- Département
- Marne (Grand Est region)
- Site
- Vallée de la Marne, Coteaux Sud d'Épernay, south-west of Épernay
- Inhabitants
- 1,336 (as of 1 January 2023)
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
Saint-Martin-d'Ablois is a wine village south-west of Épernay in the Marne Valley. Around 82 hectares of vines grow here, mostly Pinot Meunier, and the source of the Sourdon stream lies within the commune.
Location
Saint-Martin-d'Ablois lies in the Marne département, south-west of Épernay, and belongs to the canton of Dormans-Paysages de Champagne. The forests of Brugny, Enghien and Épernay and the Bois de Boursault spread out around the village. Woodland in fact covers just under 59 per cent of the commune, and arable land about 31 per cent. Vineyards account for only around 5 per cent. That gives the village a rural, peaceful character. As of 1 January 2023, the commune had 1,336 inhabitants.
Viticulture
The village is part of the Vallée de la Marne wine-growing area, more precisely the terroir of the Coteaux Sud d'Épernay. It is classified as neither grand cru nor premier cru. The commune farms 82.2 hectares of vines, spread across 71 growers. That is a small-scale structure, typical of many villages in Champagne. The grape grown is overwhelmingly Pinot Meunier. This variety is at home in the Marne Valley and stands for fruity, approachable champagnes.
Water also shapes the landscape. The Sourdon stream rises within the commune, as does the 14-kilometre-long Cubry, which flows into the Marne at Magenta. Several ponds add to the network of waterways. The village name is traced back to the Latin ablutus (washed, irrigated). Saint-Martin-d'Ablois could therefore mean “Saint Martin of the waters”.
After the death of Francis II in 1560, she detached Ablois from the castellany of Épernay.
History
The village already appears on maps of the Abbey of Saint-Martin d'Épernay in 1145. The canons of the abbey settled here in 1152. The geographer d'Anville suspected a Gallo-Roman settlement called Bibe on this spot. In 1855, Roman coins were found near the Mont Bayen farm to the north.
A prominent owner of the viscounty of Ablois was Mary, Queen of Scots. After the death of Francis II in 1560, she detached Ablois from the castellany of Épernay. On 20 May 1561 she visited the monastery of Saint-Martin and walked through the Bois du Sourdon.
The commune took its present form in 1789, was renamed Ablois by the revolutionaries shortly afterwards, and has carried its old name again since 1952. From 1903 until its closure in 1937, the village had a railway station on the Épernay–Montmirail line. In the First World War it lay close to the front of the Second Battle of the Marne. 64 villagers were killed, and a military cemetery commemorates them. In the Second World War, three young men from the village were shot for resistance. Several streets now bear their names.
Sights
- Church of Saint-Martin
- Château d'Ablois, 18th century
- Sourdon park, a nature reserve around the springs
Visitors to Saint-Martin-d'Ablois can combine vineyards with walks in the woods. The village makes a good excursion from Épernay, for instance to get to know the growers of the southern Marne Valley. Since 2001 it has been twinned with Avessac in the Loire-Atlantique département.
Pictures
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