Courgivaux

Location

Courgivaux lies in the far south-west of the Marne département, around 90 kilometres east-south-east of Paris. Its neighbouring communes include Esternay, Escardes, Neuvy, Saint-Bon, Montceaux-lès-Provins and Saint-Martin-du-Boschet. Administratively, the village belongs to the arrondissement of Épernay and the canton of Sézanne-Brie et Champagne. In daily life, residents look towards Sézanne and Esternay. The former Route Nationale 4 (now the RD 1004) passes by the village, which makes the Paris region easy to reach.

The commune is small: 277 inhabitants were counted on 1 January 2023. The area is just over 10 square kilometres, with altitudes ranging from 148 to 199 metres.

Landscape and viticulture

If you expect rows of vines on a slope, you will be disappointed. The commune's land-use data show mainly arable land (83.4 per cent), along with woodland (11.8 per cent) and built-up areas (4.8 per cent). Vineyards do not appear in the figures at all. Courgivaux is neither grand cru nor premier cru, and the village plays no prominent role in champagne production. For wine lovers it is interesting more as a stopover on the edge of the Champagne region, if you are exploring the area around Sézanne and Esternay.

“Passengers were carried there from 1902 to 1952, and freight until 1969.

The climate is oceanic. At the nearby Esternay weather station, the mean annual temperature (1991 to 2020) is 11.0 °C and annual rainfall is around 701 millimetres. Geologically, you are in the heart of the Paris Basin, where the sedimentary layers are especially thick: it is almost 3,000 metres down to the old basement rock.

History

The village name is documented from the 12th century, first appearing in 1149 as Gurgivolt. In the 20th century the village even had a railway station on the line from Longueville to Esternay. Passengers were carried there from 1902 to 1952, and freight until 1969. The level-crossing keeper's house still stands at the western entrance to the village.

Chateau de Bligny Champagner

Courgivaux became known well beyond the region through the Battle of the Marne at the start of the First World War. The village had been evacuated and was plundered by German troops. Heavy fighting took place on 6 and 7 September 1914. On 7 September, French soldiers of the 36th Infantry Regiment, supported by artillery, took the ruins of the village. Courgivaux marked the furthest point of the German advance here. On 30 May 1921, the commune was awarded the Croix de guerre 1914-1918.

Sights

• Church of Saint-Maurice
• French national cemetery with graves from the fighting of 1914
• Château de Courgivaux

If you visit, it is best to combine the village with a tour of the champagne villages in the surrounding area, for example towards Sézanne.