town, Moselle département, Lorraine région, northeastern France. It is on the canalized Moselle River, near the Luxembourg border. It has remains of a 13th-century castle, built by the counts of Luxembourg. Formerly a part of the Holy Roman Empire, Thionville was taken from the Spaniards by Louis II de Bourbon in 1643. It was called Diedenhofen by the Germans, who held it from 1870 until 1919.

Thionville was a steelmaking and heavy manufacturing centre, but present-day economic activity is focused on light industry. Administrative and service activities are an important source of employment as well. Pop. (1999) 40,907; (2005 est.) 41,600.