- Commercy
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Commercy
War memorial 
CommercyLocation within Lorraine region
CommercyAdministration Country France Region Lorraine Department Meuse Arrondissement Commercy Canton Commercy Intercommunality Pays de Commercy Mayor François Dosé Statistics Elevation 227–280 m (745–920 ft)
(avg. 232 m/761 ft)Land area1 35.37 km2 (13.66 sq mi) Population2 6,324 (1999) - Density 179 /km2 (460 /sq mi) INSEE/Postal code 55122/ 55200 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. Coordinates: 48°45′43″N 5°35′33″E / 48.7619°N 5.5926°E
Commercy (French pronunciation: [kɔ.mɛʁ.si]) is a commune in the Meuse department in Lorraine in north-eastern France.
It is the home of the madeleines referred to by Marcel Proust in A la Recherche du Temps Perdu.[1]
Contents
History
The city was first mentioned in 823. Its name has been Commarchia (which means "sur la marche", i.e. at the border) and then Commercium during the Middle-Age.
After the marriage of the lord of Commercy with one of the daughters of the count of Saarbrücken in 1247, the city has belonged to the county of Saarbrücken for one century. In 1324, the count of Saarbrücken decided to divide his possessions between his sons. Commercy gained its independence from the county of Saarbrücken but the count of Saarbrücken kept a castle in the city, a few hundred meters from that of the lord of Commercy. The existence of two different castles in the city remained until the 1722.
Leopold Joseph, Duke of Lorraine bought the two castles in 1702 and 1722. From 1737 the French Princess Élisabeth Charlotte d'Orléans, Dowager Duchess of Lorraine, was the Sovereign Princess of Commercy till her death in 1744. She was the daughter of Philippe I, Duke of Orléans and Elizabeth Charlotte of the Palatinate; she was the paternal grandmother of Marie Antoinette. The Principality then went to the Polish king Stanisław Leszczyński who was given the Duchy of Lorraine and Bar after losing his crown in 1736. After her death, the Château de Commercy was a residence of Stanisław Leszczyński.
Twin towns
It is twinned with the German town of Hockenheim.
See also
References
- ^ Proust, Marcel (1922). Du côté de chez Swann. À la recherche du temps perdu. Grasset and Gallimard.
External links
- Office de Tourisme du Pays de Commercy (France)
- Office de Tourisme du Pays de Commercy (European Union)
Categories:- Communes of Meuse
- Subprefectures in France
- Meuse geography stubs
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