Creutzwald
Creutzwald Lake
Creutzwald Lake
Flag of Creutzwald
Coat of arms of Creutzwald
Location of Creutzwald
Creutzwald is located in France
Creutzwald
Creutzwald
Creutzwald is located in Grand Est
Creutzwald
Creutzwald
Coordinates: 49°12′00″N 6°41′00″E / 49.2°N 6.6833°E / 49.2; 6.6833
CountryFrance
RegionGrand Est
DepartmentMoselle
ArrondissementForbach-Boulay-Moselle
CantonBoulay-Moselle
IntercommunalityWarndt
Government
  Mayor (20202026) Jean-Luc Wozniak[1]
Area
1
26.72 km2 (10.32 sq mi)
Population
 (Jan. 2021)[2]
12,514
  Density470/km2 (1,200/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
  Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
57160 /57150
Elevation198–334 m (650–1,096 ft)
(avg. 219 m or 719 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Creutzwald (French pronunciation: [kʁøtsvald]; German: Kreuzwald) is a commune in the Moselle département in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

With Germany, it manages the Warndt forest.

History

The town was formed in 1810, by the merging of the three villages of La Croix, La Houve, and Wilhelmsbronn. It continued to be known as Creutzwald-la-Croix until 1961, when the name was simplified. Until that point, it had been redundant, as the German word Kreuz, and French Croix both mean "cross".

Like the other communes of the present-day Moselle department, Creutzwald was annexed to the German Empire from 1871 to 1918.

During the Second World War, the commune was annexed by the Third Reich. It was not liberated until December 1944.

Creutzwald was the last town in France to have a working coal mine, in La Houve, which closed on 23 April 2004.

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1968 14,471    
1975 15,540+1.02%
1982 15,060−0.45%
1990 15,169+0.09%
1999 14,360−0.61%
2007 13,468−0.80%
2012 13,607+0.21%
2017 13,095−0.76%
Source: INSEE[3]

Administration

Together with the municipalities of Bisten-en-Lorraine, Guerting, Ham-sous-Varsberg and Varsberg, it forms the Communauté de communes of Warndt.[4] Since 2015, it is part of the canton of Boulay-Moselle.

Industrial and handcraft activities

Glass

The first industrial development of the commune was linked to glass, thanks to the abundance of wood in the forests and the presence of silica sand in the soil.[5] The first glass factories were set up between 1602 and 1603 by the Condé family, gentlemen glassmakers from Champagne. Several glass factories operated simultaneously in Creutzwald until the middle of the 17th century, when they gradually declined. The last one, La Houve, was established in 1705 to revive the activity, and was bought by the glass factory of Meisenthal in 1843.[5]

Steel and iron

The iron and steel industry started in the La Houve forest.[6] It was initiated by the Quien family, who installed two blast furnaces initially fuelled by charcoal. The hydraulic power produced by the water of the Bisten enabled the blowers to be put into action to increase the temperature in the furnaces.[6] The iron industry flourished until the revolution, which stopped this activity. In 1814, François Payssé revived the iron and steel production. Then the factory passed into the hands of the Schlincker family.[6] The blast furnaces were shut down and only the cast iron casting remained. The Quinchez family took over the running of the company. Finally, in 1929, the factory was directed by the Schmitt brothers. It was closed after the Second World War.[6]

See also

References

  1. "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  4. CC du Warndt, Banatic database
  5. 1 2 "Le verre". creutzwaldhistoire.fr (in French).
  6. 1 2 3 4 "Histoire". Creutzwald ville (in French).
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