In Roman times, Châlons-en-Champagne was called Catalaunum or Durocatalaunum and was the capital of the Gallic tribe of the Catalauni and an important city in the Gallia Belgica. Near Châlons, Emperor Aurelian defeated the Gaulish opponent Tetricus in a battle in 274 AD. Saint Memmie preached Christianity here in the second half of the 3rd century and became the first bishop of Châlons. In 451, Châlons may have been the site of the Battle of the Catalaunian Fields, in which Attila's army was defeated by the Visigoths under Theodoric I, who fell, and the Romans under Aëtius.
The bishops, the district, the county and rulers' residences appear in numerous documents in the Carolingian period. Only three of them are highlighted:
In 813 Emperor Charlemagne decided to hold a synod here, which was also reported (Regesta Imperii I, 476b + 829b). In 841 King Charles the Bald celebrated Christmas here (Reg.Imp. I, 2,1, 271). And in 845 Charles the Bald confirmed to the bishop (the "Cathalaunis ecclesiae"), among other things, the freedom to preach and hold office (Reg.Imp. I,2,1 461). From 845 Chalons was then mentioned in 12 other documents of Charles the Bald (D_Charles_II 067ff.).
In 931 the city was conquered and devastated by Rudolph of Burgundy and in 963 by Robert of Vermandois.
In the Middle Ages, the city was administered by the bishops of Châlons from the 10th century, giving it numerous sacred buildings, e.g. the Saint-Etienne Cathedral, Notre-Dame-en-Vaux and Saint-Jean. However, the clergy restricted the bourgeoisie and thus the economic development of the city. This led to the fact that the agricultural industry is still the most important branch of the economy today.
In the 12th and 13th centuries, Châlons developed into an important French trading center. In 1147, Bernard of Clairvaux preached the crusade here in the presence of King Louis VII and Pope Eugene III, who had come to the city for the inauguration of the cathedral. In 1214, the Châlons militia took part in the Battle of Bouvines. In 1360 King John II united the County of Châlons with the Crown Domain. During the Hundred Years' War, in 1430 and 1434, the inhabitants of Châlons repulsed around 8,000 approaching English.
At the end of the 16th century, the city sided with the French king Henry IV, who therefore moved the parliament from Paris to Châlons in 1589. On June 15, 1591, Pope Gregory XIV's bull of excommunication directed against Henry IV and, in 1592, Clemens VIII's bull were publicly burned here by the executioner.
The Porte Sainte-Croix triumphal arch commemorates Marie Antoinette's journey from Vienna to Paris on her way to her marriage to Louis XVI.
During the 17th and 18th centuries, Châlons was the scene of several weddings of the nobility. Philippe d'Orléans and Liselotte von der Pfalz married here on November 16, 1671, the Great Dauphin and Maria Anna Victoria of Bavaria on March 7, 1680, Louis d'Orléans and Auguste von Baden-Baden on July 13, 1724 and on 24 July 1728 Louis IV Henri de Bourbon, prince de Condé and Caroline Charlotte of Hessen-Rheinfels-Rotenburg. (The latter two marriages took place in Sarry, very close to Châlons.)
In 1790, the Constituent Assembly set up Châlons as the central administration site for the Marne department. On June 20, 1791, the family of Louis XVI. Châlons coaching inn on their flight to Varennes. On February 4, 1814, the Prussians under York captured the suburb of St. Memmie that MacDonald was defending and, after MacDonald left, occupied the town itself the following day. On July 3, 1815, it was captured by Chernyshev. The bishopric of Châlons, abolished in 1790, was reestablished in 1822.
We visited the city for a day. We really liked the mixture of half-timbered houses, the cathedrals, the parks and of course the canals. The highlight was the boat tour on Mau and Nau.
Translated by Google •
In the know? Log-in to add a tip for other adventurers!