Maizières-lès-Metz

Maizières-lès-Metz
Coat of arms
Maizières-lès-Metz
Location within Grand Est region  Maizières-lès-Metz
Coordinates: 49°12′45″N 6°09′42″E / 49.2125°N 6.1617°ECoordinates: 49°12′45″N 6°09′42″E / 49.2125°N 6.1617°E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Moselle
Arrondissement	Metz
Canton	Le Sillon Mosellan
Intercommunality	Communauté de communes de Maizières-lès-Metz
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Gérard Terrier
Area^1	8.92 km^2 (3.44 sq mi)
Population (2006)^2	9,855
• Density	1,100/km^2 (2,900/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	57433 / 57280
Elevation	159–206 m (522–676 ft) (avg. 164 m or 538 ft)
^1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. ^2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Maizières-lès-Metz (Lorrain: Mach'ire) is a commune in the Moselle department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

It was the original home of the now German de Maizière family which, being Huguenots, had to emigrate from France to Prussia in the 17th century. Preserving the name of their original home up to the present, prominent members of the family include Lothar de Maizière, last Prime Minister of the German Democratic Republic, the politician Thomas de Maizière and the general Ulrich de Maizière.

From 1871-1918, as part of Alsace-Lorraine, Maizières belonged to Germany as Maizières-bei-Metz. Between 1915-18 the town's name was briefly Germanized to Macheren. During the German occupation from 1940-44 it was known as Machern-bei-Metz.

The amusement park Walygator is located in Maizières-les-Metz.

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Maizières-lès-Metz is twinned with:

• Bukowsko, Poland

See also

• Communes of the Moselle department