Châlons-en-Champagne (French pronunciation: [ʃɑlɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɑ̃paɲ]; lit. 'Châlons-in-Champagne') is a city in the Grand Est region of France. It is the prefecture of the Marne department, despite having only about a quarter of the population of the less central city of Reims. It is also the seat of the Communauté d'agglomération de Châlons-en-Champagne.
Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne (lit. 'Châlons-on-Marne'), the city was officially renamed in 1995. It should not be confused with the Burgundian city of Chalon-sur-Saône.
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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.
Châlons is conjectured to be the site of several battles, including the Battle of Châlons, fought in 274 between Roman Emperor Aurelian and Emperor Tetricus I of the Gallic Empire, and the 451 Battle of the Catalaunian Plains, which turned back the westward advance of Attila.
The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1776.
Main sights
Châlons Cathedral, also known as Saint Étienne'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 Cloître 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.
The Hôtel de Ville (city hall) 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.
La Dernière Relève ("The Last Relief"), a war memorial next to the cathedral, with group of bronzes by French sculptor Gaston Broquet.
The Ancien Hôtel des Intendants de Champagne (18th century), home to the prefecture of the former Champagne-Ardenne region and prefecture of Marne.
Le Cirque, the old town circus, completed in 1899, is sheltering the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC).
Transport
Châlons-en-Champagne station is served by the TGV network with services to and from Paris's Gare de l'Est. Other destinations are Reims, Saint-Dizier, Nancy, Bar-le-Duc and Verdun. Additionally, Châlons is connected with Champagne-Ardenne TGV station, near Reims, with high-speed trains to Lille, Nantes, Rennes and Charles de Gaulle Airport.
Châlons is located at the intersection of two major axes:
A4 motorway, going from Paris to Strasbourg, towards Reims and Metz
A26 motorway, going from Lille to Lyon, towards Reims, Troyes and Dijon.
Châlons is also served by an international airport devoted to shipping (Châlons Vatry Airport), with an average of 16,0000 tons of freight passing through each year.
Local transportation is provided by 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 events at the 1924 Summer Olympics in Paris.
Twin towns – sister cities
Châlons-en-Champagne is twinned with:
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 22 kilometres (14 miles) north. It was created at the behest of Napoleon III and opened 30 August 1857 during the Second French Empire.
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.
Notable people
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
Henri Dagonet (1823–1902), psychiatrist
Adolphe Willette (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, general
Deaths
Châlons-en-Champagne was the deathplace of:
Jean-Baptiste Charbonnier (1764–1859), composer and organist
George Canning, 1st Baron Garvagh (1778–1840), diplomat and Fellow of the Royal Society 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, 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, after losing an imaginary aerial dogfight against the Red Baron.