Épernay is a French commune located in the department of Marne, in
the new region of Grand Est. The municipality is divided into two
cantons. Épernay is the capital and had 23,084 inhabitants in 2016. It
is the 3rd most populated city in the Marne behind Reims and
Châlons-en-Champagne. It is the center of the agglomeration community of
Epernay hillsides and plain of champagne.
City located in the
heart of a wine region, most of its modern history and its economy is
linked to champagne, whose production develops from the 18th century,
and which constitutes its main tourist attraction. The town also has
many buildings protected as historical monuments. Its inhabitants are
called Sparnacians.
By plane
Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (IATA: CDG) is probably
the cheapest.
By train
The station is connected to Paris-Est
and Châlons-en-Champagne via the TER Vallée de la Marne.
By bus
In the street
Épernay is around 20 km south of the Autoroute A 4
(toll road), which you leave at exit 23 south of Reims, then continue on
the Route départementale D 951. The Route départementale D 3, which
follows the route of the former Route Nationale 3 runs through the city.
Coming from the south of Nogent-sur-Seine, Épernay is reached via the D
951, which runs through Sézanne.
By boat
The city can be
reached by boat via the canalized Marne, which flows into the Seine at
Charenton-le-Pont. There is a connection to the Rhine via the Marne
Lateral Canal (Canal latéral à la Marne) and the Rhine-Marne Canal
(Canal de la Marne au Rhin).
No documents concerning the founding of the city have been found,
but we know that in Gallo-Roman times, the Marne served as the
boundary between Celtic Gaul and Belgian Gaul. Épernay, being on the
left bank, belongs to Celtic Gaul. It appears in certain writings
from the fifth century, the date generally considered to be that of
the founding of the city. It is generally accepted that the founding
of Épernay dates back to 418, the place being already considerable
in 445. However, it seems that the founding of Épernay predates the
installation of the tanners as legend has it. Tombs dating from the
5th century BC have been found there, notably rue de Bernon.
After the Germanic invasions, the city came under the domination of
the Franks and it was Euloge, an officer of Clovis, who was assigned
it. He is, according to tradition, the first lord of Épernay. Euloge
is guilty of a crime for which Clovis condemns him to death. It was
then that he asked for the help of Saint Remi, who succeeded in
convincing the king of Franks to pardon him. Legend has it that to
thank the bishop of Reims, Euloge cedes the city to him. Remi, who
refuses this donation, buys the city for 5,000 pounds of silver. It
would seem, however, that in reality Remi wanted to own the castle
of Epernay and that Euloge could not refuse him. Saint Remi will
confirm in his will the appropriation of Épernay to the Church of
Reims.
The city's position on the banks of the Marne means that it has
often found itself caught up in battles:
In 533, Childebert
I, King of Paris, took the city and put all the inhabitants to the
sword.
In 562, Chilpéric Ier besieged it, and from 565, demanded
such high taxes on the vines to finance his incessant wars that the
inhabitants preferred to flee by abandoning their land.
In 593,
it was Frédégonde who had it looted.
In 720 and then in 765, the
region suffered from the wars of Charles Martel who invaded the city
in 765.
Épernay was returned to the Church of Reims in 846, at
the request of Archbishop Hincmar.
In
1024, the city entered the domain of the Counts of Champagne
following a treaty between the Archbishop of Reims Eble de Roucy and
Eudes II, Count of Champagne. She remained under their influence
until 1284 when Joan I of Navarre, last countess of Champagne,
married King Philippe IV le Bel, bringing her the seigneury of
Épernay. During this period, Count Eudes II had the castle rebuilt,
near Cubry.
Around 1145, Hermentorix, a wealthy inhabitant of
the city, financed the construction of a first hospital then called
"leprosarium" or "sickroom", although it was not only treated for
leprosy. In 1166, Henri le Large, Count of Champagne, established
the “foire de la Madeleine” in a franchise. In 1205, Pope Innocent
III recalls with a bull that the Counts of Champagne are the vassals
of the Archbishop of Reims, for Épernay, Fismes,
Châtillon-sur-Marne, Vertus, and Vitry-en-Perthois As for Count
Thibault IV , he granted the city a municipal charter in 1231 as
well as the right to organize a company of archers which
subsequently gave its name to the rue des Archers. In 1229, the city
was set on fire during the conflict between Count Thibault IV and
Hugues de Lusignan over the rights claimed by Alix, Queen of Cyprus
in the county of Champagne. During the Hundred Years War, Épernay
was pillaged several times: by Edward III of England in 1359, then
by his son in 1366.
Although returning to the Crown, the city
still changed hands in 1388 when King Charles VI gave the seigneury
of Épernay to his brother, Louis of Orleans. His memory remains in
the names of certain localities and surrounding woods, such as the
Orléans pond or the Enghien forest, named after his mistress
Mariette d'Enghien. In 1398, Louis I of Orleans, count of
Château-Thierry, de Vertus and lord of many places including
Épernay, received the king of the Romans Wenceslas there.
Charles VI will
give it to his brother Louis I of Orleans. His son Charles inherited
it but being prisoners in England for twenty-five years gave it to
his brother Jean and in 1467 it returned to Charles de
Valois-Angoûlème then in 1496 to François. In 1508, François
instituted the Company of the Knights of the Arquebus there, while
Louis XII reigned, it was made up of notables from Sparnacians in
order to allow them to practice using this weapon, then new, to
defend the town. This company leaves its name to the rue de
l'Arquebuse. Sacred king, the seigneury of Épernay was given to
Louise of Savoy in 1515; she had new fortifications built because
her son was at war against Charles V and the city was a gateway to
France, these constructions forced the course of the Le Cubry stream
to be diverted from its original bed to the one it still has today
'hui, but it is thus used to bathe the ramparts. She also paved the
central street, from Châlons to Paris, in 1522 had three free fairs
in mid-Lent, Sainte-Croix and All Saints, confirmed by royal edict.
Louise of Savoy died in 1532 and the city was reunited with the
crown until 1536, which gave it in usufruct to Claude de Lorraine,
Duke of Guise. He died in 1550 and the city returned in usufruct to
Pierre Strozzi who died in 1558; it then passes to Philippe Strozi,
then Diane de Castro, François de Montmorency.
Despite the
protection of these ramparts and arquebusiers, the city suffered the
ravages of wars. Thus in September 1544, François Ier, then at war
against Charles V, will set fire to the city to delay the march of
the latter who, after having burned Vitry-en-Perthois, tries to take
Épernay to threaten Paris. Pierre de Ronsard alludes to these
military facts in The Hymn of Henri II.
Because you are very
clever, and of valiant courage:
Tesmoing is of your heart this
young fury
Whom you wanted near Marne to assault the Emperor,
Which having crossed the boundaries of the Meuse
Menassoit your
Paris, your great famous city
However, the technique of the "scorched earth" of François Ier
forces Charles V to sign the peace and the king helps in the
reconstruction of the city, in particular by exempting the
inhabitants of taxes and by allowing them to sell the marshes around
the city.
Religious quarrels turned into real wars of religion
around 1560 when the city was under the protection of Mary I of
Scotland. On September 14, 1567, the Prince of Condé seized Épernay
and the Huguenots overturned the baptismal font, which was raised in
1583 by the inhabitants, and smashed organs, bells and statues. They
only withdraw from the city after having disarmed it and against a
ransom of 10,500 pounds.
In 1591, the city fell into the
hands of Baron de Rosne; Henri IV then decided to take it back and
Marshal de Biron, faithful to the king, died during the siege of the
city on July 26, 1592. The city was finally taken over by Henri IV
on August 9, 1592.
On October 1, 1615, the Prince of Condé
seized the city. He finally obtained it by treaty in 1616. He ceded
the city to Henri II of Orleans-Longueville, Count of Saint-Pol, who
kept it until his death in 1631.
Being on the route of many
invasions, the city has long and regularly served as a garrison.
Thus in 1629, tired of accommodating troops because of the incessant
wars taking Épernay to part, the inhabitants of the city threw many
cavaliers of the Saint-Simon regiment into the public wells; the
municipality had to pay a fine over 80 years in compensation.
In 1634, it is the nobiliary revolt against Richelieu, led by
the count of Soissons, which seizes Epernay. In 1635, Louis XIII
presented himself in front of the city and the sum to surrender,
which he did on September 1, 1635. At the end of the year, the
plague struck the city and left it ruined.
Under the minority
of Louis XIV, in 1646, Épernay and other estates such as
Château-Thierry or Évreux were traded to the Duke of Bouillon with
Sedan, Rocroi and Raucourt, in order to consolidate the
north-eastern markets. The city remained in the hands of the Dukes
of Bouillon until 1789. This period of relative calm, during which
Hercule-Meriadec, prince of Rohan-Soubise was governor of Champagne,
allowed technical developments and developments. Thus in 1725, work
was undertaken to open the mountain of Mardeuil and take the road
from Châlons-sur-Marne to Paris there. In 1750, the streets of the
city were paved for the first time and in 1790, Thomas-Isidore
Paroissien established the first printing press in the city.
From the French Revolution to the present day
During the
Revolution, the history of France merges with that of Épernay when
on June 23, 1791, Louis XVI, arrested during his escape attempt at
Varennes-en-Argonne, made a stop in the city on the way back to
Paris. The royal family stays at the Hôtel de Rohan where they have
dinner and stay for about an hour before continuing their journey to
Dormans. Three Sparnacians are victims of revolutionary
denunciations during the Terror. The end of the century was however
calm and allowed new developments in the city.
On May 23,
1797, the municipality adopted the provisions concerning the city
library, including, for the first time, its public character. In
1806, a company of firefighters was created.
During the
French Campaign, the city suffered the ravages of the coalition
armies. After the fall of the Empire, Épernay settled in a period of
calm which allowed him to devote himself to its organization (in
1837, the streets of the city were named and its houses numbered)
and its facilities. On December 26, 1846, public gas lighting was
installed. The Meaux - Épernay section of the Paris-Strasbourg
railway line was inaugurated on September 2, 1849 by
Prince-President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte, the future emperor. The
entire line was opened on August 12, 1852. In 1849, an epidemic of
cholera pushed to enlarge the cemetery. Five years later, the
Épernay - Reims railway line was put into service.
With the
war of 1870, the territory was occupied by the Prussians on
September 8 and multiple constraints were put in place such as the
suppression of hunting. In the meantime, the railway line between
Épernay and Romilly-sur-Seine is inaugurated. November 1, 1872 marks
the end of the occupation.
Despite these torments, the city
grew and, in 1900, the first electrical plant was built, modernized
in 1912 to provide alternating current; it was no longer sufficient
for demand from 1934.
In 1878, the 26th Hunter Battalion left the city. However, the
city quickly called for a new military presence to protect it, but
despite its insistence, the 31st Dragon Regiment did not settle
until April 15, 1896 on land at a place called Terres Rouges. In
1907, it is the 9th regiment of dragoons which settles down until
the Second World War. Then followed the 8th battalion of chasseurs
portés, a special artillery unit (7th artillery regiment), two
engineer regiments (34th engineer regiment then after the
dissolution of this one, the 13th engineer regiment) before that the
land is not allocated to the community of communes due to the
reduction in military personnel.
On July 27, 1903, the city
was linked to Montmirail by the C.B.R train, then to Ambonnay on
April 8, 1904 to be able to go to Reims or Châlons.
In the
twentieth century, Épernay was severely affected by the two world
wars.
During the First World War, the city was destroyed
two-thirds. It was occupied, during the retreat from the Marne, from
September 4 to 11, 1914, by the German army which blew up the Marne
bridge during its retreat. On the morning of September 5, 1914, the
mayor, Maurice Pol Roger, was taken hostage and taken by car to Cuis
to be questioned about the disappearance of German parliamentarians.
He was finally released in the evening and returned to his town hall
on foot.
It subsequently became a rear-front town, the front
stabilizing from the end of 1914 to May 1918 towards Reims, 35 km to
the north. As such, it is a crossing point for troops stationed
there in large numbers; thus Épernay becomes an important hospital
center. Its proximity to the front made it undergo numerous
bombardments, especially from 1917, and made it fear it would fall
into enemy hands during the German offensive of May 1918.
On May
27, General von Boehn's German army crossed the Aisne then the Vesle
and entered the Tardenois. From June 2 to 18, 1918, Épernay was
bombarded by artillery and air force, then again from July 14 to 25.
The bombings of July destroyed a large part of the rue du Commerce
(now avenue de Champagne): the buildings of the champagne houses
Chanoine Frères, Mercier, Moët & Chandon and Raoul Chandon were
devastated. The rue du Paulmier and the Notre-Dame church were also
seriously damaged.
Between 1916 and 1918, 1,422 shells or bombs
fell on the city, killing 63 Sparnacians and injuring 84 others.
On July 15, a new German offensive began from Bligny to
Château-Thierry and from Massiges to Fort de la Pompelle with the
main objective of Épernay and Montmirail, which must be taken from
the start. Von Boehn's troops managed to cross the Marne and a
murderous engagement took place towards Montvoisin, in the commune
of Œuilly. Attacked on the flank by General Mitry's troops, von
Boehn's troops crossed the Marne again and retreated, thus freeing
Épernay for good.
The city was decorated with the Croix de
Guerre on February 8, 1920, by the President of the Republic Raymond
Poincaré, for its resistance to the sufferings of war. He took the
opportunity to inaugurate the new town hall, the former Auban-Moët
hotel.
During the Second World War, Épernay was evacuated on
June 12, 1940 using rail convoys. She suffered the arrival of the
Nazis from June 14 in a dead city where only a few rare inhabitants
remained despite the warnings. The capture was without massive
bombardment, with the exception of the road bridge over the Marne
quickly replaced by a wooden bridge.
Épernay was liberated on
August 28, 1944 by the 7th Armored Division, led by General
Silvester, of General Patton's 3rd Army. During this war, the city
deplores the loss of 34 executed, 88 deportees who died in the camps
and 137 various victims and decorated with the Croix de Guerre
1939-1945.
Épernay is located in the western part of the department of Marne, in
Champagne-Ardenne. It is located 27 km south of Reims, 31 km west of
Châlons-en-Champagne, 48 km east of Château-Thierry and about 140 km
northeast of Paris.
The town of Épernay adjoins Magenta to the
north, Pierry to the south and Mardeuil to the west. However, the
Sparnacian territory is also bordering Ay and Chouilly to the east and
Hautvillers to the north. The forest of Épernay, to the west of the
town, is surrounded from north to south by Vauciennes, Boursault,
Saint-Martin-d'Ablois, Vinay and Moussy.
Épernay is located at the foot of a chalky plateau. It belongs to the
so-called "Champagne chalky" region which is characterized by a chalky
subsoil. This was formed during the Cretaceous era from the Turonian,
often outcropping. It is the chalk which, thanks to the reverberation
which it gives to the ground, allows the cultivation of vines on the
hillsides constituting the Champagne vineyard, of which Épernay is the
main center3.
The city settled in a valley perpendicular to the
Marne, that of Cubry.
The Cubry valley has lost its eastern flank
as a result of erosion. All that remains is Mount Bernon, which
culminates at an altitude of 206 meters. The city marks the entrance of
the Marne into the Parisian tertiary plateau, separated by the river
between the Montagne de Reims to the north and the Brie champenoise to
the south. The western part of the town is formed by a plateau rising
beyond 220 meters. While the altitude in the city center is 75 meters,
the plateau reaches 253 meters.
Épernay also gave its name to the
geological stage known as the Sparnacien. However this is not recognized
outside Western Europe. It corresponds to the sediments between the
marine deposits of the Thanetian and the Ypresian.