Arcy-Sainte-Restitue

Location

Arcy-Sainte-Restitue lies in the Aisne département in the Hauts-de-France region, about 17 kilometres south-east of Soissons. The commune belongs to the arrondissement of Soissons and the canton of Villers-Cotterêts. It includes the hamlets of Branges, Rugny and Servenay. Branges was merged into the commune in 1972. On 1 January 2023 the village had 396 inhabitants, and the buildings are loosely scattered, with a rural character.

Landscape and water

This is a spring region. The Crise, 26 kilometres long, rises within the commune and joins the Aisne at Soissons. The Muze, 17 kilometres long, also rises here and flows into the Vesle. About 79 per cent of the land is farmed, most of it arable (76.7 per cent). Woodland accounts for 20 per cent, meadows for just over 2 per cent. The climate is oceanic: the nearest weather station, at Braine, 11 kilometres away, recorded an average annual temperature of 11.3 °C and an average of 662.7 millimetres of rainfall for 1991 to 2020.

History

In 1813, workmen at the site known as Entre le Mont Beton came across a Merovingian burial ground. The report of the time spoke of around 25,000 graves. The archaeological map of the département considers that figure absurd: only about thirty graves were actually examined. Among the finds was a ceremonial sword, re-examined in 1988, said to have belonged to a Frankish leader from the time of Clovis. The name of the village points to a saint called Restituta, and the source names the martyrs of Abitene or of Sora as possible namesakes. The oldest recorded spelling, Arceius, dates from 1110.

“Among the finds was a ceremonial sword, re-examined in 1988, said to have belonged to a Frankish leader from the time of Clovis.

Sights

• Church of Saint-Martin from the 12th century, protected as a monument historique
• Church of Saint-Martin in the hamlet of Branges
• Château de Branges
• Dolmen de la butte de Housse
• Lavoir, the former public wash-house
• Water tower in the hamlet of Servenay

And the champagne?

Arcy-Sainte-Restitue is neither grand cru nor premier cru, and it is not a winegrowing village. The sources mention no vineyards and no champagne houses, and the landscape is shaped by fields and woods. If you visit the area, it combines well with a trip to Soissons. For champagne, the road leads on to the wine-growing villages of Champagne itself. As a stop for food and wine lovers travelling off the beaten track, the village offers above all quiet, history and plain village architecture.