Country of Longuyon

Formerly, a Roman way connecting REIMS in TRIER passed in the confluence of rivers Chiers and Crusnes by a ford which allowed the travelers to cross these two rivers. From the 2nd century, the first inhabitants appeared to help the travelers to cross for a contribution. This long ford ( Long gué in French) gave its name to the place: LONGA-GUADA. After many centuries, this name was transformed several times to arrive at LONGUYON in 18th century.

The city was Gallo-Roman then under the authority of kings Merovingians and Carolingians. It was invaded by Huns in 451. It was then under the authority of kings of Germania and Lotharingy. The city was a part of the domain of the Abbey of Orval, which exists even at present in Belgium; abbey which depended on the Archbishopric of Trier.

Besides the agriculture which made his inhabitants live, the region produced a long time some iron, stemming from the open-air extracted ore near Tellancourt and near Saint-Pancré, in 7km of LONGUYON. We can see even at the moment, in the forest situated between these villages, cavities were dug for this extraction. One factory of rifle barrel still existed in 18th century to LONGUYON and LOPIGNEUX.

As many of the other cities, LONGUYON possessed its feudal castle: the castle of MUSSY, dismantled in 1672 on order of the king Louis XIV. In 1142, one abbey Cistercian was set up to some leagues of LONGUYON, near the village of SORBEY: the Abbey of Châtillon.

In 12th century, the Saint-Agathe collegiate church was set up in the place of a former chapel near the heart of the old medieval city, the district Mazelle. The 18th end, the choir of this collegiate church was paved with stones of the court of the castle of MUSSY.

The steel-making activity declined in 19th century for the benefit of the pond of Longwy, but the city developed all the same thanks to the arrival of the railroads of the east Company which settled down to LONGUYON from 1848.

In spite of the invasion of the Prussians in 1870, the city will remain connected in France and LONGUYON, who was a part of the Moselle since the Revolution, will be integrated in Meurthe-et-Moselle.

Regrettably, the Prussians returned later, and they massacred wildly 86 inhabitants of LONGUYON in August, 1914. The city was partially burned and was declared " martyred City " after this war. Streets of LONGUYON are still called of the name of the cities which helped in its reconstruction: SÈTE street and DEAUVILLE street.

At the beginning of 1930’s, was built the MAGINOT line, the fort of FERMONT of which is to 5 km of LONGUYON. The city was emptied of its inhabitants at the beginning of 1940, because exactly too much near lines frontally. Set apart some plunders, the city suffered less than during the previous conflict. After the war, as the rest of France, the region participated in its reconstruction, and steel mills supplied with the employment to the inhabitants of LONGUYON. Regrettably, at the beginning of 1980’s, factories closed one after the other. Today, only LUXEMBURG, close, keeps a steel-making activity. LUXEMBURG and BELGIUM are at present important suppliers of jobs.

By crossing the other pages of this web site, you can discover the most interesting places of the region, and can be so, shall have we the pleasure to see you visiting LONGUYON and its surroundings in some weeks....