COMMUNE DE VIC-SUR-SEILLE

Vic-Sur-Seille, established on an island of briquetting, had prosperous salt works until the Middle Ages. To better protect it from the covetousness of the dukes of Lorraine, the bishops of Metz made it a fortified town with a castle and ramparts from the 12th century. In this city, also famous for its vineyards, they established their temporal capital from the 13th to the 18th century. Home of the painter Georges de la Tour (1593-1652), Vic has been home to the painting Saint-Jean-Baptiste dans le Désert since May 1995. This city established around the exploitation of salt was first a Gallo-Roman village before becoming very early the possession of the bishops of Metz. One of them, Bertram the Saxon, built a powerful castle and fortifications there in 1200. Vic-sur-Seille really became an episcopal city when a serious conflict with the burghers of Metz (1234) forced the bishops to choose this place as the capital of their temporality. Threatened by the dukes of Lorraine, the city strengthened its defenses, at the same time as many Rhenish artists practiced their art there. To walk through the streets of Vic is to discover the history of Vic. Three periods have particularly marked the civil architecture of this city: the flamboyant 15th century, the triumphant decade 1620-1630 and the flourishing 18th century. Some evidence of medieval military architecture and religious architecture. Guided tour on reservation at the Tourist Office of the Pays du Saulnois at 03 87 01 16 26.