Château-Thierry

Location

Château-Thierry lies in a side valley of the Marne, roughly halfway between Paris and Reims. It is about 85 kilometres to Paris, 51 to Reims and around 45 each to Épernay and Meaux. Administratively the town belongs to the Hauts-de-France region and the historic Picardy, but culturally it counts as Champagne. This is where the Hauts-de-France, the Île-de-France and the Grand Est meet. The town is the sub-prefecture of the Aisne département and has 15,097 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023).

The town stretches from the riverbank up into the hills. Its elevation ranges from 59 to 222 metres. Anyone arriving from the west will soon notice the landscape changing: slopes, vines and the river valley are strongly reminiscent of what you expect further east.

Viticulture and champagne

Château-Thierry is neither a grand cru nor a premier cru village. It belongs to the Vallée de la Marne in the west of Champagne, where Pinot Meunier plays a particularly large role. Most of the vines within the town limits grow in the Vincelles-le Buisson district, a former hamlet on the slope with woodland and wide views over the town. There is also a small vineyard in the higher-lying Blanchard district.

“The town is the sub-prefecture of the Aisne département and has 15,097 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023).The town stretches from the riverbank up into the hills.

The most important champagne house in town is Pannier, regarded as the town's leading négociant. Stone was quarried along the valley sides in the Middle Ages, and parts of these quarries now serve as cellars. For wine lovers, Château-Thierry is therefore a good stop on a route through western Champagne.

History

According to tradition, the name goes back to a castle in which Charles Martel is said to have held the Merovingian king Theuderic IV. During the French Revolution the town was briefly called Château Égalité, later Égalité-sur-Marne.

Vienne-le-Château in der ChampagneFoto: Lt. Charles Stone, S.C., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

Its position on the Marne made it a contested place more than once: in 1814 in the battle between the French and the Russians and Prussians, in 1918 in the First World War during the fighting involving American troops, and in 1940 in the Second World War. The town has been awarded the Croix de guerre and is one of 64 French towns holding the Légion d'honneur. The fable writer Jean de La Fontaine was also born here in 1621.

Sights

• Musée Jean de La Fontaine in the poet's birthplace (Monument historique)
• Remains of the Château-Thierry castle (Monument historique)
• Church of Saint-Crépin (Monument historique)
• Hôtel de ville, the town hall (Monument historique)
• Hôtel Dieu (Monument historique)
• American memorial above the town, the Monument Américain

Getting here is straightforward: the A4 motorway skirts the north of the town, and the railway station is on the line between Paris and Strasbourg.