Editing Châlons-en-Champagne

{{short description|Prefecture and commune in Grand Est, France}}
{{Redirect|Châlons}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2023}}
{{Expand French|Châlons-en-Champagne|topic=geo|date=September 2012}}
{{Infobox French commune
|name                   = Châlons-en-Champagne
|commune status         = [[Prefectures of France|Prefecture]] and [[Communes of France|commune]]
|image                  = Hôtel de ville de Châlons-en-Champagne (Marne).JPG
|caption                = The [[Hôtel de Ville, Châlons-en-Champagne|Hôtel de Ville]]
|arrondissement         = Châlons-en-Champagne
|canton                 = [[Canton of Châlons-en-Champagne-1|Châlons-en-Champagne-1]], [[Canton of Châlons-en-Champagne-2|2]] and [[Canton of Châlons-en-Champagne-3|3]]
|image coat of arms     = Blason Chalons-en-Champagne.svg
|INSEE                  = 51108
|postal code            = 51000
|mayor                  = Benoist Apparu<ref>{{cite web |title=Répertoire national des élus: les maires |url=https://www.data.gouv.fr/fr/datasets/r/2876a346-d50c-4911-934e-19ee07b0e503 |website=data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises |date=2 December 2020 |language=fr}}</ref>
|term                   = 2020&ndash;2026
|intercommunality       = [[Communauté d'agglomération de Châlons-en-Champagne|CA Châlons-en-Champagne]]
|coordinates            = {{coord|48.9575|4.365|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
|elevation m            = 83
|elevation min m        = 82
|elevation max m        = 84
|area km2               = 26.05
|population             = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_total}}
|population date        = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_as_of}}
|population footnotes   = {{France metadata Wikidata|population_footnotes}}
|website                 = [http://www.chalonsenchampagne.fr/ Official website]
}}
'''Châlons-en-Champagne''' ({{IPA|fr|ʃɑlɔ̃ ɑ̃ ʃɑ̃paɲ}}) is a city in the [[Grand Est]] region of [[France]]. It is the capital of the [[Departments of France|department]] of [[Marne (department)|Marne]], despite being only a quarter the size of the city of [[Reims]].

Formerly called '''Châlons-sur-Marne''', the city was officially renamed in 1995.<ref>[https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/jorf/id/JORFTEXT000000535381 Décret du 6 novembre 1995 portant changement de nom de communes], ''[[Journal officiel de la République française]]'' n° 0266, 16 November 1995, p. 16810.</ref> It should not be confused with the Burgundian town of [[Chalon-sur-Saône]].

==History==

The city was a Gallic and later a Gallo-Roman settlement known in Latin as ''Catalaunum'', taking its name from the [[Catalauni]], a [[Belgae|Belgic]] tribe dwelling in the region of modern [[Champagne (province)|Champagne]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Schön |first=Franz (Regensburg) |title=Catalauni |date=2006-10-01 |work=Brill’s New Pauly |url=https://referenceworks.brillonline.com/entries/brill-s-new-pauly/*-e228980 |access-date=2024-01-31 |publisher=Brill |language=en |doi=10.1163/1574-9347_bnp_e228980}}</ref>

Châlons is conjectured to be the site of several battles, including the [[Battle of Châlons (274)|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, Châlons-en-Champagne|Hôtel de Ville]] was completed in 1776.<ref>{{Base Mérimée|IA51000395}}</ref> 

<gallery>
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
</gallery>

==Population==

{{Historical populations
| align = none
| cols = 2
| percentages = pagr
| source = EHESS<ref name=ehess>{{Cassini-Ehess|7728|Châlons-en-Champagne}}</ref> and INSEE (1968-2017)<ref name=pophist>[https://www.insee.fr/fr/statistiques/4515315?geo=COM-51108#ancre-POP_T1 Population en historique depuis 1968], INSEE</ref>
| graph-pos = bottom
|1793 |12139
|1800 |11120
|1806 |11089
|1821 |11629
|1831 |12413
|1836 |12952
|1841 |14100
|1846 |13733
|1851 |15879
|1856 |14016
|1861 |14786
|1866 |14901
|1872 |15198
|1876 |20236
|1881 |23199
|1886 |23648
|1891 |25863
|1896 |26630
|1901 |26737
|1906 |27808
|1911 |31367
|1921 |31194
|1926 |31382
|1931 |32307
|1936 |35530
|1946 |31120
|1954 |36834
|1962 |41705
|1968 |50764
|1975 |52275
|1982 |51137
|1990 |48423
|1999 |47339
|2007 |45829
|2012 |45225
|2017 |44753
}}

==Main sights==
[[File:ND-en-Vaux 01.jpg|thumb|160px|Cloister Notre-Dame-en-Vaux]]
* ''[[Châlons Cathedral|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]].
* ''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).
<gallery>
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
</gallery>

<!--
==Museums==

* Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'Archéologie de Châlons-en-Champagne.
* Musée Garinet
* Musée du Cloître Notre-Dame-en-Vaux.

TRANSLATE PLEASE
The Collégiale Notre-Dame-en-Vaux, (XIIème siècle)
Inscrite au patrimoine mondial de l'UNESCO, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux était une collégiale, c'est-à-dire qu'elle abritait une communauté de chamoines. L'église actuelle fut commencée avant 1157, en remplacement d'un édifice antérieur qui s'était écroulé. Sa reconstruction était achevée en 1217. Commencée en style "de transition" (intermédiaire entre le roman et le gothique), elle fut terminée en gothique. On y trouve un beau chevet avec abside gothique flanquée de deux tours romanes, mais aussi d'admirables verrières du XVIème siècle. Enfin, vous y verrez un des plus grand carillon d'Europe composé de 56 cloches datant du XIXème siècle.

[modifier]
Cathédrale Saint Etienne
Le monument présente des parties romanes du XIIème siècle (crypte, tour du bras Nord dont le rez-de-chaussée abrite une rare verrière romane) mais fut reconstruit en style gothique rayonnant. L'abside, le transept et trois travées de la nef étaient achevés en 1261. Les chapelles rayonnantes et le déambulatoire furent ajoutés entre 1280 et 1310. La nef fut continuée à la fin du XVème siècle et au début du XVIème siècle. Entre 1628 et 1634, on éleva la façade occidentale (en style baroque) et les deux travées voisines. Cependant, la conception primitive de la nef fut conservées à travers les siècles par les constructeurs successifs, qui ont voulu lui préserver son unité. La cathédrale de Châlons-en-Champagne a conservé une remarquable parure de vitraux. Dans les bas-côté sud se trouve une intéressante série de vitraux de la fin du XVème siècle et du début du XVIème siècle. Ceux de l'autre bas-côté ont été faits au XIXème siècle dans le goût du XIIIème siècle. Ceux des bras du transept sud datent du XXème siècle. De très nombreuses dalles funéraires gravées du XIIIème siècle au XVIIème siècle sont incrustées dans le pavage ou relevés le long des murs. Elles se caractérisent par une grande élégance du dessin.

[modifier]
Église Saint-Alpin
L'église est placée sous le vocable de Saint Alpin, évêque de Châlons au début du Vème siècle. Elle existait déjà au IXème siècle et a été reconstruite vers 1170 dans un style gothique encore marqué par le style roman. De cette époque, il subsiste la nef – 6 travées dont les arcades richement moulurées reposent alternativement sur des piles fortes et des piles faibles – et les collatéraux. Vers 1230, on entreprit de rajeunir l'édifice en voûtant la nef et les collatéraux, sans modifier l'élévation intérieure. Plus tard, le transept et son croisillon nord furent remaniés. C'est au début du XVIème siècle que l'on construisit un nouveau chœur polygonal, entouré d'un déambulatoire dépourvu de chapelles rayonnantes, mais percé de grandes fenêtres que de riches donateurs parrent de splendides verrières colorées. On ajouta sur toute la longueur du bas-côté sud une série de chapelles qui conservent un ensemble remarquable de vitraux en grisaille. Les verrières du déambulatoire, mises en place entre 1515 et 1522 environ, juxtaposent souvent de petites scènes, à la gamme colorée éclatante, où apparaissent des inscriptions placées dans des banderoles décoratives.-->

==Transport==
[[File:Gare de Châlons en Champagne.JPG|thumb|right|The station]]
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 [[Reims]], with high speed trains going to [[Lille]], [[Nantes]], Rennes and [[Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport]].

Châlons is located at the intersection of two major axes:
* [[A4 autoroute|A4]] motorway, going from Paris to [[Strasbourg]], towards Reims and [[Metz]]
* [[A26 autoroute|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]] [https://web.archive.org/web/20060523053616/http://www.vatry.com/]), with an average of 16,0000 tons of freight passing through each year.

Local transportation is provided by [https://web.archive.org/web/20081119153225/http://www.sitacbus.com/ SITAC BUS] buses.

==Education==

===University level===
[[File:ENSAM Châlons.jpg|thumb|The [[Arts et Métiers ParisTech]] (1806).]]
* [[Arts et Métiers ParisTech]] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20180115215754/http://www.chalons.ensam.fr/ 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 ([http://www.cnac.fr 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 at the 1924 Summer Olympics|shooting]] events at the [[1924 Summer Olympics]] in Paris.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080410085129/http://www.la84foundation.org/6oic/OfficialReports/1924/1924.pdf 1924 Olympics official report.] pp. 565–6.</ref>

==Twin towns – sister cities==
{{See also|List of twin towns and sister cities in France}}

Châlons-en-Champagne is [[Twin towns and sister cities|twinned]] with:<ref>{{cite web |title=Jumelages Châlons-en-Champagne |url=https://jumelages-chalons.pagesperso-orange.fr/ |website=jumelages-chalons.pagesperso-orange.fr |publisher=Châlons-en-Champagne |language=fr |access-date=20 November 2019}}</ref>
{{div col|colwidth=20em}}
*{{flagicon|BFA}} [[Bobo-Dioulasso]], Burkina Faso
*{{flagicon|ENG}} [[Ilkeston]], England, United Kingdom
*{{flagicon|CAN}} [[Mirabel, Quebec|Mirabel]], Canada
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Neuss]], Germany
*{{flagicon|BUL}} [[Razgrad]], Bulgaria
*{{flagicon|GER}} [[Wittenberge]], Germany
{{div col end}}

==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]] {{convert|22|km|0|abbr=off}} 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.<ref>The Bonapartes in Châlons en Champagne, by Jean-Paul Barbier and Michel Bursaux, Marnaises Studies, SACSAM, 2009.</ref>

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, ''[[Moronvilliers|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]]
* [[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
* [[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]] (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]] 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 [[Manfred von Richthofen|the Red Baron]].<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4f1f-RKn8BU |title=Snoopy the flying ace |date=2020-10-24 |last=Joe cool83260 |access-date=2024-08-16 |via=YouTube}}  (Sign reading: "Chalons-sur-Marne" can be seen in the frame at 2:17 in the video.)</ref>

==Image==
[[File:Châlons-en-Champagne panorama.jpg|thumb|center|800px|{{center|Panoramic view of Hôtel de ville place in Châlons-en-Champagne.}}]]

==Climate==

{{Weather box|width=auto
|metric first=y
|single line=y 
|collapsed = Y
|location =  Châlons-en-Champagne ([[Fagnières]]) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1970–present)
|Jan record high C = 15.9
|Feb record high C = 20.5
|Mar record high C = 24.9
|Apr record high C = 28.7
|May record high C = 32.3
|Jun record high C = 36.7
|Jul record high C = 41.8
|Aug record high C = 41.1
|Sep record high C = 34.1
|Oct record high C = 28.4
|Nov record high C = 21.8
|Dec record high C = 16.8
|Jan record low C = -21.0
|Feb record low C = -14.6
|Mar record low C = -12.4
|Apr record low C = -5.2
|May record low C = -0.7
|Jun record low C = 0.3
|Jul record low C = 4.0
|Aug record low C = 3.6
|Sep record low C = 0.8
|Oct record low C = -4.0
|Nov record low C = -13.0
|Dec record low C = -18.0
|Jan high C = 6.2
|Feb high C = 7.6
|Mar high C = 12.0
|Apr high C = 16.0
|May high C = 19.7
|Jun high C = 23.1
|Jul high C = 25.9
|Aug high C = 25.6
|Sep high C = 21.2
|Oct high C = 16.0
|Nov high C = 10.0
|Dec high C = 6.7
| year high C = 15.8
|Jan mean C = 3.4
|Feb mean C = 4.1
|Mar mean C = 7.3
|Apr mean C = 10.4
|May mean C = 14.1
|Jun mean C = 17.2
|Jul mean C = 19.6
|Aug mean C = 19.4
|Sep mean C = 15.7
|Oct mean C = 11.7
|Nov mean C = 6.9
|Dec mean C = 4.1
| year mean C = 11.2
|Jan low C = 0.5
|Feb low C = 0.6
|Mar low C = 2.6
|Apr low C = 4.8
|May low C = 8.5
|Jun low C = 11.3
|Jul low C = 13.4
|Aug low C = 13.2
|Sep low C = 10.1
|Oct low C = 7.5
|Nov low C = 3.8
|Dec low C = 1.4
| year low C = 6.5
|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation mm = 49.4 
|Feb precipitation mm = 44.1
|Mar precipitation mm = 43.7
|Apr precipitation mm = 43.4
|May precipitation mm = 55.2
|Jun precipitation mm = 56.5
|Jul precipitation mm = 56.2
|Aug precipitation mm = 56.5
|Sep precipitation mm = 49.0
|Oct precipitation mm = 59.5
|Nov precipitation mm = 55.4
|Dec precipitation mm = 63.4
|year precipitation mm = 632.3
|unit precipitation days = 1.0 mm
| Jan precipitation days = 10.9
| Feb precipitation days = 10.1
| Mar precipitation days = 9.6
| Apr precipitation days = 8.4
| May precipitation days = 9.8
| Jun precipitation days = 9.0
| Jul precipitation days = 8.2
| Aug precipitation days = 8.1
| Sep precipitation days = 7.7
| Oct precipitation days = 9.8
| Nov precipitation days = 10.8
| Dec precipitation days = 12.0
| year precipitation days =114.5
|source 1 = Meteociel<ref>{{cite web
|url=https://www.meteociel.fr/obs/clim/normales_records.php?code=51242001
|title=Normales et records pour Fagnieres-Inra (51)
|publisher=Meteociel
|access-date=21 November 2024}}</ref>}}

==See also==
*[[Diocese of Châlons]]
*[[French wine]]
*[[Champagne Riots]]
*[[The works of Antonin Mercié]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* Mark W. Konnert, ''Civic Agendas and Religious Passion: Châlons-sur-Marne during the French wars of religion, 1560–159''4 (Kirksville, MO, Sixteenth Century Journal Publishers, 1997) (Sixteenth Century Essays & Studies, 35). 
* Jean-Paul Barbier and Michel Bursaux, ''The Bonapartes in Châlons en Champagne (Les Bonaparte à Châlons en Champagne),'' Marnaise Studies (Etudes Marnaises), SACSAM, 2009.

==External links==
{{Commons category|Châlons-en-Champagne}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20000902205140/http://www.chalons-en-champagne.net/ Official website] (English/French/German)
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20160303214533/http://www.napoleon.org/fr/hors_serie/chalons/presentation/presentation.html History and photographs of Camp Chalons]
* {{Cite EB1911 |wstitle=Châlons-sur-Marne |short=x}}

{{Préfectures of départements of France}}
{{Prefectures of regions of France}}
{{Marne communes}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chalonsenchampagne}}
[[Category:Châlons-en-Champagne| ]]
[[Category:Communes of Marne (department)]]
[[Category:World Heritage Sites in France]]
[[Category:Prefectures in France]]
[[Category:Catalauni]]
[[Category:Champagne (province)]]
[[Category:Aude communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia]]