Lindre

The pond of Lindre and its surroundings, classified Natura 2000, is located in the department of the the Moselle in Lorraine.

The pond of Lindre is located at the south-east of the department, near the town of Dieuze (in the East of Nancy), on the Lorraine plate, the pond of Lindre belongs to the Pays of the ponds, country of hills with weak slopes, which adds up 134 ponds. Worked at the wire of the centuries by the human activities, which created ponds, forests, hedges, fields and meadows, the pond of Lindre preserves its natural character today. It was preserved urbanization of the last decades which gained the accesses of the other large ponds of the Moselle. The field of Lindre is classified site Natura 2000 and profits from the label Ramsar since February 2nd 2003.

Hydrography

The pond of Lindre concentrates surface waters of a catchment area of 103 km ² where the hydrographic network, very dense, includes/understands nearly a score of very variable ponds of sizes organized in chains along the brooks.

It is the brook of Speck, length whose the ponds of Rorbach, Lansquenet and Zommange are aligned which emerges in the cornea of Guermange to form the pond of Lindre.

This pond includes/understands 27km shore and its maximum depth does not exceed 6 meters with an average depth of approximately 2 meters. The pond has a surface of 620ha is 13 million m3 of water, this by making the largest pond of pisciculture of France. It is at the exit of the pond of Lindre that the Seille takes its source.

History

Origins

The creation of the pond of Lindre probably goes back to 11th or 12th century at ends of pisciculture, to feed the populations out of fish and waterfowl. Its name would come linter , kind of flat-bottomed boat. The current water reserve would have been created by the dukes of Lorraine at the 15th century. The pond also acquired a strategic aspect to defend the fortified town of Marsal established by Vauban, because by breaking its dam, its water can flood the valley of the Pail and to protect Marsal, high place of the industry of salt, like Dieuze and possibly Metz.

The royal period

Whereas the industry of salt takes importance in the area, the saltworks representing half of the incomes of the dukes of Lorraine at the 16th century, the pond is affirmed like an strategic issue because, by controlling the course of the Pail, it allowed the transport of wood by floatation to feed the saltworks. When Lorraine was attached to France at the 18th century, the pond of Lindre passed to kings de France.

A private field

Under the Empire, in 1807, the pond of Lindre is sold to private owners. It will become property of the Masson family. Georges-Timothée Masson, member of the Société of Agriculture develops pisciculture, and publishes to with it in 1843 a report concerning the management of its field. His/her son Antoine-Achilles Masson married Adélaïde de Montalivet, girl of the count de Montalivet, minister of Louis-Philippe.

The family of Montalivet creates in 1908 the “Company of the fields of Lindre”, a property of 1950 hectares ponds, grounds cultivable, meadows and forests, whose management is entrusted to a manager. Dam, bombarded by American in 1944 to force Germans to release their positions (operation without much result which flooded the town of Dieuze), was rebuilt in 1946.

The maintenance of the pond of Lindre in the same family during 150 years enabled him to escape the urbanization which unfortunately disfigured the other ponds of the area.

Today

When the field is put on sale by the family of Montalivet in 1974, this site is already recognized for its great ecological interest. Vis-a-vis fear seeing developing projects of tourist installation, such those which developed on the edges of the other large ponds of the area, a project of Natural reserve is examined. Considered to be too constraining, it is abandoned. The General advice of the Moselle, with an financial aid of the State and Area, then makes the acquisition of the ponds of the field in 1976. The forest field is repurchased by an insurance company and the farms sold to the farmers.

The General advice of the Moselle, via the establishment of the “ Field of Lindre ”, nowadays maintains the exploitation traditional of the pond according to an intensive annual cycle (whereas this one was done more extensively according to a triennial cycle until in 1950) This cycle includes/understands the filling and the stocking with fish of the pond in spring, and drains it and fishes it with the autumn.

Avian flu : The zone in 2007 is concerned with surveillance measures and increased vigilance following the discovery of new mid cases 2007 of highly pathogenic H5N1 in swans and ducks mallards died in this sector.

See too

Internal bonds

Avian flu
H5N1

External bonds

www.domainedelindre.com
site of the House of the Country of the Ponds

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