Moselle

The small town of Ediger, in the Mosel Valley in western Germany, contains half-timbered houses dating back many hundreds of years. The vineyards that line the slopes of the valley have a longstanding reputation for producing popular German white wines.

River in Western Europe, some 515 km/320 mi long. It rises in the Vosges Mountains, France, in two headwaters uniting near St-Maurice. It flows north past Metz and is canalized from Thionville to its confluence with the Rhine at Koblenz in Germany. It gives its name to the départements of Moselle and Meurthe-et-Moselle in France. Vineyards along the Moselle in Germany produce popular white wines.

Its main tributaries are the Meurthe in France and the Saar in Germany.

Moselle

Département in the Lorraine region of France; area 6,213 sq km/2,399 sq mi; population (1999 est) 1,023,400. It has a boundary with Germany to the east and with Luxembourg to the north and northeast. It consists largely of a plateau across the east of which flows the River Moselle. Barley, oats, rye, and animal fodder crops are cultivated. The département has coal and iron mines and manufactures machinery, chemicals, and textiles. The administrative centre is Metz; other towns include Boulay, Château-Salins, Forbach, Sarrebourg, Sarreguemines, and Thionville.

Moselle is formed from part of the former province of Lorraine.