Lorraine (région)

This article is about the French administrative région of Lorraine. For the historical duchy and province of Lorraine, see Lorraine (province). French Région |native_name = Région Lorraine |common_name = Lorraine |image_flag = Flag_fr-lorraine_300px.png |image_flag_size = 115px |image_logo = LorLogo.gif |image_logo_size = |flag = (Région flag)|capital = Metz |area = 23,547 |area_scale = 10 |Regional president = Jean-Pierre Masseret
(PS) (since 2004) |population_rank = 11th|population_census = 2,310,376 |population_census_year = 1999 |population_estimate = 2,334,000 |population_estimate_year = 2005 |population_density = 99 |population_density_year = 2005 |arrondissements = 19 |cantons = 157 |communes = 2,337 |départements = Meurthe-et-Moselle
Meuse
Moselle
Vosges |image_map = Lorraine map.png|footnotes=|}}

The History of Lorraine

Lorraine (French: Lorraine; German: Lothringen) is one of the 26 régions of France. Its two main cities are Metz (administrative capital) and Nancy (historical capital).

It is important to note that the current région of Lorraine is larger than the historical duchy of Lorraine which gradually passed under French sovereignty between 1737 and 1766. The modern région includes provinces and areas that historically were separate from the duchy of Lorraine proper:
* Barrois
* Three Bishoprics
* several small principalities which were still part of the Holy Roman Empire at the time of the French Revolution

Some people consider that the traditional province of Lorraine is limited to the duchy of Lorraine proper, while other people consider that it includes Barrois and the Three Bishoprics.

location of the Lorraine province

The Three Bishoprics were non-contiguous territories around Metz, Verdun, and Toul which were detached from the Holy Roman Empire in the 16th century and passed under French sovereignty.

The case of Barrois is the most complicated: the western part of Barrois (west of the Meuse River), known as Barrois mouvant, was detached from the rest of Barrois in the early 14th century and passed under French sovereignty. On the other hand, the largest part of Barrois (east of the Meuse River) was a duchy (Duchy of Bar) part of the Holy Roman Empire and united with the duchy of Lorraine in the 15th century by the marriage of the duke of Bar, René I of Naples, with the daughter of the duke of Lorraine, Isabella. Thus the duchies of Bar and Lorraine were united under the same duke, although formally they kept separate existence until their incorporation into France in 1766.

Place Stanislas - Arc de triomphe

When French régions were created in the middle of the 20th century, it was decided to gather Barrois, Three Bishoprics, and Lorraine proper into a single region. Barrois was too small to become a région in its own right, while the Three Bishoprics were a territory without any real unity. It was decided to call the région "Lorraine" only, without mention of Barrois, the Three Bishoprics, or any of the small principalities formerly part of the Holy Roman Empire.

During World War II, the cross was adopted as the official symbol of the Free French Forces (French: Forces Françaises Libres, or FFL) under Charles de Gaulle.

Croix de Lorraine

The capitaine de corvette Thierry d'Argenlieu suggested the adoption of the Cross of Lorraine as symbol of the Free French, both to recall the perseverance of Joan of Arc (whose symbol it had been), and as an answer to the Hakenkreuz.

In his general order n° 2 of the 3 July 1940, vice-admiral Émile Muselier, then chief of the naval and air forces of the Free French for only two days, created the bow flag displaying the French colours with a red cross of Lorraine, and a cocarde also featuring the cross of Lorraine.

Appropriately, de Gaulle is memorialised by a gigantic 43 meter high Cross of Lorraine at his home village of Colombey-les-Deux-Églises.

The cross was also carried on the fuselages of aircraft flying on behalf of the Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres (FAFL) from 1940 to 1943 to distinguish them from the aircraft of the Vichy French air force, which continued to sport the traditional French air force (Armée de l'Air) roundels, dating from World War I.

The Cross of Lorraine was later adopted by Gaullist movements such as the Rally for the Republic.

Geography

Chajoux Valley

Lorraine is the only French region to have borders with three other countries: Belgium (Wallonia), Luxembourg, and Germany (Saar, Rhineland-Palatinate). It also borders the French regions of Franche-Comte, Alsace, and Champagne-Ardenne. The location of Lorraine led to it being seen as a strategic asset and as the crossroads of four nations, it had a very important role in European affairs. Lorraine also has many rivers run through it, which include the Rhine, Moselle, Meurthe, and Meuse.

Culture

Most of Lorraine is widely considered 'French', hence Bismarck only annexed about a third of today's Lorraine to the German Empire following the Franco-Prussian War. The disputed third, known as Moselle, had a culture not easily classifiable as either French or German possessing both French and German dialects. Like much of the Balkans and Eastern Europe much of Lorraine was a patchwork of ethnicities and dialects, sometimes not even mutually compatible with either French or German.

Place Stanislas - Fountain of Neptune

Despite the French government 'single language' policy, the local German dialect still survives, called Frankish. This is a different German dialect from the neighbouring Alsatian language, with which it is often confused. Both dialects are called Alsacien in French, and neither have any form of official recognition.

Like most of France's regional languages (such as Breton, Provençal and Alsatian) Frankish was largely replaced by French with the advent of mandatory public schooling in the 19th and 20th centuries.

Cuisine

Quiche lorraine

The use of the potato in Lorraine can be traced back to 1665 and it is used in various traditional dishes of the region such as the Potée lorraine. The Breux potato, which takes its name from the village of Breux which is to the north of the Meuse, is considered to be excellent by experts due to the perfect conditions of the area. Smoked bacon is also a traditional ingredient of the cuisine of Lorraine. It is used in various traditional of the region, including dishes such as the famous Quiche Lorraine.The mirabelle plum of Lorraine is the emblematic fruit of the Lorraine. It is used in a wide assortment of traditional dishes, such as Tarte aux Mirabelles. The mirabelle is also used in alchoholic beverages.

Beverages

Wine

The most well-known wine of the region is the pinot noire of Toul. There are vineyards in the valley of the Moselle, the valley of Seille, the valley of Metz, and the valley of Sierck.BeerHistorically, Lorraine was the location of many breweries, including the Champigneulles, Vézelise, Tantonville, Ligny-In-Barrois, and Metz.

Today, all of these breweries have closed down business, but there still are a few breweries in the region, including Les Brasseurs de Lorraine in Pont-à-Mousson.

Traditional dishes in the region include:

· Quiche Lorraine

· Lorraine pâté

· Lorraine potful (potaye).

· The andouille

· Rapés fritters

Economy

With 44 billion Euros, Lorraine generates 3.4% of France's GDP, and ranks 8th out of the 22 regions of France. The logistics and service sectors have experienced the strongest growth in recent years while the traditional industries (textiles, mining, metallurgy) have experienced a decline and consequently the region has experienced a major difficulty with the rising unemployment rate that is near the national average.