Belval-sous-Châtillon

Location

Belval-sous-Châtillon lies in the Marne département, about 25 kilometres south-west of Reims and some 15 kilometres from Épernay. The village belongs to the Montagne de Reims Regional Nature Park and sits in a small valley that the Belval stream has cut into the ridge. The commune covers 715 hectares, with altitudes ranging from 129 to 255 metres. Besides the village itself, it includes the hamlets of La Charmoise, Pré, Paradis and La Poterne. You reach it by the D 324 road, either from Cuchery or from Fleury-la-Rivière.

The Belval rises within the commune, is 13 kilometres long and joins the Marne at Châtillon-sur-Marne. A few ponds lie along its course. The stream also gave the village its name: the oldest recorded form is Bella Vallis (1207), the "beautiful valley".

Viticulture

Belval-sous-Châtillon has neither grand cru nor premier cru status, but it lies within the Champagne appellation. The vines grow on the slopes north of the village and north of the Ruisseau des Marais. Viticulture here is only one part of the landscape: according to the 2018 data, 35.1 per cent of the land is forest, 34.5 per cent is arable and 14.8 per cent is permanent crops, which include the vineyards. The north-east of the commune is wooded.

“LocationBelval-sous-Châtillon lies in the Marne département, about 25 kilometres south-west of Reims and some 15 kilometres from Épernay.

The climate is temperate oceanic. The nearest weather station, at Chambrecy, seven kilometres away, recorded an average annual temperature of 10.7 °C and 734 millimetres of rainfall on average for 1991 to 2020.

History

In the 11th century a priory stood here, with five monks and a prior. It was built on land belonging to the Roucy family, who handed it over to the Abbey of Grande-Sauve at the end of the 13th century. Pope Celestine III mentioned Belval in a bull of 10 May 1197. In September 1207 Abbot Amauvin gave up part of the territory to found La Neuville.

Villers-sous-Châtillon in der ChampagneFoto: Oserge, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

The village was hit hard in the First World War: on 30 May 1921 the commune was awarded the Croix de guerre 1914-1918. The cemetery has a section of its own for fallen soldiers.

What to See and Practical Information

• Saint-Roch church in the village centre
• First World War soldiers' graves in the cemetery
• Walks in the Montagne de Reims nature park, through woodland, past ponds and between vineyards

With 174 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023), Belval-sous-Châtillon is a quiet, rural place with widely scattered buildings. Administratively it belongs to the arrondissement of Épernay and the canton of Dormans-Paysages de Champagne. If you want to get to know Champagne away from the big names, you will find vineyards, forest and water here in a small space.