Arrentières

Location in the Côte des Bar

Arrentières lies in the south of Champagne, in the Côte des Bar, between the neighbouring communes of Montier-en-l'Isle and Engente. Bar-sur-Aube is a little over four kilometres away as the crow flies, to the south-west. Chaumont is about 34 kilometres away, Troyes just under 50. The commune belongs to the arrondissement and canton of Bar-sur-Aube. The village has no cru status, neither grand cru nor premier cru.

Landscape and viticulture

The commune covers 1,391 hectares and rises from 183 metres in the valley to 331 metres near the Ferme de Vernonfays. The village sits on a limestone plateau, right where the Bresse and the Cuvelots stream meet. The Bresse later flows into the Aube.

Land use paints a rural picture:

• Arable land: 42.3 per cent
• Woodland: 35.6 per cent
• Permanent crops: 12.4 per cent
• Meadows: 2.3 per cent
• Built-up area: 2.5 per cent

In this part of France, permanent crops typically means vineyards. The exact share given over to vines is not clear from the data. If you enjoy champagne from the Côte des Bar, you will in any case find a setting here that is shaped in part by wine.

“It was dissolved in 1740.Things to seeThe Château d'Arrentières dates from the 13th century and has been partly listed as a monument historique since 1994.

History

In the 12th century the village belonged to the commandery of Thors, whose origins go back to the Templars. At the same time Arrentières had a Cistercian priory, which was moved to Chaumont at the end of the 17th century. In the 14th century Jean d'Arrentières served the Count of Bar as royal bailli. In 1371, on the orders of Charles V, he had Countess Yolande de Bar arrested and held her prisoner.

The name comes from a dialect word, arremier, which means roughly "someone who owes an annuity". The commune also included the estate of Orimont, where a women's priory once stood. It was dissolved in 1740.

Drappier Champagner

Things to see

The Château d'Arrentières dates from the 13th century and has been partly listed as a monument historique since 1994. In the parish church, around ten objects are classed as historically significant. The altarpiece was renewed in 2010. The village also has two wash-houses, whose walls have been renovated. A curious detail: Arrentières is said to have been the first commune to put up red street lamps.

Residents and getting there

In 1861 the village still had over 850 inhabitants; on 1 January 2023 there were 176. The departmental roads D73 and D102 run through the village. The D73 links Bar-sur-Aube with Doulevant-le-Château. Arrentières makes a good, quiet stop if you are tasting the champagnes of the Aube on a route around Bar-sur-Aube.