We suppose that the place of the city of hayange has been among the areas of settlement of the very first Frankish invasions in the 5th and the 6th centuries. The seigneury of Hayange goes back to the 13th century with Guillaume de Heinga. One century later, we find his descendant municipal magistrate in the city of Thionville.
In 1315 Hayange has 55 households. In 1498 "because of the growing number of his inhabitants" the abbey of Metz takes part in the extension of the naves of the church. The Four Kings war and the Thirty Years war are among the most terrible in these troubled times. They ravaged Hayange and its 14000 souls. After such disasters, the population slowly re-forms, with a flood coming from Belgium that will constitute the first immigration movement that will keep on irrigating the Fensch Valley.
From the forges to the mines, a long tradition
In Gaul and under Empror Charlemagne, iron industry was already established. We find written traces of the existence of the mines in the 12th century. The first forge of Hayange dates from 1323. It produced horseshoes, containers, chains, iron bars, and from the 15th century arms and munitions. After the Thirty years war, two forges of Hayange will be left in the whole valley: the Rodolphe and the Marolles.
The Rodolphe will be restored and will supply the fortress of Thionville in bullets and cannonballs.
The Wendel's House
Early in the years 1700, in Europe once more at war, military authorities make a Jean Martin Wendel responsible for taking the forges of Hayange in hands. He has a castle built and obtains his letters patent of nobility. Then he dies in 1737, leaving a considerable fortune and many descendants who will continue with steel industry, insuring the permanence of the region.
In 1783, there are 336 Hayangenses. 159 are forges wage earners;100 years later, there are more than 4000 inhabitants who came from some other french regions but from Prussia, Bavaria and Luxembourg as well. 1905 has more than 10000 inhabitants with an important italian immigration whose efficience was very appreciated and who will come out on strikes. Poles, germans, belgians and even two chineses will come. Tons of ores extracted were also paid with these workers' sweat and blod, including women and childrens. A few years ago, between 1922 and 1931,with an average number of 1374 miners, 2633 people were injured and 25 were killed.
During the 2 world-wars, manufactories are saved from bombardments, insuring a relative safety of the town and its population. The interwar period sees the development of the Wendel's House works with the support of church: worker houses, hospitals, household education, schools, cooperatives, sport, etc. And yet, the daily bread is not always assured to the workers and trade-unionisme goes on getting organized while unemployment turns up. From the years 1940, a new labour will come from North-Africa.
Ciao, ciao... Steel industry
In 1950, SOLLAC steel complex settles close to the manufactories of Hayange and Thionville. And yet, the first closures of the mines in 1962 already announce the rising crisis to come. Mergers, manufactories restructuring plans, redeployments and lay-offs will change the whole industrial and social holdings. The valley will lose from 6000 to 7000 employments between 1971 and 1975. In these years, Hayange will try hard to guard against stagnation recursing to the pool of the villages of St Nicolas, Marspich and Ranguevaux's resources.
To read :
"Hayange, d'un siècle à l'autre" by Adrien Printz, 1980
Société d'histoire et d'archéologie de Lorraine ed., Thionville, France
