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

Grand Est Grand Est (; ) is an Regions of France, administrative region in northeastern France. It superseded three former administrative regions, Alsace, Champagne-Ardenne and Lorraine, on 1 January 2016 under the provisional name of Alsace-Champagne-A ...

region of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. It is the capital of the department of Marne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of

Reims Reims ( ; ; also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French Departments of France, department of Marne (department), Marne, and the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 12th most populous city in Fran ...

. Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renamed in 1995. It should not be confused with the Burgundian town of

Chalon-sur-Saône Chalon-sur-Saône (, literally ''Chalon on Saône'') is a city in the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefectu ...

History

The city was a Gallic and later a Gallo-Roman settlement known in Latin as ''Catalaunum'', taking its name from the Catalauni, a Belgic tribe dwelling in the region of modern

Champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

. Châlons is conjectured to be the site of several battles, including the Battle of Châlons, fought in 274 between Roman Emperor

Aurelian Aurelian (; ; 9 September ) was a Roman emperor who reigned from 270 to 275 AD during the Crisis of the Third Century. As emperor, he won an unprecedented series of military victories which reunited the Roman Empire after it had nearly disinte ...

and Emperor

Tetricus I Gaius Pius Esuvius Tetricus was a Gallo-Roman culture, Gallo-Roman nobleman who ruled as Augustus, emperor of the Gallic Empire from 271 to 274 AD. He was originally the (provincial governor) of Gallia Aquitania and became emperor after the murd ...

of the Gallic Empire, and the 451

Battle of the Catalaunian Plains 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 victorious coalition, led by the Roman ...

, which turned back the westward advance of

Attila Attila ( or ; ), frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central Europe, C ...

. The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1776. 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'' 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'', possibly the oldest church of the city. It was rebuilt around 1170 in a 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 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

. * ''La Dernière Relève'' ("The Last Relief"), a 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 network with service to and from Paris Gare de l'Est. Other destinations are Reims, Saint-Dizier, Nancy, Bar-le-Duc and Verdun. Additionally, Châlons is connected with the Champagne-TGV station, near

, with high speed trains going to

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

Nantes Nantes (, ; ; or ; ) is a city in the Loire-Atlantique department of France on the Loire, from the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast. The city is the List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, sixth largest in France, with a pop ...

, Rennes and Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport. Châlons is located at the intersection of two major axes: * A4 motorway, going from Paris to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

, towards Reims and

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

* A26 motorway, going from Lille to

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

, towards Reims,

Troyes Troyes () is a Communes of France, commune and the capital of the Departments of France, 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 ...

and

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

. Châlons is also served by an international airport devoted to shipping ( Châlons Vatry Airportbr>
, with an average of 16,0000 tons of freight passing through each year. Local transportation is provided b
SITAC BUS
buses.

Education

University level

* Arts et Métiers ParisTech
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 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 missile ...

events at the

1924 Summer Olympics The 1924 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the VIII Olympiad () and officially branded as Paris 1924, were an international multi-sport event held in Paris, France. The opening ceremony was held on 5 July, but some competitions had al ...

in Paris.

Twin towns – sister cities

Châlons-en-Champagne is twinned with: * Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso * Ilkeston, England, United Kingdom * Mirabel, Canada *

Neuss Neuss (; written ''Neuß'' until 1968; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is on the west bank of the Rhine opposite Düsseldorf. Neuss is the largest city within the Rhein-Kreis Neuss district. It is primarily known for its ...

, Germany * Razgrad, Bulgaria * Wittenberge, Germany

Camp de Mourmelon

The ''Camp de Mourmelon'' (formerly known as '' Camp de Châlons'') is a military camp of circa 10,000 hectares located near Mourmelon-le-Grand north. It was created at the behest of

Napoleon III Napoleon III (Charles-Louis Napoléon Bonaparte; 20 April 18089 January 1873) was President of France from 1848 to 1852 and then Emperor of the French from 1852 until his deposition in 1870. He was the first president, second emperor, and last ...

and opened 30 August 1857 during the

Second French Empire The Second French Empire, officially the French Empire, was the government of France from 1852 to 1870. It was established on 2 December 1852 by Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, president of France under the French Second Republic, who proclaimed hi ...

. 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 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 (1497–1551) * 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 * Antoine de Chézy (1718–1798), hydraulics engineer * Nicolas Appert (1749–1841), inventor of "appertisation" for the preservation of food * Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), composer and organist * Joseph-François Mangin (1764–1818), designer of the St. Patrick's Old Cathedral and the New York City Hall * Madeleine Chapelle (1782–1849), wife and model of the painter

Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres ( ; ; 29 August 1780 – 14 January 1867) was a French Neoclassicism, Neoclassical Painting, painter. Ingres was profoundly influenced by past artistic traditions and aspired to become the guardian of academic ...

* Henri Dagonet (1823–1902), psychiatrist *

Adolphe Willette Adolphe Léon Willette (30 July 1857 – 4 February 1926) was a French Painting, painter, illustrator, caricaturist, and lithographer, as well as an architect of the famous Moulin Rouge cabaret. Willette ran as an "antisemitism, anti-semitic" c ...

(1857–1926), painter * Maurice Renard (1875–1939), writer * Etienne Oehmichen (1884–1955), engineer, considered father of the helicopter * Robert Louis Antral (1895–1939) painter * Jacques Massu (1908–2002),

paratrooper A paratrooper or military parachutist is a soldier trained to conduct military operations by parachuting directly into an area of operations, usually as part of a large airborne forces unit. Traditionally paratroopers fight only as light infa ...

, general * Cabu (1938–2015), comic strip artist and caricaturist * Maryvonne de Saint-Pulgent (born 1951), senior civil servant and musicologist * Mano Solo (1963–2010), singer *

Xavier Bertrand Xavier René Louis Bertrand (; born 21 March 1965) is a French politician; he is 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 2007 ...

(born 1965), politician * Camille Brunel (born 1986), journalist and a writer

Deaths

Châlons-en-Champagne was the death place of: * Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), composer and organist * George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh (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, American dramatist

In popular culture

* 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 (), was an List of Austrian composers, Austrian composer of light music, particularly dance music and operettas as well ...

, '' Die Göttin der Vernunft (The Goddess of Reason)'', (1897). *The town is also mentioned in '' It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown'' as where Snoopy crashes his doghouse/"Sopwith Camel" in territory held by the

Imperial German Army The Imperial German Army (1871–1919), officially referred to as the German Army (), was the unified ground and air force of the German Empire. It was established in 1871 with the political unification of Germany under the leadership of Kingdom o ...

, after losing an imaginary aerial

dogfight A dogfight, or dog fight, is an air combat manoeuvring, aerial battle between fighter aircraft that is conducted at close range. Modern terminology for air-to-air combat is air combat manoeuvring (ACM), which refers to tactical situations requir ...

against the Red Baron. (Sign reading: "Chalons-sur-Marne" can be seen in the frame at 2:17 in the video.)

Image

Climate

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