Metzeral (French pronunciation: [mɛtsəʁal] ⓘ) is a commune in the Haut-Rhin department in Grand Est in north-eastern France.

The valley suffered poorly during the Thirty Years' War (1618 - 1648), with southern Alsace annexed by France in 1648, with most of the remainder conquered later in the century.

The French Revolution gave autonomy to each commune in the valley, which had the right to its mayor and municipal council.

After Franco-Prussian War (1870 - 1871), Alsace became an administrative possession or 'Imperial territory' of Germany, following the founding of the German empire.

Originally included in the Metzeral ban, Mittlach (founded in 1741 by Tyrolean lumberjacks) was established as a commune on 1 April 1908.

These events were immortalized by the official army painter: François Flameng, whose sketches and drawings appeared in the magazine L'Illustration.

Indeed, while a German offensive was being prepared (January 1945), for three weeks, such an abundance of snow began fall[7] that any military operation became impossible.