Metz (in French pronounced [1]) is a city in the northeast of France, capital of the Lorraine région and of the département of Moselle (57). It is located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers.Although historically Nanzig (Nancy) was the capital of the duchy of Lotharingia, it was Metz which was chosen as the capital of the newly created région of Lorraine in the middle of the 20th century, because of its past history as the capital of the region of Lotharingia - an origin found much more republican-friendly than the duchy-related theory, pointing to Nancy as the region capital.
History
Roman Divodurum
In ancient times Metz, then known as Divodurum (the town at the holy mountain), was the capital of the Celtic Mediomatrici, and the name of this tribe, abbreviated to Mettis, formed the origin of the present name. At the beginning of the Common Era, the site was already occupied by the Romans. Metz became one of the principal towns of Gallia, more populous than L
Source:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metz