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Châlons en Champagne

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Country
  
France

Department
  
Marne

Intercommunality
  
Châlons-en-Champagne

Area
  
26.05 km²

Local time
  
Friday 2:29 PM

Region
  
Grand Est

Arrondissement
  
Châlons-en-Champagne

Time zone
  
CET (UTC+1)

Population
  
45,829 (2007)

Number of airports
  
1

Châlons-en-Champagne httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediacommonsthu

Weather
  
14°C, Wind SE at 18 km/h, 61% Humidity

Team
  
Champagne Châlons-Reims Basket

Points of interest
  
Musée des Beaux‑arts et d'Arché, Châlons Cathedral, Royal kids Châlons, Musée du cloître de Notre‑Dame‑en‑Vaux, Musée Jules Garinet

Ch lons en champagne


Châlons-en-Champagne ([ʃa.lɔ̃.ɑ̃.ʃɑ̃.paɲ] or [ʃɑ.lɔ̃.ɑ̃.ʃɑ̃.paɲ]) is a city in France. It is the capital of both the department of Marne and the region of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims.

Contents

Map of 51000 Ch%C3%A2lons-en-Champagne, France

Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the city was officially renamed in 1998. It should not be confused with the Burgundian town of Chalon-sur-Saône.

Tour de france nicolas sarkozy episode 3 ch lons en champagne


History

Châlons is conjectured to be the site of several battles including the Battle of Châlons fought in A. D. 274 between Roman Emperor Aurelian and Emperor Tetricus I of the Gallic Empire. The Catalaunian Fields was the site of the battle of Châlons in 451 which turned back the westward advance of Attila. A sign to pointing toward Châlons-sur-Marne is briefly seen in It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown during the World War I flying ace scene.

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, perhaps the oldest church of the city. It was rebuilt around 1170 in 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 (Ste-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.
  • Ancien Hotel des Intendants of 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).

    • 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 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 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 [1]), ranking third in France with almost 60,000 tonnes of freight passing through each year.

    Local transportation is provided by SITAC BUS buses.

    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:

  • Ilkeston, United Kingdom.
  • Neuss, 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 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.

    Births

    Châlons-en-Champagne was the birthplace of:

  • Martin Akakia (1500–1551)
  • 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
  • Joseph-François Mangin (1764–1818), designer of the St. Patrick's Old Cathedral and the New York City Hall
  • 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
  • Cabu (1938–2015), comic strip artist and caricaturist
  • Xavier Bertrand (born 1965), politician
  • Jacques Massu (1908–2002), paratrooper, general

    • Deaths

    Châlons-en-Champagne was the death place of:

  • 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

    • References

    Châlons-en-Champagne Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA