The 6 municipalities of the valley

Stories from the towns of the valley

Des anecdotes sur les six communes de la vallée de l’agglomération Portes de France – Thionville, il y en a ! L’équipe de Pays Thionvillois Tourisme vous en conte quelques unes, sélectionnées rien que pour vous. Sites touristiques, activités, savoir-faire, découvrez aussi les incontournables de chaque commune.
Prêt à poser vos valises !

Basse-Ham

There are numerous crosses and Bildstocks in this territory. They are the signs of the vivid popular devotion in this town and they are usually located on a square, at a crossroad or by the side of a road as an ex-voto. One of the most ancient one is called “Croix de peste de la Chappelle Saint-Marc”, it is located in Haute-Ham and it was built in 1533.

If it has the peaceful side and the architecture of the Lorraine village, Basse-Ham has nothing to envy to the other localities of the agglomeration. Composed of three distinct entities, Basse-Ham, Haute-Ham and Saint-Louis, it has been transformed into a dynamic town, with its Nautic’Ham leisure center as a flagship location.

Illange

The Fort of Illange was built between 1903 and 1910 during the German annexation in order to protect the fortified group of Guentrange. It was intended to accommodate up to 1,200 soldiers and it was composed of a fortified barrack circled by four infantry barracks with ditches made of concrete and stake shelters. All of it was firmly surrounded by a barbwire network and connected with underground tunnels.

From Cormontaigne to the Maginot Line

FORT D'ILLANGE

Feste Illingen there's plenty to do The Illange fortified group was built between 1905 and 1910. Its role was to protect the Moselle valley. Today, this 40-hectare wooded area...

CHAPELLE SAINT-ROCH

A small Gothic chapel, it was used as a place of prayer and meditation before becoming a burial chamber. Now transformed into a place of culture, you can enjoy its annual...

BIBLIOTHEQUE D'ILLANGE

The Illange library is a great place to read, and opens its doors to young and old alike. Thanks to a wide choice of books and magazines, as well as audio supports, the whole...

Kuntzig

In Kuntzig you can still find a former employer’s lodging. Located on the 73 Grand Rue, it is the witness of the soap industry in this village the end of the XIXth century. It was built for Hawner (a manufacturer) and four years later a tallow smelter was added. It was used in the making of soap and for the leather industry.

Manom

If you wander in the various rooms of Château de la Grange, you may find the portrait of a child, which was painted by Elisabeth Vigée- Lebrun. This celebrated painter of the XVIIIth century was queen Marie Antoinette’s official portrait painter.

On castles trail

Terville

In the 1930s, many workers’ housings were constructed. The cité du Moulin (Windmill city), also called “cité de Verdun” in Terville used to welcome the officers from the Maginot Line because of a delay in the commissioning of the steel factory.

Yutz

Among all the archaeological discoveries in Thionville and its surroundings, the most famous ones are the vases of Yutz. These coral and enamel decorated pots, with their wolf-shaped handle are the proof of the great skills of the ceramic workshop workers in Yutz. The Louvre and various museums in Metz did not want these vases but the British Museum decided to incorporate them in its collection.

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