Commune of Meurthe-et-Moselle (54330) with 95 inhabitants.
The
commune
of
Saxon-Sion,
located
in
the
department
of
Meurthe-et-Moselle,
is
rich
in
a
thousand-year-old
history.
From
the
Late
Bronze
Age,
around
1000
BC,
the
hill
of
Sion,
on
which
the
commune
is
located,
was
an
important
economic
and
political
center,
as
evidenced
by
archaeological
data
revealing
the
existence
of
a
town
and
trade
with
distant
regions.
In
the
11th
century,
the
site
of
Sion
established
itself
as
a
major
place
of
Christian
worship.
A
church
dedicated
to
the
Virgin
Mary
was
built
there,
making
Sion
an
important
pilgrimage
site
in
Lorraine.
During
the
Thirty
Years'
War
(1618-1648),
Sion
Hill
was
the
scene
of
conflicts,
particularly
in
1633,
when
the
Swedes
pillaged
the
sanctuary,
taking
relics
and
precious
objects.
In
1873,
a
statue
of
the
Virgin
Mary
was
installed
at
the
top
of
the
bell
tower
of
the
Notre-Dame
de
Sion
Basilica,
becoming
a
strong
symbol
of
the
Saintois
region.
In
the
20th
century,
Sion
Hill
inspired
the
writer
Maurice
Barrès,
who
described
it
as
a
"place
where
the
spirit
blows"
in
his
novel
"La
Colline
infirmières"
published
in
1913.
Coordonnées 48° 25′ 36″ nord, 6° 04′ 47″ est Altitude Min. 302 m Max. 528 m Superficie 6,25 km2
