There was once a city inRoman times, calledDivodurum. It was the capital of aCeltic tribe calledMediomatrici. They were called the "Mettis" for short, which is where the name "Metz" comes from. The Romans controlled this city for a long time as an important center inGallia, but it was captured byAttila theHun in 451. It was shortly after taken over by theFranks.
Metz remained a very important city, and as the borders changed over the years, it became the capital ofAustrasia (from 561 to 751) and ofLotharingia (from 843 to 925), before becoming part of theHoly Roman Empire (from 925). The city was handed to KingHenry II of France in 1552. In 1633, it became the capital of a French province called the "Three Bishoprics". ThePrussians captured the town in 1870 and Metz once again became part of Germany, until 1918 when it was won back by France. The Germans captured it once morein1940 but France regained it in 1944.
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