Épernay
Encyclopedia
Épernay is a commune
in the Marne
department in northern France
. Épernay is located some 130 km north-east of Paris
on the main line of the Eastern railway to Strasbourg
. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne
at the extremity of the Cubry
valley which crosses it.
Épernay is a sub-prefecture of the department and seat of an arrondissement
.
. It was badly damaged during the Hundred Years' War
, and was burned by Francis I
in 1544. It resisted Henry of Navarre
in 1592, and Marshal Biron
fell in the attack which preceded its eventual capture. In 1642 it was, along with Château-Thierry
, named as a duchy
and assigned to the duc de Bouillon
.
to the East, for example, containing many villas belonging to rich wine merchants. The town has also spread to the right bank of the Marne.
One of its churches retains a portal and stained-glass windows from the sixteenth century, but the other public buildings are of modern construction. The most famous street in Épernay is the Avenue de Champagne
which features the leading Champagne manufacturers.
Other sights outside the town include:
" for champagne wines, which are bottled and kept in large cellars built into the chalk
rock on which the town is built. The production of the equipment and raw materials used in the champagne industry is a major source of local employment.
Brewing
and sugar
refinery and the production of hats and caps
, are also major industries.
with: Ettlingen
, Germany
Clevedon
, United Kingdom
Fada N'gourma
, Burkina Faso
Middelkerke
, Belgium
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the Marne
Marne
Marne is a department in north-eastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne...
department in northern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. Épernay is located some 130 km north-east of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
on the main line of the Eastern railway to Strasbourg
Strasbourg
Strasbourg is the capital and principal city of the Alsace region in eastern France and is the official seat of the European Parliament. Located close to the border with Germany, it is the capital of the Bas-Rhin département. The city and the region of Alsace are historically German-speaking,...
. The town sits on the left bank of the Marne
Marne River
The Marne is a river in France, a right tributary of the Seine in the area east and southeast of Paris. It is long. The river gave its name to the départements of Haute-Marne, Marne, Seine-et-Marne, and Val-de-Marne....
at the extremity of the Cubry
Cubry
Cubry is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-Population:...
valley which crosses it.
Épernay is a sub-prefecture of the department and seat of an arrondissement
Arrondissement
Arrondissement is any of various administrative divisions of France, certain other Francophone countries, and the Netherlands.-France:The 101 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The capital of an arrondissement is called a...
.
History
Épernay (Sparnacum) belonged to the archbishops of Reims from the 5th until the 10th century, when it came into the possession of the counts of ChampagneCount of Champagne
The Counts of Champagne ruled the region of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the county of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I was the first to officially use the title "Count of Champagne". When Louis became King of France in 1314, upon the death of his father Philip...
. It was badly damaged during the Hundred Years' War
Hundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, and was burned by Francis I
Francis I of France
Francis I was King of France from 1515 until his death. During his reign, huge cultural changes took place in France and he has been called France's original Renaissance monarch...
in 1544. It resisted Henry of Navarre
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....
in 1592, and Marshal Biron
Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron
Armand de Gontaut, baron de Biron was a celebrated French soldier of the 16th century.-Biography:His family, one of the numerous branches of the House of Gontaut, took its title from the territory of Biron in Périgord, where on a hill between the Dropt and the Lide still stands the magnificent...
fell in the attack which preceded its eventual capture. In 1642 it was, along with Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry
Château-Thierry is a commune in northern France about east-northeast of Paris. It is a sub-prefecture of the Aisne department in Picardy.-History:...
, named as a duchy
Duchy
A duchy is a territory, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess.Some duchies were sovereign in areas that would become unified realms only during the Modern era . In contrast, others were subordinate districts of those kingdoms that unified either partially or completely during the Medieval era...
and assigned to the duc de Bouillon
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon
Frédéric Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, duc de Bouillon was prince of the independent principality of Sedan, and general in the French royal army....
.
Main sights
In the central and oldest quarter of the town, the streets are narrow and irregular; the surrounding suburbs, however, are modern and more spacious, with La FolieLa Folie
La Folie is a commune in the Calvados department in the Basse-Normandie region in northwestern France.-Population:-References:*...
to the East, for example, containing many villas belonging to rich wine merchants. The town has also spread to the right bank of the Marne.
One of its churches retains a portal and stained-glass windows from the sixteenth century, but the other public buildings are of modern construction. The most famous street in Épernay is the Avenue de Champagne
Avenue de Champagne
L'Avenue de Champagne is a famous street located in Épernay, the 'Capital of champagne', in the Champagne-Ardenne Région of France....
which features the leading Champagne manufacturers.
Other sights outside the town include:
- Château de PierryPierryPierry is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France....
- Château de MontmortMontmortMontmort is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.-References:*...
- Château de CondéChâteau de CondéThe Château de Condé is a private estate in Condé-en-Brie, Aisne, France, set in its park with three-hundred-year-old trees, on the Champagne route and 100 km from Paris....
Economy
Épernay is best known as the principal "entrepôtEntrepôt
An entrepôt is a trading post where merchandise can be imported and exported without paying import duties, often at a profit. This profit is possible because of trade conditions, for example, the reluctance of ships to travel the entire length of a long trading route, and selling to the entrepôt...
" for champagne wines, which are bottled and kept in large cellars built into the chalk
Chalk
Chalk is a soft, white, porous sedimentary rock, a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite. Calcite is calcium carbonate or CaCO3. It forms under reasonably deep marine conditions from the gradual accumulation of minute calcite plates shed from micro-organisms called coccolithophores....
rock on which the town is built. The production of the equipment and raw materials used in the champagne industry is a major source of local employment.
Brewing
Brewing
Brewing is the production of beer through steeping a starch source in water and then fermenting with yeast. Brewing has taken place since around the 6th millennium BCE, and archeological evidence suggests that this technique was used in ancient Egypt...
and sugar
Sugar
Sugar is a class of edible crystalline carbohydrates, mainly sucrose, lactose, and fructose, characterized by a sweet flavor.Sucrose in its refined form primarily comes from sugar cane and sugar beet...
refinery and the production of hats and caps
Headgear
Headgear, headwear or headdress is the name given to any element of clothing which is worn on one's head.Headgear serve a variety of purposes:...
, are also major industries.
Births
Épernay was the birthplace of:- FlodoardFlodoard-Biography:He was born at Épernay, and educated at Reims in the cathedral school which had been established by Archbishop Fulcon .As canon of Reims, and favourite of the archbishops Herivaeus and Seulfus -Biography:He was born at Épernay, and educated at Reims in the cathedral school which had...
(894-966), chronicler - Maakan TounkaraMaakan TounkaraMaakan Tounkara is a French handball player. She plays for the French national team. She participated at the 2008 Summer Olympics in China, where the French team placed fifth.-References:...
handball player - Henri-Gustave Joly de LotbinièreHenri-Gustave Joly de LotbinièreSir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, served as the fourth Premier of the Canadian province of Quebec, a federal Cabinet minister, and the seventh Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia.- Early years :...
Quebecois politician
Twin towns — Sister cities
Épernay is twinnedTown twinning
Twin towns and sister cities are two of many terms used to describe the cooperative agreements between towns, cities, and even counties in geographically and politically distinct areas to promote cultural and commercial ties.- Terminology :...
with: Ettlingen
Ettlingen
Ettlingen is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe. Ettlingen is the second largest town in the district of Karlsruhe, after Bruchsal.-Geography:...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
Clevedon
Clevedon
Clevedon is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, which covers part of the ceremonial county of Somerset, England...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
Fada N'gourma
Fada N'gourma
Fada N'gourma, also written Fada-Ngourma, is a city in eastern Burkina Faso, lying east of Ouagadougou, in the Gourmantché area. It is the capital of the Gourma province. It was founded by Diaba Lompo as Bingo. It is known for its blanket and rug manufacturing. It is also famed for its honey...
, Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...
Middelkerke
Middelkerke
Middelkerke is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the North Sea, west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the towns of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-Kapelle, Slijpe, Westende and Wilskerke. On January 1, 2006...
, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
External links
- Official website (in French)