Verdun,

Verdun, a fortified French town in the department of Meuse, 35 miles W. of Metz by rail. It has eleven forts, a cathedral, and manufactures of iron, liquors, sweetmeats, leather, and beer. Pop. (1891) 18,195. In 843 a famous treaty was made here between the Emperor Lothaire and his brother Ludwig the German, by which the Frankish empire was divided in three (see FRANCE, p. 778). The fortress has been often besieged; as it was in 1870 by the Germans for six weeks, when it capitulated. It was the last place held by Germany, given up only in September 1873.