Toul

Toul
Subprefecture and commune
Toul Cathedral
Flag of Toul Flag Error creating thumbnail: sh: /usr/local/bin/rsvg-convert: not found Coat of arms
Country	France
Region	Alsace-Champagne-Ardenne-Lorraine
Department	Meurthe-et-Moselle
Arrondissement	Toul
Canton	Toul
Intercommunality	Terres Touloises
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Alde Harmand
Area1	30.59 km2 (11.81 sq mi)
Population (Jan. 2018)2
INSEE/Postal code	54528 / 54200
Elevation	200–400 m (660–1,310 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Toul (French pronunciation: ​[tul]) is a commune in the Meurthe-et-Moselle department in north-eastern France.

It is a sub-prefecture of the department.

Geography

Toul is between Commercy and Nancy, and the river Moselle and Canal de la Marne au Rhin.

Climate

Toul has a oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Toul is 9.8 °C (49.6 °F). The average annual rainfall is 761.1 mm (29.96 in) with June as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around 18.6 °C (65.5 °F), and lowest in January, at around 1.3 °C (34.3 °F). The highest temperature ever recorded in Toul was 37.9 °C (100.2 °F) on 11 August 1998; the coldest temperature ever recorded was −17.8 °C (0.0 °F) on 9 January 1985.

Climate data for Toul (1981−2010 normals, extremes 1968−1998)
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Record high °C (°F)	15.2 (59.4)	20.2 (68.4)	24.3 (75.7)	27.2 (81)	29.4 (84.9)	33.4 (92.1)	36.8 (98.2)	37.9 (100.2)	30.9 (87.6)	26.5 (79.7)	19.4 (66.9)	17.2 (63)	37.9 (100.2)
Average high °C (°F)	3.8 (38.8)	5.4 (41.7)	10.2 (50.4)	13.6 (56.5)	18.2 (64.8)	21.1 (70)	24.4 (75.9)	24.2 (75.6)	19.5 (67.1)	14.2 (57.6)	7.9 (46.2)	4.9 (40.8)	14.0 (57.2)
Daily mean °C (°F)	1.3 (34.3)	2.0 (35.6)	6.1 (43)	8.8 (47.8)	13.1 (55.6)	16.1 (61)	18.8 (65.8)	18.6 (65.5)	14.7 (58.5)	10.4 (50.7)	5.1 (41.2)	2.6 (36.7)	9.8 (49.6)
Average low °C (°F)	−1.2 (29.8)	−1.3 (29.7)	1.9 (35.4)	3.9 (39)	8.0 (46.4)	11.1 (52)	13.2 (55.8)	12.9 (55.2)	9.8 (49.6)	6.6 (43.9)	2.3 (36.1)	0.2 (32.4)	5.7 (42.3)
Record low °C (°F)	−17.8 (0)	−16.3 (2.7)	−14.6 (5.7)	−5.6 (21.9)	−2.1 (28.2)	0.2 (32.4)	4.3 (39.7)	3.8 (38.8)	0.3 (32.5)	−4.9 (23.2)	−10.9 (12.4)	−17.6 (0.3)	−17.8 (0)
Average precipitation mm (inches)	63.2 (2.488)	51.2 (2.016)	55.5 (2.185)	52.1 (2.051)	73.2 (2.882)	77.2 (3.039)	58.9 (2.319)	54.4 (2.142)	65.2 (2.567)	73.7 (2.902)	62.7 (2.469)	73.8 (2.906)	761.1 (29.965)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm)	12.1	10.2	11.6	10.1	11.7	11.5	8.6	7.7	8.8	11.7	10.7	11.5	126.2
Average snowy days	7.4	7.3	4.6	1.6	0.1	0	0	0	0	0	2.4	4.4	27.7
Source: Météo-France

History

Toul was known to the Romans as Tullum Leucorum, and was the capital of the Gaulish tribe of the Leuci.

In 550, King Theudebald convoked a synod at Toul. In 612, King Theudebert II of Austrasia was defeated by King Theuderic II of Burgundy near Toul. By the Treaty of Meerssen of 870, Toul became part of East Francia, the later Holy Roman Empire. During the High Middle Ages, it became a Free Imperial City. Toul was annexed to France by King Henry II in 1552; this was recognized by the Holy Roman Empire in the Peace of Westphalia of 1648. It then was a part of the French province of the Three Bishoprics.

Toul was the seat of the bishops of Toul; the diocese was founded around 365 and existed until 1807.

During the siege of 1870 during the Franco-Prussian War, the last time that Toul's defenses were used as a classic fortress, 64 guns opened fire at 6:00 a.m. on 23 September, and the fortress surrendered at 3:00 p.m. after 2,433 shells had been fired.

The city was also the primary base of the Air Service, United States Army, a predecessor organization of the United States Air Force during World War I. As such, it was a base for many of the 45 wartime squadrons of the First Army Air Service, including the squadrons of the 1st Pursuit Group, First Army Observation Group and others. The Americans referred to the area around Toul as the Toul Sector. Two large operations were launched from this area: the St. Mihiel Offensive and the Meuse-Argonne Offensive, both in September 1918. During World War II, the American 358th Fighter Group used Toul-Croix De Metz Airfield (A-90) during the fall of 1944 and spring of 1945, and Toul-Rosières Air Base (BA 136) was an American NATO air base during the 1950s and 1960s.

Imperial City of Toul Reichsstadt Tull (de) Ville libre de Toul (fr)
Status		Free Imperial City (State of the Holy Roman Empire)
Capital		Toul
Government		Republic

Population

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1793 8,015 —     1800 6,940 −2.04% 1806 6,973 +0.08% 1821 7,535 +0.52% 1831 7,507 −0.04% 1836 7,333 −0.47% 1841 7,037 −0.82% 1846 7,158 +0.34% 1851 7,271 +0.31% 1856 8,191 +2.41% 1861 7,687 −1.26% 1872 6,930 −0.94% 1876 10,085 +9.83% 1881 10,012 −0.15% 1886 10,459 +0.88% 1891 12,138 +3.02% 1896 12,201 +0.10% 1901 12,287 +0.14%	Year Pop. ±% p.a. 1906 13,663 +2.15% 1911 15,884 +3.06% 1921 12,363 −2.47% 1926 11,951 −0.68% 1931 12,656 +1.15% 1936 13,267 +0.95% 1946 9,389 −3.40% 1954 12,134 +3.26% 1962 14,155 +1.94% 1968 14,780 +0.72% 1975 16,454 +1.54% 1982 17,406 +0.81% 1990 17,281 −0.09% 1999 16,945 −0.22% 2007 16,230 −0.54% 2012 16,271 +0.05% 2017 15,832 −0.55%
Source: EHESS and INSEE (1968-2017)

Sights

The most striking features are the impressive stone ramparts. Those that exist today are the work of Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Louis XIV's military engineer. In 1698 he designed a new enclosure and work began in 1699-1700. Several of Vauban's fortifications in France are listed as a combined UNESCO World Heritage Site. Although the fortifications at Toul are not in that list they do follow the general defiladed fortification pattern for which Vauban is known. There appears to have been a fortified town at this location since the earliest recorded history. Today, the ramparts encircle and define the old town. They are built of dressed white stone, and topped with grass, and in places are over five metres high.

There is a great deal of Roman archaeology in the area and allegedly some in the town. The Roman fortified town of Grand is some 30 km away, with its great amphitheatre and temple to the Cult of Apollo.

The old town's architecture is dominated by past glories in various states of decay, including a major Gothic cathedral, which is in a poor condition and is being slowly restored. Many of the houses were built as canonical residences in the Late Middle Ages and bear vestiges in the form of ornamental stonework. The gothic chapel of the Knights Templar Commandery of Libdeau is undergoing a major restoration.

There is no trace of the monastery, however its wine-cellars still exist, under the shops on the north side of the Rue Gambetta. (Access is possible via the Camera Shop).

Transportation

Toul is at the intersection of the river Moselle (which divides into the river proper and the Moselle Canalisée just outside the town) with the Canal de la Marne au Rhin, and was once, consequently, an important port. The barges known as péniches still navigate these watercourses commercially, typically carrying steel, though in the summer much more of the water traffic is for pleasure.

There is a main-line railway station at Toul, the last major station before the (once vast, and still very large) marshalling yards at Nancy. However, the Paris-Strasbourg TGV line, completed in 2016, passes about 20 km north of Toul, approximately midway between Metz and Nancy.

Economy

The surrounding countryside is a wine-growing region, in which the AOC Côtes de Toul vintage is produced. Particularly notable is the Gris de Toul.

Administration

Toul is the seat and part of the canton of Toul, and of the arrondissement of Toul.

Twin towns

• Hamm, Germany, since 1987
• Jaroměř, Czech republic, since 2017

Notable people

• Saint Gerard of Toul, bishop
• Antoine Augustin Calmet, monk
• Marcel Bigeard, French Army General
• Anne-Laure Blin, politician
• Mickaël Causse, Neuroscientist
• Laurent Gouvion Saint-Cyr, military leader
• Rachid Hamdani, footballer
• Louis Majorelle, furniture designer and manufacturer
• Pascal Vigneron, musician and director of the Bach Toul Festival

Gallery

• Toul Mairie.JPG
• Apothicaire Toul.JPG
• Monument 02113.JPG
• France Grand Est 54 Toul 01.jpg
• France Grand Est 54 Toul 06.jpg
• Toul Meurthe-et-Moselle Fontaine Louis Curel.JPG
• Façade du Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Toul.jpg

• 

  Facade

• Collégiale Saint-Gengoult de Toul.jpg
• France Grand Est 54 Toul 03.jpg
• Toul église saint evre.JPG
• Toul église Saint-Paul croix de Metz.JPG
• Toul chapelle Notre-Dame.JPG
• Toul chapelle Lidbeau.JPG
• Toul chapelle gare cou.JPG
• Toul Chapelle saint charles hôpital.JPG
• Toul chapelle abbaye saint mansuy.JPG
• Toul abbaye saint mansuy.JPG
• Toul église saint mansuy.JPG
• Toul Temple.JPG
• Synagogue Toul.JPG

See also

• Toul-Rosieres Air Base

External links

• Official site
• Toul tourism office
• Toul stronghold 1870 - 1915
• USAS in France interactive Google Map of bases, etc. at www.usaww1.com