Clamanges

Location

Clamanges is a small village in the Marne département, in the Grand Est region. It lies in the Champagne crayeuse, the dry chalk plain, on the Somme-Soude, about 25 kilometres south-west of Châlons-en-Champagne. The Somme-Soude rises near Sommesous, is 60 kilometres long and flows into the Marne at Aigny. On 1 January 2023 the commune had 228 inhabitants.

Administratively, Clamanges belongs to the arrondissement of Épernay and the canton of Vertus-Plaine Champenoise. Since 2017 it has been a member of the Communauté d'agglomération Épernay, Coteaux et Plaine de Champagne. Before that it belonged to the arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne.

Landscape and climate

Anyone expecting vineyard slopes will mostly see wide open fields. Just under 95 per cent of the commune's land is farmed, almost entirely as arable land. Woodland makes up a good 2 per cent, built-up area barely 3 per cent. Clamanges is neither grand cru nor premier cru and plays no prominent role in Champagne viticulture. The climate is temperate and shaped by the ocean. For the years 1971 to 2000, the source gives an average annual temperature of 10.1 °C and around 716 millimetres of rainfall.

“Since 2017 it has been a member of the Communauté d'agglomération Épernay, Coteaux et Plaine de Champagne.

The famous wine villages are within easy reach, though. Vertus, at the southern end of the Côte des Blancs, and Épernay are the destinations of bus line Z, which connects Clamanges to the Mouvéo network. According to the 2025 timetable, it runs Monday to Saturday (except on public holidays), with two return journeys a day.

History

The village's most famous son is Nicolas de Clamanges, who died in 1437. He was secretary to Pope Benedict XIII and is regarded as one of the leading French writers and thinkers of his time. In the First World War the village felt the fighting of the Battle of the Marne in 1914.

Champagner Region

The water power of the Somme-Soude once played a larger role: in 1845 there were still three mills in Clamanges, and today only one is left.

Sights

• The church of Notre-Dame de l'Assomption (Our Lady of the Assumption) is the only sight the source mentions.
• The course of the Somme-Soude and the remains of the milling tradition make for a short stroll.

Clamanges makes a quiet stop away from the well-known champagne routes. If you visit, it is best combined with a detour to Vertus or Épernay, where growers and houses welcome visitors for tastings.