- Département
- Marne (Grand Est region)
- Site
- Argonne, on the Étang de Givry and the Ante, east of the Champagne wine-growing areas
- Inhabitants
- 448 (as of 1 January 2023)
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
Givry-en-Argonne is a village in the Marne département, set beside a pond in the Argonne. Vines play no part here: the place stands for forest, water and quiet, east of the Champagne vineyards.
Location
Givry-en-Argonne lies in the east of the Marne département in the Grand Est region, on the upper reaches of the Ante in the Argonne landscape. Verdun is about 40 kilometres away. By road you reach Sainte-Menehould after 17 kilometres, Bar-le-Duc after 32 and the prefecture, Châlons-en-Champagne, after 43. The commune has belonged to the canton of Argonne Suippe et Vesle since 2015 and to the arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne since 2017. On 1 January 2023 it had 448 inhabitants.
Landscape instead of vineyard slopes
The commune covers 766 hectares, with elevations ranging from 158 to 185 metres. The village sits in the west of the commune beside the Étang de Givry, which is fed by the Ante. To the east lies the Forêt de Belval. The land use shows the picture clearly:
- Forest: 42.2 per cent
- Meadows: 21.1 per cent
- Arable land: 19.8 per cent
- Water: 8.9 per cent
- Built-up area: 8 per cent
Vineyard land does not appear in this breakdown. Givry-en-Argonne is therefore not a wine village, and neither grand cru nor premier cru. Besides the Étang de Givry, there are other ponds within the commune, including the Étang de la Grande Rouillie at 37.5 hectares.
The commune has belonged to the canton of Argonne Suippe et Vesle since 2015 and to the arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne since 2017.
The climate is temperate with fresh summers. At the nearest weather station, in Seuil-d'Argonne, 13 kilometres away, the annual mean for 1991 to 2020 was 11.0 °C, with rainfall of around 797 millimetres a year.
History
The name goes back to the Gaulish Gabriacum, a forest with roe deer. The place is recorded as Givré for the years 1164 to 1167. In February 1229 the inhabitants received a charter of civic rights from Renard de Dampierre. The barony was later raised to a marquisate, in 1653 in favour of Jean Courtin. According to the sources, markets and fairs were held from 1530. In 1768 the place was even due to be officially renamed Baillet, with officials permitted to add the phrase “ci-devant Givry”.
Sights and notable people
A special building is the half-timbered church of Saint-Laurent, dating from 1830. Half-timbered churches are a rarity in this area on the edge of Champagne. A twinning link connects the village with Lutzerath in Rhineland-Palatinate. Givry is also the birthplace of Charles-François Delacroix de Contaut (1741 to 1805), a politician and the father of the painter Eugène Delacroix.
For food and wine lovers
If you are hoping to visit champagne growers, you are in the wrong place. But as a stop on a journey through the eastern Marne, Givry-en-Argonne works well: for a walk by the pond, a picnic at the edge of the forest or a break before heading on into the vineyards. A well-chilled bottle is best brought along yourself.
Pictures
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