Épernay () is a commune in the

Marne Marne can refer to: Places France *Marne (river), a tributary of the Seine *Marne (department), a département in northeastern France named after the river * La Marne, a commune in western France *Marne, a legislative constituency (France) Nethe ...

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

at the extremity of the

Cubry Cubry () is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. Population See also * Communes of the Doubs department The following is a list of the 563 communes of the Doubs department of Franc ...

valley which crosses it. Épernay is a

sub-prefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

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 The Archdiocese of Reims or Rheims (; French language, French: ''Archidiocèse de Reims'') is a Latin Church ecclesiastic territory or archdiocese of the Catholic Church in France. Erected as a diocese around 250 by Sixtus of Reims, the diocese w ...

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 Henry IV (; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry (''le Bon Roi Henri'') or Henry the Great (''Henri le Grand''), was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 16 ...

in 1592, and Marshal Biron fell in the attack which preceded its eventual capture. In 1642 it was, along with

Château-Thierry Château-Thierry (; Picard: ''Catieu-Thierry'') is a French commune situated in the department of the Aisne, in the administrative region of Hauts-de-France, and in the historic Province of Champagne. The origin of the name of the town is u ...

, 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 window Stained glass refers to coloured glass as a material or art and architectural works created from it. Although it is traditionally made in flat panels and used as windows, the creations of modern stained glass artists also include three-dimensio ...

s from the 16th century, but the other public buildings are of modern construction. The most famous street in Épernay is the

Avenue de Champagne L'Avenue de Champagne (The Champagne Avenue) is a famous street located in Épernay, the 'Capital of champagne', in the Grand Est Région of France. Its name derives from the presence of many leading champagne producers such as Moët et Chand ...

which features the leading Champagne manufacturers. Other sights outside the town include: *Château de

Pierry Pierry () is a commune in the Marne department in north-eastern France. See also *Communes of the Marne department The following is a list of the 610 communes in the French department of Marne. The communes cooperate in the following ...

*Château de

Montmort Montmort () is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. It has a Romanesque church from the 11th century. See also *Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department *Pierre Raymond de Mo ...

Château de Condé The Château de Condé is a private estate in Condé-en-Brie, Aisne, France, set in a park on the Champagne route 100 km from Paris. The Château de Condé is a private estate, listed as a historic monument and inhabited year round. Its ...

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 Pinot Meunier (), also known as Meunier or Schwarzriesling (), is a variety of red wine grape most noted for being one of the three main varieties used in the production of Champagne (the other two are the red variety Pinot noir and the white ...

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 Champagne Pannier was founded in 1899 and its head office is situated in Château-Thierry, France. It is the largest champagne house in the western Marne Valley. History Louis Eugène Pannier founded the Champagne House in 1899 near Épernay. ...

, among others, was established in Épernay before moving to

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 Épernay station (French: ''Gare d'Épernay'') is the railway station serving the town Épernay, Marne department, northern France. It is situated on the Paris–Strasbourg railway and the Épernay–Reims railway. It is served by TER Grand Est ...

has rail connections to Paris, Strasbourg, Reims, Metz, Nancy and several regional destinations.

Notable people

Épernay was the birthplace of: *

Flodoard Flodoard of Reims (; 893/4 – 28 March 966) was a Frankish chronicler and priest of the cathedral church of Reims in the West Frankish kingdom during the decades following the dissolution of the Carolingian Empire. His historical writings are ...

(894–966),

chronicler A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...

* Maakan Tounkara, handball player *

Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière Sir Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, (December 5, 1829 – November 16, 1908) lawyer, businessman and politician served as the fourth premier of Quebec, a Canadian cabinet, federal Cabinet minister, and the List of lieutenant governors of ...

, Québécois politician *

Gabrielle Dorziat Gabrielle Dorziat (25 January 1880 – 30 November 1979) was a French stage and film actress. Dorziat was a fashion trend setter in Paris and helped popularize the designs of Coco Chanel. The Théâtre Gabrielle-Dorziat in Épernay, France is nam ...

, comedian *

Yohann Diniz Yohann Diniz (born 1 January 1978) is a French race walker. He is the current world-record holder for the 50 km race, with a time of 3:32:33, and for the 50,000 metres track walk, with a time of 3:35:27. Career He won the gold medal in the 50&n ...

, athlete *

John Gadret John Gadret (born 22 April 1979) is a French former professional racing cyclist in cyclo-cross and road racing, currently racing for the USO Bruay-la-Buissière amateur team. He became a stagiaire for in 2003 before turning professional with the ...

, cyclist *

Léon Homo Léon Homo (16 December 1872 – 16 August 1957) was a 20th-century French historian, a specialist of Roman history. Biography After he entered the École normale supérieure in 1894, he obtained his agrégation in 1897, and defended his docto ...

(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 Léon Azéma (20 January 1888 – 1 March 1978) was a French architect. He is responsible for many public works in France, especially in and around Paris. His most famous work is 1937 Palais de Chaillot, facing the Eiffel Tower in Paris. Early ...

(1888–1978), French architect, died in Épernay and is buried in the cemetery there. *

Yvette Lundy Yvette Lundy (22 April 1916 – 3 November 2019) was a French resistance fighter during the French Resistance of World War II. She provided the inspiration for the character of Mademoiselle Lise Lundi in the 2009 film ''Korkoro'', written and dire ...

(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 Fada N'gourma, also written Fada-Ngourma or Noungu, is a city and an important market town in eastern Burkina Faso, lying east of Ouagadougou, in the Gourmantché area. It is the capital of the Est Region and Gourma Province, and is also the sea ...

, Burkina Faso *

Middelkerke Middelkerke () is a municipality located in the Belgian province of West Flanders, on the North Sea, west of Ostend. The municipality comprises the villages of Leffinge, Lombardsijde, Mannekensvere, Middelkerke proper, Schore, Sint-Pieters-K ...

, Belgium *

Montespertoli Montespertoli () is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Metropolitan City of Florence in the Italian region Tuscany, located about southwest of Florence. Montespertoli borders the following municipalities: Barberino Val d'Elsa, Castelfiorentino, ...

, Italy

Climate

References

External links

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