Bussy le Château

Geography

Bussy-le-Château is located some 15 km north-east of Châlons-en-Champagne and 40 km south-east of Reims. Access to the commune is by road D79 from Suippes in the north which passes through the commune and the village and continues south to Courtisols. The D66 road comes from Somme-Tourbe in the north-east passing through the village and continuing west to La Cheppe. The D994 forms the south-western border of the commune as it goes from La Cheppe to Nettancourt. The E50 passes through the south of the commune from west to east but has no exit in the commune. There is also a railway line parallel to the E50 but no station in the commune. The commune consists entirely of farmland.

Toponymy

The name Bussy comes from bu (wood) and yd (populated place). It has been known by many names over the course of time:

History

The Deanery of Bussy-le-Château and those of Châlons, Coole, and Vitry-en-Perthois were the four ecclesiastical districts which formed the large Archdeaconry of Chalons.

The deanery of Bussy contained the Parishes of La Cheppe, Coulmier (attached to Mutigny to form La Chaussée-sur-Marne), Coupéville, Courtisols, La Croix-en-Champagne, Dampierre-au-Temple, L'Epine, Le Fresne, Isle-sur-Marne, Juvigny, Marson, Pogny, Recy, Saint-Étienne-au-Temple, Saint-Remy-sur-Bussy, Sarry, Somme-Vesle, Tilloy-et-Bellay, Vésigneul-sur-Marne, and La Veuve.

In the 12th century Bussy-le-Château was in the County of Champagne, one of the 26 castellanies-prévôtés held in fief from the Emperor, the King of France, the Duke of Burgundy, the Abbey of Saint-Denis, the Archbishops of Reims and Sens, and the bishops of Châlons and Langres.

In the 16th and 17th centuries the lordship of Bussy-le-Château as well as the lordships of Reynel, Choiseul, Lafauche, Vavray-le-Grand, Blaise, Vignory, and Sexfontaines were part of the prerogative of the House of Amboise.

The Lordship of Bussy-le-Château was elevated to the rank of a Marquisate by letter in the month of January 1699. It was then under the control of the Arnolet de la Rochefontaine family. The title was confirmed in 1703.

In 1770, Bussy-le-Château was held by the Cappy family.

Bussy-le-Château takes its name from an ancient fort which appears to have been of considerable size.

During the French Revolution, following the decree of the National Convention of 16 October 1793 (25 vendémiaire Year II), which invited communes with names that recalled the memories of the monarchy, feudalism, or superstition, to replace them with other names, the commune changed its name to Bussy-les-Mottes due to five large mounds in the middle of the village which were arranged in a row along the river.

There was a war hospital outside the village during the First World War between the roads leading to Saint-Remy-sur-Bussy and Courtisols. There was also a railway for transport of troops.

Administration

List of Successive Mayors

(Not all data is known)

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 164 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.

Economy

Most of the inhabitants of the village derive their income from intensive agriculture (wheat, barley, canola, peas, alfalfa, beets, potatoes, carrots, and, in the past, tobacco, corn, sunflower, lentils...). There are also some cattle. A local vegetable called the Boulette de Bussy (Bussy dumpling), is a variety of turnip known for its finesse and cooked notably at the starred restaurant "Les Crayères" in Reims.

It is possible to stay in Bussy-le-Château in a guesthouse.

There are no shops.

Cultural events and festivals

The Village Festival takes place the weekend after Saint-Luc on 18 October. There are traditionally some fairground rides and the Suippes band interprets a variety of works from classical to contemporary.

A cyclo-cross race "bike and run" has taken place every year since 2009 in May organized by La Pédale Suippase. It has been increasingly successful over time. Its course passes through the village along some tumuli and crosses the river: it may be performed in its entirety almost all year round.

Sites and Monuments

The commune has five Tumuli on its territory including three which are relatively intact in a line along the river. Two of the Tumuli are registered as historical monuments.

Their names are:

To the east of the tumuli are the remains of an ancient castle.

The oldest oratory identified in the Marne is in Bussy-le-Chateau on the western outskirts of the village. Dedicated to Saint Nicolas, an inscription reads: "to the glory of God restored through the efforts of Jacquet-Létaudin Mayor of Bussy and Bablot-Jacquet his son in 1835".

There was a military cemetery after the First World War with of hundreds of soldiers' graves in the street now called now "Rue du Rouillon". The graves were transferred to Sommepy-Tahure in the 1950s.

The 294th Infantry Regiment made a passage through Bussy-le-Château.

The commune has no shops although in the past there were a butcher shop, a bakery, and several cafes. The elementary school, which was located in the Town Hall, has been closed since 2005: children go to school in the communal group school in Saint-Remy-sur-Bussy. The football field is now a cultivated field. There were Masses once a week in the church in the 19th century but there have been none since the death of the last parish priest, Father Jean Colmart.

Notable people linked to the commune

The Bussy-d'Amboise family branch died out on 12 May 1626.

The 8 members of the crew of a Stirling III of No. 622 Squadron RAF (code GI-Q), a bomber of the Commonwealth forces, were shot down over the commune on 18 November 1943 while flying to Mannheim (Germany) for a bombing mission. Their bodies have been buried in the cemetery on the north side of the church since 20 November 1943.

The 8 crew members were: