Châlons-en-Champagne () is a city in the

Grand Est Grand Est (; gsw-FR, Grossa Oschta; Moselle Franconian/ lb, Grouss Osten; Rhine Franconian: ''Groß Oschte''; german: Großer Osten ; en, "Great East") is an administrative region in Northeastern France. It superseded three former administrat ...

region of

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. It is the capital of the department of

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renamed in 1998. It should not be confused with the Burgundian town of Chalon-sur-Saône.

History

Châlons is conjectured to be the site of several battles including the

Battle of Châlons The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...

fought in 274 between Roman Emperor Aurelian and Emperor

Tetricus I Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was the emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274 AD. He was originally the (governor) of Gallia Aquitania and became emperor after the murder of Emperor Victorinus in 271, with the support of Victorinus's mother, ...

of the

Gallic Empire The Gallic Empire or the Gallic Roman Empire are names used in modern historiography for a breakaway part of the Roman Empire that functioned ''de facto'' as a separate state from 260 to 274. It originated during the Crisis of the Third Century, w ...

. The

Catalaunian Fields The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...

was the site of the

battle of Châlons The Battle of the Catalaunian Plains (or Fields), also called the Battle of the Campus Mauriacus, Battle of Châlons, Battle of Troyes or the Battle of Maurica, took place on June 20, 451 AD, between a coalition – led by the Roman general ...

in 451 which turned back the westward advance of

Attila Attila (, ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns The Huns were a nomadic people who lived in Central Asia, the Caucasus, and Eastern Europe between the 4th and 6th century AD. According to European traditio ...

. It is the setting of the last operetta of

Johann Strauss II Johann Baptist Strauss II (25 October 1825 – 3 June 1899), also known as Johann Strauss Jr., the Younger or the Son (german: links=no, Sohn), was an Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas. He composed ov ...

, ''

Die Göttin der Vernunft ''Die Göttin der Vernunft'' (''The Goddess of Reason'') was the last completed operetta of Johann Strauss II. It was written to a libretto by A. M. Willner and Bernhard Buchbinder and was first performed at the Theater an der Wien on 13 March 18 ...

(The Goddess of Reason)'', (1897) and is mentioned in, “It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown,” as Snoopy’s crash site after doing battle with the Red Baron. Plan de la cathedrale Châlons-sur-Marne 1859 Archives nationales France.jpg, Châlons en Champagne in 1623 Hotel de la Haute-Mère-Dieu Chalons BMReims.jpg, Hôtel de la Haute Mère Dieu in the 19th century

Population

Main sights

* '' Saint Etienne's cathedral'', including parts of the first Romanesque cathedral built in the 12th century. Nevertheless, it was mainly rebuilt in Gothic style. The west façade (in Baroque style) and two close spans were added in the 17th century. * ''

Notre-Dame-en-Vaux The Notre-Dame-en-Vaux is a Roman Catholic church located in Châlons-en-Champagne. The cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcop ...

'' church, part of the UNESCO World Heritage. Built between 1157 and 1217, the collegiate church had a cloister and was a place of pilgrimage in the 12th century, and ''Museum du Cloitre de Notre-Dame-en-Vaux'' 12th century. * ''Saint-Alpin'', perhaps the oldest church of the city. It was rebuilt around 1170 in Gothic style, but still marked by the Romanesque style. * ''Hôtel de Ville'' (city hall). It has a façade representative of the neo-classic period of the end of the 18th century. The steps of the building are protected by four stone lions. * ''Porte Sainte-Croix'' (Sainte-Croix Gate). Previously called Porte Dauphine, this gate was one of the entries into the city. It was dedicated to Marie-Antoinette when she came via Châlons on her way to Paris to marry the future king

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

. * ''La Dernière Relève'' ("The Last Relief"): war memorial next to the cathedral, with group of bronzes by French sculptor Gaston Broquet. * ''Ancien Hotel des Intendants de Champagne'' (eighteenth century). Today home to the Prefecture of the Champagne-Ardenne region and Prefecture of the Marne. * ''Le Cirque''. The old town circus, completed in 1899, is sheltering the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC). File:Hôtel de ville de Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne).JPG, Hôtel de Ville File:Portail occidental et sud 9195.JPG, Châlons Cathedral File:Châlons-en-Champagne_CollégialeND_R01.jpg, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church File:ND-en-Vaux 02.jpg, Cloister Notre-Dame-en-Vaux File:St. Alpin, Chalons, France, 1907. (2788175494).jpg, Interior view of Saint-Alpin (1907). File:Châlons-en-Champagne, the Porte Sainte-Croix.JPG, Sainte-Croix Gate File:Châlons-en-Champagne_Monument_aux_Morts_R03.jpg, War memorial "The Last Relief" File:Vue de Châlons-en-Champagne 220407.jpg, Old Town of Châlons

Transport

The Gare de Châlons-en-Champagne railway station is served by the

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

network with service to and from Paris

Gare de l'Est The Gare de l'Est (; English: "Station of the East" or "East station"), officially Paris-Est, is one of the six large mainline railway station termini in Paris, France. It is located in the 10th arrondissement, not far southeast from the Gar ...

. Other destinations are Reims, Saint-Dizier, Nancy, Bar-le-Duc and Verdun. Additionally, Châlons is connected with the Champagne-TGV station, near Reims, with high speed trains going to

Lille Lille ( , ; nl, Rijsel ; pcd, Lile; vls, Rysel) is a city in the northern part of France, in French Flanders. On the river Deûle, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Pref ...

, Nantes, Rennes and

Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, ), also known as Roissy Airport or simply Paris CDG, is the principal airport serving the French capital, Paris ( and its metropolitan area), and the largest intern ...

. Châlons is located at the intersection of two major axes: * A4 motorway, going from Paris to

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

, towards Reims and

Metz Metz ( , , lat, Divodurum Mediomatricorum, then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle and the Seille rivers. Metz is the prefecture of the Moselle department and the seat of the parliament of the Grand E ...

A26 A26 or A-26 may refer to: Roads * List of A26 roads Transportation * Douglas A-26 Invader, a light attack bomber built by Douglas * Aero A.26, a Czech reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s * Focke-Wulf A 26, a German Focke-Wulf aircraft * Blekinge- ...

motorway, going from Lille to

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

, towards Reims,

Troyes Troyes () is a commune and the capital of the department of Aube in the Grand Est region of north-central France. It is located on the Seine river about south-east of Paris. Troyes is situated within the Champagne wine region and is near to ...

and

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

. Châlons is also served by an international airport devoted to shipping (

Châlons Vatry Airport Châlons Vatry Airport (french: Aéroport Châlons-Vatry; ) is a minor international airport serving Châlons-en-Champagne and the champagne region in northeastern France. It is located southeast of Châlons-en-Champagne, near Vatry, in the Mar ...

br>
, ranking third in France with almost 60,000 tonnes of freight passing through each year. Local transportation is provided b
SITAC BUS
buses.

Education

University level

Arts et Métiers ParisTech Arts et Métiers ParisTech is a French engineering and research institute of higher education. It is a ''grande école'', recognized for leading in the fields of mechanics and industrialization. Founded in 1780, it is among the oldest French ins ...

ENSAM
, a national engineering graduate school. This teaching and research center was established in 1806. Students can attend courses focused on mechanical and industrial engineering. * Centre national des arts du cirque
CNAC
, which is a Circus Arts Learning Centre created in 1985. Each year about twenty students learn all the disciplines of modern circus arts. * Institut Universitaire Technologique (IUT) of Reims, Châlons, Charleville, a branch of the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA) * Institut Universitaire de Formation des Maîtres (IUFM), a branch of the University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne (URCA)

Sport

ESPE Basket Châlons-en-Champagne is a Châlons' basketball team. A temporary

firing range A shooting range, firing range, gun range or shooting ground is a specialized facility, venue or field designed specifically for firearm usage qualifications, training, practice or competitions. Some shooting ranges are operated by militar ...

was used for some

shooting Shooting is the act or process of discharging a projectile from a ranged weapon (such as a gun, bow, crossbow, slingshot, or blowpipe). Even the acts of launching flame, artillery, darts, harpoons, grenades, rockets, and guided missiles ...

events at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (french: Jeux olympiques d'été de 1924), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad (french: Jeux de la VIIIe olympiade) and also known as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The op ...

in Paris.

Twin towns – sister cities

Châlons-en-Champagne is twinned with: *

Bobo-Dioulasso Bobo-Dioulasso is a city in Burkina Faso with a population of 904,920 (); it is the second-largest city in the country, after Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso's capital. The name means "home of the Bobo-Dioula". The local Bobo-speaking population (r ...

, Burkina Faso *

Ilkeston Ilkeston is a town in the Borough of Erewash, Derbyshire, England, on the River Erewash, from which the borough takes its name, with a population at the 2011 census of 38,640. Its major industries, coal mining, iron working and lace making/texti ...

, England, United Kingdom * Mirabel, Canada *

Neuss Neuss (; spelled ''Neuß'' until 1968; li, Nüss ; la, Novaesium) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is located on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It ...

, Germany *

Razgrad Razgrad ( bg, Разград ) is a city in Northeastern Bulgaria in the valley of the Beli Lom river that falls within the historical and geographical region of Ludogorie (Deliorman). It is an administrative center of Razgrad Province. Etymolog ...

, Bulgaria *

Wittenberge Wittenberge () is a town of eighteen thousand people on the middle Elbe in the district of Prignitz, Brandenburg, Germany. Geography Wittenberge is situated at the right (north-eastern) bank of the middle Elbe at its confluence with the Stepe ...

, Germany

Camp de Mourmelon

The ''Camp de Mourmelon'' (formerly known as ''

Camp de Châlons The camp de Châlons, also known as camp de Mourmelon, is a military camp of about 10,000 hectares at Mourmelon-le-Grand, near Châlons-en-Champagne. It was created at the behest of Napoleon III and opened August 30, 1857 during the Second French ...

'') is a military camp of circa 10,000 hectares located near

Mourmelon-le-Grand Mourmelon-le-Grand () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. Population Camp de Châlons The ''camp de Châlons'', also known as ''camp de Mourmelon'', is a military camp of circa 10,000 hectares near Mourmelon-le-Gr ...

north. It was created at the behest of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was the first President of France (as Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte) from 1848 to 1852 and the last monarch of France as Emperor of the French from 1852 to 1870. A nephew ...

and opened 30 August 1857 during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire (; officially the French Empire, ), was the 18-year Imperial Bonapartist regime of Napoleon III from 14 January 1852 to 27 October 1870, between the Second and the Third Republic of France. Historians in the 1930 ...

. The initial purpose was simply for practising military manoeuvres, but it quickly turned into a showcase of the French Imperial Army, a theatrical propaganda display, where French citizens could meet the army and watch parades. Each year the camp was transformed into a town of tents and wooden chalets.The Bonapartes in Châlons en Champagne, by Jean-Paul Barbier and Michel Bursaux, Marnaises Studies, SACSAM, 2009. The camp survived the fall of the Second Empire in 1870, but changed into a training camp and a departure point for troops engaging in overseas operations. The camp is used for military manoeuvres, and cavalry training, along with the neighbouring, 2,500 hectare, '' Camp de Moronvillers''. Firing of live ordnance (rockets, missiles) is prohibited.

Births

Châlons-en-Champagne was the birthplace of: * Martin Akakia (1500–1551) * Thierry Beschefer (1630–1711), Jesuit missionary * David Blondel (1591–1655), Protestant clergyman * Claude D'Espence (1511–1571) French theologian * Jean Talon (1626–1694), first

Intendant of New France The Intendant of New France was an administrative position in the French colony of New France. He controlled the colony's entire civil administration. He gave particular attention to settlement and economic development, and to the administration of ...

Antoine de Chézy Antoine de Chézy (September 1, 1718 – October 5, 1798), also called Antoine Chézy, was a French physicist and hydraulics engineer who contributed greatly to the study of fluid mechanics and designed a canal for the Paris water supply. He i ...

(1718–1798), hydraulics engineer *

Nicolas Appert Nicolas Appert (17 November 1749 – 1 June 1841) was the French inventor of airtight food preservation. Appert, known as the "father of Food Science", was a confectioner. Appert described his invention as a way "of conserving all kinds of food ...

(1749–1841), inventor of "appertisation" for the preservation of food * Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), composer and organist *

Joseph-François Mangin Joseph-François Mangin was born on June 10, 1758 in Dompaire, in the Vosges region of France. He was a French-American architect who is noted for designing New York City Hall and St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in New York City. He died in 1818 ...

(1764–1818), designer of the St. Patrick's Old Cathedral and the New York City Hall * Henri Dagonet (1823–1902), psychiatrist *

Adolphe Willette Adolphe Léon Willette (30 July 1857, Châlons-sur-Marne4 February 1926, Paris) was a French painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and lithographer, as well as an architect of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Willette ran as an " anti-semiti ...

(1857–1926), painter *

Maurice Renard Maurice Renard (28 February 1875, Châlons-en-Champagne – 18 November 1939, Rochefort-Sur-Mer) was a French writer. Career Renard authored the archetypal mad scientist novel '' Le Docteur Lerne, sous-dieu'' r. Lerne - Undergod(1908), wh ...

(1875–1939), writer * Etienne Oehmichen (1884–1955), engineer, considered father of the helicopter *

Robert Louis Antral Robert Antral (Châlons-en-Champagne July 13, 1895 – Paris June 7, 1939) was a French painter and printmaker, mainly of etchings. He won the Prix Blumenthal in 1926 and the Croix de Guerre for his bravery in World War I. Museums * Musée d'ar ...

(1895–1939) painter * Cabu (1938–2015), comic strip artist and caricaturist *

Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent (born ''Le Gallo''; 13 March 1951, in Châlons-sur-Marne) is a French musicologist and member of the Conseil d’État. Career Holder of a master's degree in humanities, Maryvonne de Saint Pulgent continued her studi ...

(born 1951), senior civil servant and musicologist *

Mano Solo Mano Solo (24 April 1963 – 10 January 2010), born Emmanuel Cabut, was a French singer. He was born in Châlons-sur-Marne on 24 April 1963 to the illustrator Cabu and Isabelle Monin, co-founder of the ecology-related magazine, ''La Gueule ouver ...

(1963–2010), singer *

Xavier Bertrand Xavier Bertrand (; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician who has been serving as president of the regional council of Hauts-de-France since the 2015 regional elections. Earlier in his career, Bertrand was Minister of Health from 2005 to ...

(born 1965), politician *

Jacques Massu Jacques Émile Massu (; 5 May 1908 – 26 October 2002) was a French general who fought in World War II, the First Indochina War, the Algerian War and the Suez crisis. He led French troops in the Battle of Algiers, first supporting and later ...

(1908–2002),

paratrooper A paratrooper is a military parachutist—someone trained to parachute into a military operation, and usually functioning as part of an airborne force. Military parachutists (troops) and parachutes were first used on a large scale during Worl ...

, general * Ocquidant, Jennifer (born 1981), environmental activist

Deaths

Châlons-en-Champagne was the death place of: * Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), composer and organist *

George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh FRS (15 November 1778 – 20 August 1840) was an Anglo-Irish Member of Parliament. Garvagh was the son of Paul Canning and the grandson of Stratford Canning of Garvagh in County Londonderry. Prime Minister Georg ...

(1778–1840), diplomat and Fellow of the

Royal Society The Royal Society, formally The Royal Society of London for Improving Natural Knowledge, is a learned society and the United Kingdom's national academy of sciences. The society fulfils a number of roles: promoting science and its benefits, re ...

of London, nephew to British Prime Minister George Canning (1770–1827) *

Clyde Fitch Clyde Fitch (May 2, 1865 – September 4, 1909) was an American dramatist, the most popular writer for the Broadway stage of his time (c. 1890–1909). Biography Born in Elmira, New York, and educated at Holderness School and Amherst College (c ...

, American dramatist

Image

References

External links

Official website
(English/French/German)

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Chalonsenchampagne Communes of Marne (department) World Heritage Sites in France Prefectures in France Catalauni Champagne (province) Aude communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia