Coordinates: 48°57′27″N 4°21′54″E / 48.9575, 4.365
Châlons-en-Champagne is a city and commune in France. It is the administrative centre (préfecture) of both the département of Marne and the région of Champagne-Ardenne, despite being only a quarter the size of the city of Reims.
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.
Diocese
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The city is the seat of the Catholic Diocese of Châlons.[1][2][3]
History
Châlons is conjectured to be the site of the Catalaunian Fields in which the battle of Chalons, 451AD, turned back the westward advance of Attila.
Twinning
Transport
Châlons is served by the TGV network with service to and from Paris Gare de l'Est. Additionally, Châlons is connected with the Champagne-TGV station, near Reims, with high speed trains going to Lille, Nantes and Paris Airport (Charles de Gaulle).
Châlons is located at the intersection of two major axes:
Châlons is also served by an international airport devoted to shipping (Chalons 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.
Education
University level
- 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.
Main sights
- Saint Etienne's cathedral
Some Roman parts of the first cathedral built in the 12th Century still remain. Nevertheless, it was mainly rebuilt in Gothic style. The west frontage (baroque style) and two close spans were added in the XVIIth centuty.
- Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church
Notre Dame en Vaux is 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 XIIth century.
Perhaps the oldest church of the city, Saint-Alpin, was rebuilt around 1170 in Gothic style, but still marked by the Roman style.
- Hôtel de Ville (city hall)
Frontage representative of the neo-classic period of the end of the XVIIIth century. The steps of the building are procteted by four stoned lions. In fact, the American Unknown Soldier was designated there in 1921.
- Porte Sainte-Croix (Ste-Croix Gate)
Previously called Porte Dauphine, the gate was one of the entries into the city. It was dedicated to Marie-Antoinette when she came via Charlons on her way to Paris
(she was going to marry king Louis XVI).
- Ancien Hotel des Intendants of Champagne (18th C.)
Today Prefecture of the Champagne-Ardenne region and Prefecture of the Marne. A part of the buildings and the main courtyard were built in the 18th C.
The old town circus, completed in 1899, is sheltering the Centre National des Arts du Cirque (CNAC).
Sport
Miscellaneous
Châlons-en-Champagne was the birthplace of:
Châlons-en-Champagne was the death location of:
British comedian Eddie Izzard mentions Châlons-en-Champagne (at the time known as Châlons-sur-Marne) on his stand-up album Definite Article, as part of a routine in which he tells of his school exchange trip to Châlons-sur-Marne, one of the highlights of which was a visit to a glue factory.
See also
References
- ^ Diocese of Châlons from catholic-hierarchy.org
- ^ Official web site (in French}]
- ^ Châlons-sur-Marne - Catholic Encyclopedia article
- ^ Ilkeston Twinning Association
- ^ Neuss sister city link page
External links
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