Editing Metz (section)

== Culture ==

=== Museums and exhibition halls ===
[[File:Cultural venues in Metz, France.jpg|thumb|Some of the cultural venues in Metz, clockwise from top: the [[Arsenal de Metz|Arsenal]], the [[museums of Metz|Golden Courtyard]], the [[Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole|Opera House]], and the [[Place Saint-Jacques (Metz)|Saint-Jacques square]]]]
[[File:Museum 1870 War Gravelotte.jpg|thumb|The Museum of the 1870 War and of the Annexion, the only museum in Europe dedicated to the [[Franco-Prussian War]]]]
 
[[File:Metz Saint Pierre R02.jpg|thumb|[[Basilica of Saint-Pierre-aux-Nonnains]], the oldest church in France and cradle of the [[Gregorian Chant]]]]
[[File:Palais episcopal Metz.jpg|thumb|The [[Covered Market, Metz|Covered Market]], home to traditional local food producers and retailers]]
[[File:Fireworks Saint Nicholas celebrations, Metz 2011.jpg|thumb|Fireworks on the town square for the celebrations of [[St. Nicholas|Saint Nicholas]], the [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]]'s [[patron saint]]]]
* The [[Centre Pompidou-Metz]] is a museum of [[Contemporary art|modern and contemporary arts]], the largest temporary exhibition area in France outside Paris. The museum features exhibitions from the extensive collection of the [[Centre Georges Pompidou|Centre Pompidou]], Europe's largest collection of 20th-century art.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/en/welcome |title=Official website of the Centre Pompidou-Metz. |access-date=29 June 2012 |archive-date=28 November 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201128070419/http://www.centrepompidou-metz.fr/en/welcome |url-status=dead}}</ref>
* [[Metz Cathedral|Saint Stephen's Cathedral]] is the [[Gothic architecture|Gothic]] cathedral of the city built during the 13th century.<ref name="CathedralWebcam" /> The cathedral exhibits the collection of the [[Roman Catholic Diocese of Metz|Bishopric of Metz]], including [[parament]]s and items used in the service of the [[Eucharist]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.cathedrale-metz.fr/ |title=Official website of the Saint-Stephen Cathedral. |access-date=29 June 2012 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ina.fr/art-et-culture/architecture/video/SXF01013690/tresors-de-la-cathedrale-de-metz.fr.html |title=INA Archive (1969) Trésor de la cathédrale de Metz, Lorraine soir, ORTF |format=VIDEO |access-date=2 July 2012 |language=fr |archive-date=14 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100114234017/http://www.ina.fr/art-et-culture/architecture/video/SXF01013690/tresors-de-la-cathedrale-de-metz.fr.html |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ina.fr/economie-et-societe/religion/video/SXC02003845/patrimoine-tresor-de-la-cathedrale-de-metz.fr.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130213103640/http://www.ina.fr/economie-et-societe/religion/video/SXC02003845/patrimoine-tresor-de-la-cathedrale-de-metz.fr.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 February 2013 |title=INA Archive (1980) Patrimoine: trésor de la cathédrale de Metz, Lorraine soir, France 3 régions |format=VIDEO |access-date=2 July 2012 |language=fr}}</ref> Metz Cathedral is sometimes nicknamed the Good Lord's Lantern ({{Langx|fr|la Lanterne du Bon Dieu}}),<ref>Jolin J.L. (2001) La lanterne du Bon Dieu. Eds. Serpnoise. {{ISBN|2-87692-495-1}}. {{in lang|fr}}</ref> as it has the largest expanse of stained glass windows in the world: {{cvt|6500|m2}}. These include works by [[Gothic art|Gothic]] and [[Renaissance art|Renaissance]] master glass makers [[Hermann von Münster]], Théobald of Lixheim and [[Valentin Bousch]], [[romanticism|romantic]] [[Charles-Laurent Maréchal]], [[tachisme|tachist]] [[Roger Bissière]], [[cubism|cubist]] [[Jacques Villon]] and [[modernism|modernist]] [[Marc Chagall]].
* Another of the city's churches displays a complete set of stained glass windows by French [[modernism|modernist]] [[Jean Cocteau]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://marcmetzmoselle.eklablog.com/metz-les-vitraux-de-jean-cocteau-a-saint-maximin-a105918768 |title=Saint-Maximin church, Cocteau's artworks. |access-date=2 July 2012 |language=fr}}</ref>

In addition, Metz features other museums and exhibition venues, such as:
* The [[Regional Contemporary Art Fund of Lorraine|FRAC Lorraine]], a public collection of [[contemporary art]] of the [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine]] region. It is located in the 12th-century Saint-Liver [[Hôtel particulier|Hôtel]] and organizes exhibitions of local and international contemporary artists.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.fraclorraine.org/ |title=Official website of the Lorraine Contemporary Arts Gallery. |access-date=29 June 2012 |language=fr}}</ref>
* The [[museums of Metz|Golden Courtyard]] ({{Langx|fr|la Cour d'Or}}), a museum dedicated to the history of Metz, divided into four sections (e.g. archeology, medieval, architecture and fine arts).<ref name="museums">{{cite web |url=http://musee.metzmetropole.fr/site/index.php |title=Official website of the Golden Courtyard Museum. |access-date=29 June 2012 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616152416/http://musee.metzmetropole.fr/site/index.php |archive-date=16 June 2012}}</ref> The Golden Courtyard displays a rich collection of Gallo-Roman and medieval finds and the remains of the Gallo-Roman baths of ''Divodurum Mediomatricum'', revealed by the extension works to the museums in the 1930s.
* The Museum of the 1870 War and of the Annexion in [[Gravelotte]], a village located within the Metz-Metropole conurbation and the site of the [[Battle of Gravelotte]], the only museum in Europe dedicated to the [[Franco-Prussian War]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Museum of the Franco-Prussion War and the Annexion |url=https://www.tourisme-lorraine.fr/en/discover/remembrance/1870-1871-and-the-annexation/sites-and-monuments/838142781-musee-de-la-guerre-de-1870-et-de-lannexion-gravelotte |website=LaLorraine, Sites and monuments |access-date=13 January 2017 |archive-date=16 January 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170116155934/https://www.tourisme-lorraine.fr/en/discover/remembrance/1870-1871-and-the-annexation/sites-and-monuments/838142781-musee-de-la-guerre-de-1870-et-de-lannexion-gravelotte |url-status=dead }}</ref> The museum exhibits military and everyday items from the period as well as artworks related to the 1870 war. A mausoleum erected in 1904 honoring the soldiers who died during the battle, the Memorial Hall ({{Langx|fr|La Halle du Souvenir}}), has been included in the museum.
* The House for Europe, located on the estate of [[Robert Schuman]] in [[Scy-Chazelles]] in the Metz-Metropole conurbation, transformed into a museum and convention centre.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.robert-schuman.eu/en/robert-schuman-european-centre |title=Scy-Chazelles: the house of Europe, the Robert Schuman Foundation. |access-date=28 February 2014}}</ref> Across the street is the fortified 12th Century church where Robert Schuman now rests. The Robert Schuman House for Europe organises cultural and educational events that introduce the visitor to Schuman's life and works and to the way Europe has been constructed and continues to develop today.
* Verlaine's House ({{Langx|fr|la Maison de Verlaine}}) is a museum located in the house where the poet [[Paul Verlaine]] was born, dedicated to his work, featuring permanent and temporary exhibitions.<ref name="Verlaine" /><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.amis-verlaine.net/ |title=The Verlaine's Friends, International Association of French Poetry. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr}}</ref> The [[Solange Bertrand]] foundation, located in the artist's former house, conserves and displays her artworks.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://valerie.dexemple.perso.neuf.fr/fondation/Accueil.html |title=Official website of the Solange Bertrand Foundation, gourmet webpage. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr |archive-date=24 July 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120724012859/http://valerie.dexemple.perso.neuf.fr/fondation/Accueil.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The municipal archives preserve and exhibit Metz's historical municipal records dating from medieval times to the present.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.metz.fr/metz2/sortir/archive/index.php |title=Official Metz municipal website, Municipal Archives webpage. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504023423/http://metz.fr/metz2/sortir/archive/index.php |archive-date=4 May 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Entertainment and performing arts ===
Metz has several venues for the performing arts. The [[Opéra-Théâtre de Metz Métropole|Opera House of Metz]], the oldest working [[opera house]] in France, features plays, dance and lyric poetry.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://opera.metzmetropole.fr/site/index.php |title=Official website of the Opera House of Metz Metropole. |access-date=29 June 2012 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120615080657/http://opera.metzmetropole.fr/site/index.php |archive-date=15 June 2012}}</ref> The [[Arsenal de Metz|Arsenal Concert Hall]], dedicated to [[art music]], is widely renowned for its excellent acoustics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.arsenal-metz.fr/ |title=Official website of the Arsenal of Metz. |access-date=29 June 2012 |language=fr}}</ref><ref>Classica (2010) Les hauts lieux de la musique. September, Issue 125 {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The Trinitarians Club is a multimedia arts complex housed in the vaulted cellar and chapel of an ancient convent, the city's prime venue for [[jazz]] music.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.lestrinitaires.com/ |title=Official website of the Trinitaires. |access-date=29 June 2012 |language=fr |archive-date=24 April 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120424131630/http://www.lestrinitaires.com/ |url-status=dead}}</ref> The Music Box ({{Langx|fr|Boîte à Musique}}), familiarly known as BAM, is the concert venue dedicated to rock and electronic music.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.bam-metz.fr/ |title=Official website of the BAM. |language=fr}}</ref> The Braun Hall and the [[Bernard-Marie Koltès|Koltès]] Theater feature plays, and the city has two [[movie theater]]s specializing in [[Auteur theory|Auteur cinema]]. The [[Place Saint-Jacques (Metz)|Saint-Jacques Square]], surrounded by busy bars and pubs whose open-air tables fill the centre of the square.

Since 2014, the former bus garage has been converted to accommodate over thirty artists in residence, in a space where they can create and rehearse artworks and even build set decorations.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tcrm-blida.com/ |title=Official website of the Tcrm-Blida creative center. |date=29 June 2014 |language=fr}}</ref> The artistic complex, called Metz Network of All Cultures ({{Langx|fr|Toutes les Cultures en Réseau à Metz}}) and familiarly known as TCRM-Blida, encompasses a large hall of {{cvt|3000|m2}} while theater and dance companies benefit from a studio of {{cvt|800|m2}} with backstages. {{Citation needed|date=December 2015}}

=== Metz in the arts ===
Metz was an important cultural centre during the [[Carolingian Renaissance]].<ref name="GregorianChant" /> For instance, [[Gregorian chant]] was created in Metz during the 8th century as a fusion of Gallican and ancient Roman repertory. Then called Messin Chant, it remains the oldest form of music still in use in Western Europe. The bishops of Metz, notably [[Chrodegang of Metz|Saint-Chrodegang]] promoted its use for the Roman liturgy in Gallic lands under the favorable influence of the Carolingian monarchs. Messin chant made two major contributions to the body of chant: it fitted the chant into the ancient Greek [[octoechos]] system, and invented an innovative [[musical notation]], using [[neume]]s to show the shape of a remembered melody.<ref>Grier J. (2003) Ademar de Chabannes, Carolingian Musical Practices, and Nota Romana. Journal of the American Musicological Society. 56 (1):43–98.</ref> Metz was also an important centre of [[Illuminated manuscripts|illumination]] of [[Carolingian art#Illuminated manuscripts|Carolingian manuscripts]], producing such monuments of Carolingian book illumination as the [[Drogo Sacramentary]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://bm.mairie-metz.fr/clientbookline/home.asp |title=Official Metz library website, medieval book webpage. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120621014656/http://bm.mairie-metz.fr/clientbookline/home.asp |archive-date=21 June 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://bm.mairie-metz.fr/sitebm/commun/patrimoine/galerie%20Vy/index-heures.html |title=Official Metz library website, Book of Hours of John of Vy. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120114103409/http://bm.mairie-metz.fr/sitebm/commun/patrimoine/galerie%20Vy/index-heures.html |archive-date=14 January 2012}}</ref>

The [[Metz School]] ({{Langx|fr|École de Metz}}) was an art movement in Metz and the region between 1834 and 1870, centred on [[Charles-Laurent Maréchal]].<ref name="ecolemetz">Livre Groupe (2010) École de Metz: Christophe Fratin, Charles-Franois Champigneulle, Laurent-Charles Marechal, Louis-Theodore Devilly, Auguste Migette. Eds. Books LLC. {{ISBN|978-1-159-58648-5}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> The term was originally proposed in 1845 by the poet [[Charles Baudelaire]], who appreciated the works of the artists. They were influenced by [[Eugène Delacroix]] and inspired by the medieval heritage of Metz and its romantic surroundings.<ref name="ecolemetz" /> The Franco-Prussian War and the annexation of the territory by the Germans resulted in the dismantling of the movement. The main figures of the Metz School were Charles-Laurent Maréchal, [[Auguste Migette]], {{ill|Auguste Hussenot|fr}}, [[Louis-Théodore Devilly]], [[Christophe Fratin]] and {{ill|Charles Pêtre|fr}}.<ref name="ecolemetz" /> Their works include paintings, engravings, drawings, stained-glass windows and sculptures.

A festival named "passages" takes place in May. Numerous shows are presented to it.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://festival-passages.org |title=Accueil – Festival Passages Metz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210312144304/https://www.festival-passages.org/ |archive-date=12 March 2021}}</ref>

=== Graoully dragon as symbol of the city ===
{{See also|Graoully|Clement of Metz}}
The Graoully is depicted as a fearsome dragon, vanquished by the sacred powers of [[Saint Clement of Metz]], the first Bishop of the city. The Graoully quickly became a symbol of Metz and can be seen in numerous insignia of the city, from the 10th century on.<ref name="graoully">Bellard A. (1966) Le Graoully de Metz à la lumière de la paléontologie. Ed. Mémoires de l'Académie de Metz. {{ISBN|978-2-9531744-3-4}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref> Writers from Metz tend to present the legend as an allegory of Christianity's victory over [[paganism]], represented by the harmful dragon.<ref name="graoully" />

=== Cuisine ===
Local specialties include [[quiche]], [[potée]], Lorraine [[pâté]] and also [[suckling pig]].<ref name="cuisine">Sassi J. (2002) Cuisine, terroir et traditions de Moselle. Eds. Serpenoise. {{ISBN|2-87692-534-6}} {{in lang|fr}}</ref><ref name="cuisine2">{{cite web |url=http://tourisme.metz.fr/en/mes_attentes/gastronomie.php |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130213115249/http://tourisme.metz.fr/en/mes_attentes/gastronomie.php |url-status=dead |archive-date=13 February 2013 |title=Official Metz tourism website, gourmet webpage. |access-date=1 July 2012}}</ref> Various dishes such as jam, tart, [[charcuterie]] and [[fruit brandy]] are made from the [[Mirabelle plum|Mirabelle]] and [[Damsons]].<ref name="cuisine" /><ref name="cuisine2" /> Metz is the home of some [[Pastry|pastries]], such as Metz cheese pie and Metz Balls ({{Langx|fr|boulet de Metz}}), a ganache-stuffed biscuit coated with [[marzipan]], caramel and dark chocolate.<ref name="cuisine" /> Local beverages include [[Moselle wine]] and Amos beer.<ref name="cuisine" /><ref name="cuisine2" /> The [[Covered Market, Metz|Covered Market of Metz]] is one of the oldest and most grandiose in France and is home to traditional local food producers and retailers.  It was originally built as the bishop's palace but the [[French Revolution]] broke out before the Bishop of Metz could move in and the citizens decided to turn it into a food market.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://siteindex.francetoday.com/covered-market.html |title=France Today magazine, Covered Market webpage. |access-date=6 May 2012 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929130112/http://siteindex.francetoday.com/covered-market.html |archive-date=29 September 2011}}</ref> The adjacent Chamber's Square ({{Langx|fr|Place de la Chambre}}) is surrounded by numerous restaurants serving local food.

=== Celebrations and events ===
Many events are celebrated in Metz throughout the year.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://tourisme.metz.fr/fr/metz/fun/sortie-907121-0-0.php#.T-5cBXCkQVk |archive-date=17 February 2013 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130217123447/http://tourisme.metz.fr/fr/metz/fun/sortie-907121-0-0.php%23.T-5cBXCkQVk |url-status=dead |title=Official website of the Metz tourism office, events calendar (automated updates). |language=fr}}</ref> The city of Metz dedicates two weeks to the [[Mirabelle plum]] during the popular Mirabelle Festival held in August. During the festival, in addition to open markets selling fresh plums, mirabelle tarts and mirabelle liquor, there are live music, fireworks, parties, art exhibits, a parade with floral floats, a competition, the crowning of the Mirabelle Queen and a gala of celebration.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://fetesdelamirabelle.fr/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120630113513/http://www.fetesdelamirabelle.fr/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=30 June 2012 |title=Official website of the Mirabelle Festival in Metz. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr}}</ref>

A literature festival is held in June. The Montgolfiades [[hot air balloon festival]] is organized in September. The second most popular [[Christmas Market]] in France is held in November and December.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.noel-a-metz.com/ |title=Official website of the Christmas Market in Metz. |access-date=1 July 2012 |language=fr |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120623093017/http://www.noel-a-metz.com/ |archive-date=23 June 2012}}</ref> Finally, a [[St. Nicholas|Saint Nicholas]] parade honors the [[patron saint]] of the [[Lorraine (region)|Lorraine region]] in December.