- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
A small village on the Py, east of Reims, close to the border with the Ardennes. Not a cru, but a place with a history: Louis XIV spent a night here in 1680.
Saint-Souplet-sur-Py is one of the quiet places on the edge of Champagne. The village, in the Marne département, has 134 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023) and is classified neither as grand cru nor as premier cru. If you are looking for champagne cellars here, the sources I have found give no sign of any. Even so, for travellers who want to get to know the area east of Reims, the place has a good deal to tell.
Location
The village lies about 30 kilometres east of Reims on the little river Py, right on the border with the Ardennes département. The D20 road links it with its neighbours Saint-Martin-l'Heureux and Sainte-Marie-à-Py. Administratively, Saint-Souplet-sur-Py belongs to the arrondissement of Reims and the canton of Mourmelon-Vesle et Monts de Champagne. The Py is roughly 15 kilometres long and flows into the Suippe at Saint-Martin-l'Heureux.
Landscape and climate
The landscape is shaped by farming: almost 90 per cent of the commune's land is arable and about 8.5 per cent is woodland. The source mentions no vineyards. The climate has an oceanic tinge, with an average annual temperature of around 10 degrees and some 750 millimetres of rain a year. Winters are cool and summers rather fresh. That explains why the region is used for growing cereals and other field crops.
The village, in the Marne département, has 134 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023) and is classified neither as grand cru nor as premier cru.
Name and history
The village name goes back to a saint, Sulpicius, possibly Sulpicius Severus. A parish of Saint Sulpicius on the Py is recorded as early as 1066. During the Revolution the village was briefly called Mont-Souplet, and it has borne its present name since 2 April 1961.
A prominent guest arrived in 1680: Louis XIV spent the night in Saint-Souplet on his journey through Champagne. A contemporary noted that there was a rather pretty manor house there, but that the village itself was so small that the court was very cramped for space.
From 1872 to 1938 the village had a railway station on the line from Bazancourt to Challerange. The name "Place de la Gare" still recalls it. Before the First World War, 381 people lived here, among them weavers, millers, cheesemakers, a notary and an innkeeper.
The First World War
At the beginning of September 1914, German troops occupied the village. It was plundered, part of the population fled and the rest were taken to Rethel. After the Battle of the Marne, the front line ran less than two kilometres away. For the rest of the war Saint-Souplet served as a billeting and supply point, mainly for Saxon regiments. That explains why the area is still so strongly marked by the memory of that period.
For champagne travellers
- The village makes a peaceful stopover between Reims and the Ardennes.
- The nearest neighbouring villages are Sainte-Marie-à-Py, Saint-Hilaire-le-Grand and Saint-Martin-l'Heureux.
- For tastings and cellar visits, head to the well-known wine villages of Champagne, not here.
Pictures
0 %