METZ, mets, Germany; an itnportant forti fied city and episcopal see 9f Alsace-Lorraine, on the Moselle, which here divides into several arms, 79 miles northwest of Strassburg. It is the third city of Alsace-Lorraine and has four representatives in the First Chamber of the Prussian Diet. The major part of the town stands on a height within the fortifications, outside of which there is a series of strong i detached forts of excessive strength. Metz is also the centre or seat of control of the group of forts which includes Diedenhofen and Bitsch. In 1912 the garrison numbered The :cathedral is a late Gothic structure, surmounted by a spire of open work 397 feet high. There are imposing public buildings. The manufac tures consist of woolens, cottons, hosiery, hats, muslin, glue, leather, etc. Several battles were i fought in the neighborhood and under its walls between the Germans and French in August 1870. The Germans subsequently invested the own and,. being reduced to a state of famine, on 28 October it capitulated with 180,000 of ficers and men under the command of Marshal BazOne. The near-by cemetery of Chambiere h9.1ds the remains of over 7,000 French soldiers who perished here. It was Included in the ces
sion of territory to Germany at the Peace of 1871. Metz was anciently known as Divodurum, and later the Romans rechristened it Medio matrica, of which Metz is a contraction. The Romans built military roads through the terri tory, and a fine aqueduct, of which traces re main. Attila sacked the town in the 5th cen tury. After the retirement of the Huns, the Franks obtained control and made it the capital of Austrasia. In 870 it was included in East Francia, and developed under German influence. Its prosperity increased, and in the 13th cen tury, as a free imperial city, it attained the zenith of its prosperity. It was taken by the French in 1553. This ownership was later con firmed by the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. Thereafter it remained until 1870, with the rest of Alsace-Lorraine, a peaceable French terri tory. For its history in 1870-71, see FRANco GERMAN WAR. Marshal Petain entered the city at the head of the Tenth Army on 19 Nov. 1918 amid great rejoicing. After 47 years of Ger man domination Metz was reunited to France. Pop. 68,598.