Sarreguemines

Sarreguemines (German: Saargemünd, Lorraine Franconian: Saargemìnn) is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France.

It is the seat of an arrondissement and a canton. As of 2020, the town's population was 20,555. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Sarregueminois and Sarregueminoises in French.

Geography
Sarreguemines, whose name is a French spelling of the name in local Lorraine-German dialect "Saargemin", meaning "confluence into the Saar", is located at the confluence of the Blies and the Saar, 79 km east of Metz, 107 km northwest of Strasbourg by rail, and at the junction of the lines to Trier and Sarrebourg. Sarreguemines station has rail connections to Strasbourg, Saarbrücken and Metz. Traditionally Sarreguemines was the head of river navigation on the Saar, its importance being a depot where boats were unloaded.

Administration
Sarreguemines was, from 1985 to 2015, the seat of two cantons:
 * Sarreguemines, consisting of the Sarreguemines commune only.
 * Sarreguemines-Campagne, comprising 21 nearby communes.

Both cantons, minus the communes of Grundviller, Guebenhouse, Loupershouse and Woustviller that were added to the canton of Sarralbe, were merged into one canton of Sarreguemines on 1 January 2015.

History
Sarreguemines, originally a Roman settlement, obtained civic rights early in the 13th century. In 1297 it was ceded by the count of Saarbrücken to the Duke of Lorraine, and passed with Lorraine in 1766 to France. French Influence: The fortunes of Sarreguemines took another turn in 1766 when it passed from Lorraine to France. This period saw the town further develop its industries, including the production of plush velvet, leather, faience, porcelain, and papier-mâché boxes, primarily utilized for snuffboxes. Sarreguemines became renowned for its artisanal craftsmanship and artistic traditions.

It was transferred to Germany in 1871, with the Treaty of Frankfurt following the Franco-Prussian War. From 1871 to 1918 it formed part of the German imperial province of Alsace-Lorraine and manufactured plush velvet, leather, faience and porcelain, and was a centre for making papier-mâché boxes, mostly used for snuffboxes. It was returned to France after World War I.

On 21–23 December 1944 the 44th Infantry Division (United States) threw back three attempts by the Germans to cross the Blies River. An aggressive defense of the Sarreguemines area was continued throughout February and most of March 1945.

Notable people
Sarreguemines was the birthplace of :
 * Jean-Pierre Bachasson, comte de Montalivet (1766–1823), Peer of France and a French statesman
 * Auguste Hilarion Touret (1797 – 1858) - French philhellene officer and a participant in the War of Independence of Greece
 * Maximilian von Jaunez (1873–1947), industrialist and politician
 * Hans Traut (1895-1974), general
 * Marianne Oswald (1901-1985), singer
 * Karl Ullrich (1910-1996), Knight's Cross holder
 * Eugen-Ludwig Zweigart (1914-1944), pilot
 * Céleste Lett (born 1951), politician
 * Michel Roth (born 1959), chef
 * Eric Hassli (born 1981), French footballer
 * Lucien Schmitthäusler (1935–2020), writer and educator
 * Matthieu Sprick (born 1981), French cyclist
 * Erza Muqoli (born 2005), French singer