Marfaux

Location

Marfaux lies in the Marne département in the Grand Est region, about 14 kilometres south-west of Reims as the crow flies. By road it is around 21 kilometres. The village belongs to the arrondissement of Reims and the canton of Dormans-Paysages de Champagne.

The commune covers 675 hectares within the Montagne de Reims Regional Nature Park. To the south of the village flows the Ardre, which rises near Saint-Imoges and joins the Vesle at Fismes. The land climbs from 127 to 266 metres, with the highest point in the north-east on the border with Écueil. Other neighbours are Courmas, Sacy, Pourcy and Chaumuzy. With 116 inhabitants (2023), Marfaux is a very small place. Its residents are known as Marfautiots.

Viticulture and landscape

Marfaux has 40 hectares of vineyard in the Champagne appellation. The village has no grand cru or premier cru status, so it is rather one for the curious who like to look beyond the famous names. The vines, however, make up only a small part of the commune's land: permanent crops cover a good 6 per cent, arable land more than half, and almost a third is forest. The climate is temperate, with an average of a little over 10 degrees and around 730 millimetres of rainfall a year, with cool summers and cold winters.

“On 18 and 19 July 1918, during the Second Battle of the Marne, fierce fighting raged here.

The name has nothing to do with wine. Marfaux was once a word for the goat willow, also called pussy willow, which used to be gathered as fodder for goats. In the local dialect the village is called "La Marfeye".

History

Marfaux was badly scarred in the First World War. On 18 and 19 July 1918, during the Second Battle of the Marne, fierce fighting raged here. The 38th Infantry Regiment suffered heavy losses in the attack on the village. On 30 May 1921 the commune was awarded the Croix de guerre 1914-1918.

Champagne

What to see

The village is quiet and rural in character, and visitors will find mostly traces of church and wartime history:

• Église Saint-André: This Romanesque church dates from the 12th century and has been protected as a Monument historique since 5 June 1923. Several statues inside are also listed, including 16th-century wooden figures such as a Madonna and Child and figures of Saint John and Saint Christopher.
• British military cemetery: It commemorates those who fell in 1918.
• German military cemetery: This also lies within the commune.

If you visit Marfaux, the best way to do it is to combine the detour with a drive through the Montagne de Reims and the Ardre valley. Reims, with its great champagne houses, is only a few kilometres away.