Épernay () is a commune in the Marne department of northern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

,INSEE commune file
/ref> 130 km north-east of

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

on the mainline railway to

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

. 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 An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, and certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands. Europe France The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissem ...

History

Épernay () belonged to the archbishops of Reims from the 5th until the 10th century, when it came into the possession of the

counts of Champagne The count of Champagne was the ruler of the County of Champagne from 950 to 1316. Champagne evolved from the County of Troyes in the late eleventh century and Hugh I of Champagne, Hugh I was the first to officially use the title count of Champagn ...

. It was badly damaged during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, 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 A duchy, also called a dukedom, is a country, territory, fiefdom, fief, or domain ruled by a duke or duchess, a ruler hierarchically second to the king or Queen regnant, queen in Western European tradition. There once existed an important differe ...

and assigned to the duc de Bouillon.

Population

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 Folie 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 16th 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: *Château de Pierry *Château de Montmort * Château de Condé

Economy

Épernay is best known as the principal "

entrepôt An entrepôt ( ; ) or transshipment port is a port, city, or trading post where merchandise may be imported, stored, or traded, usually to be exported again. Such cities often sprang up and such ports and trading posts often developed into comm ...

" for

champagne Champagne (; ) is a sparkling wine originated and produced in the Champagne wine region of France under the rules of the appellation, which demand specific vineyard practices, sourcing of grapes exclusively from designated places within it, spe ...

wines, which are bottled and kept in large cellars built into the

chalk Chalk is a soft, white, porous, sedimentary carbonate rock. It is a form of limestone composed of the mineral calcite and originally formed deep under the sea by the compression of microscopic plankton that had settled to the sea floor. Ch ...

rock on which the town is built. The major grape varieties used in champagne are the

pinot noir Pinot noir (), also known as Pinot nero, is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name also refers to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French language, French words fo ...

, the pinot meunier and the

chardonnay Chardonnay (, ; ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new a ...

. The production of the equipment and raw materials used in the champagne industry is a major source of local employment. Champagne Pannier, among others, was established in Épernay before moving to Château-Thierry in 1937.

Brewing Brewing is the production of beer by steeping a starch source (commonly cereal grains, the most popular of which is barley) in water and #Fermenting, fermenting the resulting sweet liquid with Yeast#Beer, yeast. It may be done in a brewery ...

and

sugar Sugar is the generic name for sweet-tasting, soluble carbohydrates, many of which are used in food. Simple sugars, also called monosaccharides, include glucose Glucose is a sugar with the Chemical formula#Molecular formula, molecul ...

refinery and the production of hats and caps, are also major industries. Épernay station has rail connections to Paris, Strasbourg, Reims, Metz, Nancy and several regional destinations.

Notable people

Épernay was the birthplace of: * Flodoard (894–966), chronicler * Maakan Tounkara, handball player * Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, Québécois politician * Gabrielle Dorziat, comedian * Yohann Diniz, athlete * John Gadret, cyclist * Léon Homo (1872–1957), historian * Jean-Baptiste-Maximien Parchappe de Vinay (1800–1866),

psychiatrist A psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in psychiatry. Psychiatrists are physicians who evaluate patients to determine whether their symptoms are the result of a physical illness, a combination of physical and mental ailments or strictly ...

* Alex Vanopslagh, Danish politician Épernay was the final resting place of: * Léon Azéma (1888–1978), French architect, died in Épernay and is buried in the cemetery there. * Yvette Lundy (1916–2019), member of the

French Resistance The French Resistance ( ) was a collection of groups that fought the German military administration in occupied France during World War II, Nazi occupation and the Collaboration with Nazi Germany and Fascist Italy#France, collaborationist Vic ...

Twin towns — sister cities

Épernay is twinned with: *

Ettlingen Ettlingen (; South Franconian German, South Franconian: ''Eddlinge'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, about south of the city of Karlsruhe and approximately from the German-French border, border with Lauterbourg, in France's Bas-Rhin, ...

, Germany *

Clevedon Clevedon (, ) is a seaside town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the unitary authority of North Somerset, England. It recorded a parish population of 21,281 in the United Kingdom Census 2011, estimated at 21,442 in 2019. It lies ...

, England, United Kingdom * Fada N'gourma, Burkina Faso * Middelkerke, Belgium * Montespertoli, Italy

Climate

References

External links

Official website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Epernay Communes of Marne (department) Subprefectures in France Champagne (province)