Marne () is a department in the Grand Est 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 named after the river Marne which flows through it. The prefecture (capital) of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne (formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne). The subprefectures are Épernay,

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 ...

, and Vitry-le-François. It had a population of 566,855 in 2019. The Champagne vineyards producing the eponymous sparkling wine are in Marne.

Name

The department is named after the Marne, which was called ''Matrona'' in Roman times.

History

Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the province of Champagne. Marne has a long association with the French Army. The training ground of the ''Camp Militaire de Mailly'' straddles the border with the département of Aube in the south while that of the ''Camp de Mourmelon'' occupies a large area north of Châlons-en-Champagne. The smaller ''Camp de Moronvilliers'' lies to the east of Reims and the ''Camp Militaire de Suippes'' lies to the east of that. These are all located on the chalk grounds of the Champagne plateau, a feature comparable in geology but not size, with the British military training ground on Salisbury Plain. The Battles of the Marne, where the British and French fought against Germany during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

, took place here.

Geography

Marne is part of the

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...

of Grand Est and is surrounded by the departments of Ardennes,

Meuse The Meuse or Maas is a major European river, rising in France and flowing through Belgium and the Netherlands before draining into the North Sea from the Rhine–Meuse–Scheldt delta. It has a total length of . History From 1301, the upper ...

, Haute-Marne, Aube, Seine-et-Marne, and

Aisne Aisne ( , ; ; ) is a French departments of France, department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. It is named after the river Aisne (river), Aisne. In 2020, it had a population of 529,374. Geography The department borders No ...

. Geologically, it divides into two distinct parts; the Upper Cretaceous chalk plain in the east and the more wooded and hilly

Eocene The Eocene ( ) is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (Ma). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene'' comes ...

and

Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch (geology), epoch of the Paleogene Geologic time scale, Period that extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that defin ...

in the west. Rivers draining the department include the Marne, Vesle, Ardre and Somme-Soude. Numerous other rivers, such as the Grande and the Petite Morin rise in the department but flow mainly in others. Conversely, the Aube joins the

Seine The Seine ( , ) is a river in northern France. Its drainage basin is in the Paris Basin (a geological relative lowland) covering most of northern France. It rises at Source-Seine, northwest of Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plat ...

in the department of Marne.

Principal towns

The most populous commune in the department is

; the prefecture Châlons-en-Champagne is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are five communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants:

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called ''Marnais''. Population development since 1801:

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Christian Bruyen, elected in 2017.

Presidential elections 2nd round

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

, with its cathedral in which the kings of France were traditionally crowned, is a major attraction. Others include the bird reserve on the Lake Der-Chantecoq and the fishing lakes nearby. The ''Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims'' is a major area of country recreation. In the west of the département there are many scenic routes as also are the several wine cellars of Épernay. File:The Porte Mars, an ancient Roman triumphal arch in Reims dating from the 3rd century AD and the widest arch in the Roman world, Durocortorum (Reims, France) (9292412785).jpg, The Porte de Mars in

, a triumphal arch from the third century AD. File:La Cathédrale de Reims .jpg,

Cathedral of Reims Notre-Dame de Reims (; ; meaning "Our Lady of Reims"), known in English as Reims Cathedral, is a Catholic Church, Catholic cathedral in the Reims, French city of the same name, the seat of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Reims, Archdiocese of R ...

where the kings of France were traditionally crowned File:View of Épernay from Mont Bernon.jpg, Vineyards near Épernay File:Reims 2008 -Wineries of Champagne- by-RaBoe 05.jpg, Champagne bottles File:Valmy Windmuehle 01 09.jpg, Valmy Battlefield File:Notredamedevaux-chevet.jpg, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux collegiate church in Châlons-en-Champagne

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
*
Official Tourist Board
{{Authority control 1790 establishments in France Departments of Grand Est States and territories established in 1790