Épernay () is a commune in the Marne department of northern

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 ...

,INSEE commune file
/ref> 130 km north-east of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

on the mainline railway 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 ...

. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne at the extremity of the Cubry valley which crosses it. Épernay is a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

of the department and seat of an

arrondissement An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements ...

History

Épernay () belonged to the archbishops of Reims from the 5th until the 10th century, when it came into the possession of the counts of Champagne. It was badly damaged during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

, and was burned by

Francis I Francis I or Francis the First may refer to: * Francesco I Gonzaga (1366–1407) * Francis I, Duke of Brittany (1414–1450), reigned 1442–1450 * Francis I of France (1494–1547), King of France, reigned 1515–1547 * Francis I, Duke of Saxe-Lau ...

in 1544. It resisted Henry of Navarre in 1592, and Marshal Biron fell in the attack which preceded its eventual capture. In 1642 it was, along with

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry () is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is unknown. The local tradition att ...

, named as a

duchy A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a medieval country, territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important difference between ...

and assigned to the duc de Bouillon.

Population

Main sights

In the central and oldest quarter of the town, the streets are narrow and irregular; the surrounding suburbs, however, are modern and more spacious, with

La Folie La Folie () is a commune in the Calvados department in the Normandy region in northwestern France. Population See also *Communes of the Calvados department The following is a list of the 528 communes An intentional community is a ...

to the East, for example, containing many villas belonging to rich wine merchants. The town has also spread to the right bank of the Marne. One of its churches retains a portal and stained-glass windows from the sixteenth century, but the other public buildings are of modern construction. The most famous street in Épernay is the

Avenue de Champagne L'Avenue de Champagne (The Champagne Avenue) is a famous street located in Épernay, the 'Capital of champagne', in the Grand Est Région of France. Its name derives from the presence of many leading champagne producers such as Moët et Chand ...

which features the leading Champagne manufacturers. Other sights outside the town include: *Château de

Pierry Pierry () is a commune in the Marne department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographic ...

*Château de Montmort * Château de Condé

Economy

Épernay is best known as the principal " entrepôt" for champagne wines, which are bottled and kept in large cellars built into the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. C ...

rock on which the town is built. The major grape varieties used in champagne are the

pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pine ...

, the pinot meunier and the

chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

. The production of the equipment and raw materials used in the champagne industry is a major source of local employment. Champagne Pannier, among others, was established in Épernay before moving to

in 1937.

Brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with yeast. It may be done in a brewery by a commercial brewer ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose, fructose, and galactose. Compound sugars, also called disaccharides or do ...

refinery and the production of hats and caps, are also major industries. Épernay station has rail connections to Paris, Strasbourg, Reims, Metz, Nancy and several regional destinations. Mercier Vineyards, Epernay

Notable people

Épernay was the birthplace of: *

Flodoard Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are ...

(894–966), chronicler * Maakan Tounkara, handball player * Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, Québécois politician * Gabrielle Dorziat, comedian *

Yohann Diniz Yohann Diniz (born 1 January 1978) is a French race walker. He is the current world-record holder for the 50 km race, with a time of 3:32:33, and for the 50,000 metres track walk, with a time of 3:35:27. Career He won the gold medal in the 50&n ...

, athlete * John Gadret, cyclist * Léon Homo (1872–1957), historian * Jean-Baptiste-Maximien Parchappe de Vinay (1800–1866),

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry, the branch of medicine devoted to the diagnosis, prevention, study, and treatment of mental disorders. Psychiatrists are physicians and evaluate patients to determine whether their sy ...

* Alex Vanopslagh, Danish politician Épernay was the final resting place of: * Léon Azéma (1888–1978), French architect, died in Épernay and is buried in the cemetery there. *

Yvette Lundy Yvette Lundy (22 April 1916 – 3 November 2019) was a French resistance fighter during the French Resistance of World War II. She provided the inspiration for the character of Mademoiselle Lise Lundi in the 2009 film ''Korkoro'', written and di ...

(1916–2019), member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance (french: La Résistance) was a collection of organisations that fought the German occupation of France during World War II, Nazi occupation of France and the Collaborationism, collaborationist Vichy France, Vichy régim ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Épernay is twinned with: * Ettlingen, Germany * Clevedon, England, United Kingdom *

Fada N'gourma Fada N'gourma, also written Fada-Ngourma or Noungu, is a city and an important market town in eastern Burkina Faso, lying east of Ouagadougou, in the Gourmantché area. It is the capital of the East region and of Gourma province. It is known fo ...

, Burkina Faso * Middelkerke, Belgium * Montespertoli, Italy

References

External links

Official website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Epernay Communes of Marne (department) Subprefectures in France Champagne (province)