, as it was between 1870 and 1918. It was famous as the scene of the battle of 18 August 1870 between the Germans under King William of Prussia and the French under Marshal Bazaine. The battlefield extends from the woods which border the Moselle above Metz to Roncourt, near the river Orne. Other villages which played an important part in the battle of Gravelotte were Saint-Privat, Amanvillers and Sainte-Marie-aux-Chênes, all lying to the north of Gravelotte.[5]

During WW1, the village was spared from the fighting. After the Armistice of 1918 and the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in June 1919, the village of Gravelotte became French again.

Between 1940 and 1944, as in the rest of the annexed Moselle, many young people, who were forcibly enlisted into the German army, were sent to the Eastern Front, some of them never returned. The commune was liberated by General Patton's troops in 1944, during the battle of Metz.[6]

Sights

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Military sites and buildings

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  • Military cemetery: nearly 8,000 people are buried there.
  • Musée de la Guerre de 1870 et de l'Annexion : a museum dedicated to the Franco-Prussian War and the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ Commune de Gravelotte (57256)
  4. ^ Populations légales 2019: 57 Moselle, INSEE
  5. ^  One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the public domainChisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). "Gravelotte". Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 12 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 383.
  6. ^ Caboz, René (1984). La bataille de Metz : 25 août-15 septembre 1944. [Sarreguemines]: Pierron. ISBN 2-7085-0022-8. OCLC 12969394.
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