Meisenthal

Meisenthal
Meisenthal
Commune
	A general view of Meisenthal
	Coat of arms
	Location of Meisenthal
	Meisenthal Meisenthal
	Coordinates: 48°57′59″N 7°21′11″E / 48.9664°N 7.3531°E
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Moselle
Arrondissement	Sarreguemines
Canton	Bitche
Intercommunality	CC du Pays de Bitche
Government
• Mayor (2022–2026)	Jénifer Freund
Area 1	6.36 km2 (2.46 sq mi)
Population (2021)	652
• Density	100/km2 (270/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	57456 /57960
Elevation	255–431 m (837–1,414 ft) ; (avg. 350 m or 1,150 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Meisenthal (French pronunciation: [maizəntal]; Lorraine Franconian: Meisedal) is a commune in the Moselle department of the Grand Est administrative region in north-eastern France.

The village belongs to the Pays de Bitche and to the Northern Vosges Regional Nature Park. As of 2020, the village's population is 662. The inhabitants of the commune are known as Val-Mésangeois and Val-Mésangeoises.

The village is famous for the Centre International d'Art Verrier (CIAV; international center for studio glass). Glass has been produced in Meisenthal since the early 18th century, and since the 19th century Christmas decorations from Meisenthal were famous. It has been suggested that in the mid 19th century a shortage of apples inspired the local glass blowers to produce baubles to be used as decorations for Christmas trees instead.^[3]

References

^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 6 June 2023.
^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
^ Larsen, Timothy (2020). The Oxford Handbook of Christmas. Oxford University Press. p. 437. ISBN 978-0198831464.