Definition of metz Metz
/mɛˈts/ - [mets] - Metz
We found 2 definitions of metz from 2 different sources.
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What does metz mean?
Military DictionaryMilitary Dictionary and Gazetteer 💥
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metz
(anc. Divodurum). A city and fortress of Alsace-Lorraine, situated on the Moselle. It was the Roman Divodurum, or Meti, capital of the Mediomatrici, a powerful Gaulish tribe (whose name it took at a later date), and of the kingdom of Austrasia, or Metz, in the 6th century; but in 985, Otho II. made it a free imperial city, and thereafter it was used by the German emperors as a barrier against France. It was besieged by Charles VII. in 1444, and could only preserve its freedom by the payment of 100,000 crowns. At length Henry II. obtained possession of it in 1552; and although it was besieged by Charles V. with an army of 100,000 men, his efforts were completely baffled by the skill and energy of the Duke of Guise, and by the courage and constancy of the townsmen; so that the French continued in possession of the town till it, along with Toul and Verdun, was formally secured to them by the peace of Westphalia in 1648. During the Franco-German war (1870-71) the emperor Napoleon III. arrived at Metz, and assumed the chief command, July 28, 1870. After the disastrous defeats at Wörth and Forbach, August 6, the whole French army, except the corps of MacMahon, De Failly, and Douay, was concentrated here, August 10, 11, and by delay was hemmed in by the Germans. Marshal Bazaine assumed the chief command on August 8, and on August 14 he was attacked at Courcelles, a little east of Metz. On August 16, Bazaine advanced from the fortress, but was attacked by the second army, under command of Prince Frederick Charles, at Vionville, and was compelled to retreat to Metz. But on August 17, Bazaine massed his troops for a decisive conflict, and on August 18 he gave battle at Gravelotte (which see), but was compelled to retreat again, and was shut up in the city. Prince Frederick Charles now surrounded the city, and then began one of the greatest sieges of history. After many brilliant sallies Bazaine was compelled to surrender, October 27, on account of starvation and sickness, with an army including 3 marshals, 66 generals, 173,000 men, including the imperial guard, 400 pieces of artillery, 100 mitrailleuses, and 53 eagles and standards; and on October 29 the Germans entered Metz. All the army that surrendered was compelled to go to Germany as prisoners of war. In May, 1871, Metz was ceded to the German empire by the peace of Frankfort, and its fortifications greatly strengthened.
Wikipedia 
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Metz is a city in northeast France. It is on the Moselle River. It is the capital city of the region of Lorraine (since the mid-20th century), and also of the département of Moselle (since 1790).
There was a city here in Roman times, that they called "Divodurum". It was the capital of a Celtic tribe called "Mediomatrici". They were called the "Mettis" for short, which is where the name "Metz" comes from. The Romans controlled this city for a long time as an important center in Gallia, but it was captured by Attila the Hun in 451. Soon after that it was taken over by the Franks.
It kept being a very important town after that, and as the borders changed over the years, it was at different times the capital of Austrasia (between 561 and 751) and of Lotharingia (between 843 and 925), before ending up inside the Holy Roman Empire (from 925). The city was given to the King of France in 1552. In 1633, it became the capital of a French province called the "Three Bishoprics". The Prussians captured it in 1870, and Metz again became part of Germany, until 1918 when it was again taken by France. Since then, it has been part of France, except between 1940 and 1944 when it was again part of Germany.
In 1999, about 125,000 people lived in Metz.
