Genealogy in Moselle (57): Online Archives and Useful Resources
Genealogy Cheat Sheet - We provide all useful and free genealogical resources for your research in Moselle
©️Wikimedia - Claude Villetaneuse
Updated: May 30, 2024
The Moselle department is one of the four departments of the Grand Est region, in the northeast of France. Moselle is bordered by the departments of Meurthe-et-Moselle and Bas-Rhin and is bordered by Luxembourg to the west, Germany to the east, and Belgium to the north.
The department of the Moselle, created during the Revolution in 1790, owes its name to the river that runs through it from south to north for about 190 km.
The northern border of the department has undergone many changes until 1829, the date until which some communes became German. In 1871, Moselle was even erased from the map of France, largely annexed by Germany (only the extreme west of the department remained French). It was not until 1919 that the new Moselle department returned to France, a series of strong and significant separations for the population of the department and its surroundings.
The capital of the department is Metz, a city located at the confluence of the Moselle and Seille rivers. Other important cities include Thionville in the north near Luxembourg, as well as Forbach and Sarreguemines near Germany.
With an area of 6,216 km2, Moselle is a medium-sized but densely populated department, with about 1 million inhabitants. This high density is explained by its industrial past linked to the exploitation of iron and coal mines.
The border situation and cultural diversity make genealogy in Moselle a rich and complex discipline, where French traditions and Germanic influences blend in the archives and in surnames.
📜 Archives in the Moselle department
Moselle Departmental Archives: Find your ancestors
Visit the Moselle Departmental Archives:
🏠 1 allée du Château, Saint-Julien-lès-Metz
Contact Moselle Departmental Archives:
📞 03 87 78 05 00
📧 Contact AD 57
The Moselle Departmental Archives provide online accessible records:
Metz Municipal Archives
In addition to departmental archives, search for your ancestors in the digitized archives of the city of Metz:
- Parish registers, civil status, decennial tables (1561-1948)
- Population tables registers (1793-1936)
- Housing records (1870-1969) available only in the reading room
- Minutes and proceedings of the municipal council (1789-2021)
- Records of rulings (1945-2022)
Online records
Unusual records
Migrations in Moselle
- Middle Ages: Germanic populations settled in the region following the great invasions (Franks, Alamans...) from the 5th century. Later, Ashkenazi Jewish communities arrived in Lorraine to escape persecutions.
- Modern period: Lorrain migrants settled in Moselle after the annexation of the Three Bishoprics (Metz, Toul, and Verdun) to France in 1659.
The 18th century saw the immigration of Germanic populations in the mining regions of the Lorrain coal basin.
In the 19th century, the region experienced an emigration movement following the annexation of Alsace-Moselle by Germany after 1871.
By the end of the 19th century, immigrants in Moselle were numerous. The state even tried to control the flow of workers. Between 1880 and 1905, the proportion of foreigners in Moselle doubled, reaching almost 50,000. They were mostly Italians, Belgians, and Poles and came to work in factories, mines, and construction in the industrial valleys between Thionville and Metz
- Contemporary period: Over 10 years, between 1910 and 1920, Moselle saw a significant drop in population (10%), largely due to the departure of foreign workers. Although the department had many German workers in its factories since the beginning of the century, their departure was strongly desired from 1919 for obvious political reasons. These German workers were quickly replaced by Italian and Polish workers.
In the 1930s, many Algerians arrived in Moselle to find their place in the department's steel mills. Survivors of forced labor camps, Ukrainians, Belgians, and Poles also remained in the department. Additionally, during World War II, more than 50,000 Mosellan refugees left for the Vienna.
Finally, by the late 1980s, more than half of the refugees in Moselle came from Southeast Asia (Cambodia,Laos,Vietnam). These populations long resided in Metz and in Saint-Avold.
For more information:
History of immigration in Lorraine
Italian immigrants in Lorraine during the interwar period: from xenophobic rejection to integration strategies
Construction and immigration: Italians and the building industry in Moselle in the 20th century
The Moselle department has also been marked by its involvement in the various conflicts that affected France, due to its border position with Germany. A border position that led it to pay a heavy toll, experiencing occupations, annexations, demolitions, and population displacements:
- During the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648): Moselle was then part of the Three Bishoprics, disputed by France and the Holy Roman Empire. The cities of Metz, Toul, and Verdun were devastated by the fighting.
- During the 1870 war: after the annexation of Alsace-Moselle by Germany, part of the Moselle department (the arrondissements of Metz and Thionville) was also annexed. Thousands of Mosellans had to choose between exile or annexation.
- During World War II: the "Maginot Line" ran along the German border crossing Moselle. The department was invaded by German troops as early as 1940 and liberated in 1944-1945 after fierce battles, such as the Battle of Metz.
🎛️ Moselle in pictures
Videos
Old images and postcards
Old maps of the department
- From Cassini's villages to today's communes: the Moselle
- On Old Maps Online: old maps of the department
- On Gallica: old maps of Moselle
📄 The history of Moselle
On Gallica: the books, the press and the manuscripts to learn everything about the Moselle department
🖉 Genealogy sites in Moselle
Happy researching !
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