- Département
- Marne
- Site
- Argonne, eastern edge of the Marne on the border with the Meuse
- Inhabitants
- 4,146 (as of 1 January 2023)
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
Sainte-Menehould lies on the eastern edge of the Marne and is regarded as the capital of the Argonne. Champagne lovers know the town as the birthplace of the monk Dom Pérignon.
Sainte-Menehould lies far to the east of the Marne département, where Champagne meets the Argonne and the neighbouring département of Meuse. Vineyards do not shape this area; forest and river valleys set the scene. For champagne lovers the town is nonetheless of interest: according to local tradition, Dom Pérignon was born here around 1638, the Benedictine monk whose name now belongs to a famous prestige cuvée.
Location
The town lies on the Aisne, just before the point where the Auve joins the river from the left. It is regarded as the capital of the Argonne, and a large part of the municipal area is woodland. It is 42 kilometres to Châlons-en-Champagne and 37 kilometres to Verdun. Reims lies 66 kilometres to the west, Bar-le-Duc 41 kilometres to the south. If you are travelling on the A4 motorway between Reims and Metz, you reach Sainte-Menehould via exit 29, which makes the town a practical stop on the route east. According to Wikipedia, it had 4,146 inhabitants on 1 January 2023.
History
There was already a settlement here in Gallo-Roman times. Around 1200 the town passed to Count Theobald III of Champagne. His widow, Blanche of Navarre, had the castle hill fortified. The town takes its name from Menehould, the sister of Saint Memmie, the first bishop of Châlons.
According to Wikipedia, it had 4,146 inhabitants on 1 January 2023.HistoryThere was already a settlement here in Gallo-Roman times.
In 1719 the town, then built almost entirely of wood, burned down. The rebuilding produced a unified ensemble of the 18th century that still shapes the townscape today. Sainte-Menehould also became famous through the French Revolution: as a post station on the road from Paris to Verdun, it was here that the postmaster Jean Baptiste Drouet saw a hurried party of travellers pass through on the evening of 21 June 1791. He recognised Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette in flight. That same night the royal couple were arrested in Varennes-en-Argonne. Until 31 March 2017 the town was a sub-prefecture.
Sights
- Notre-Dame-du-Château in the upper town: a three-aisled basilica from the 13th century, protected as a monument historique. The choir and apse date from the beginning of the century, the side chapels were added around the middle.
- The town hall on the Place du Général Leclerc: built in 1730 after the fire by Philippe de La Force. The façade is regarded as a good example of the style of the royal building authority.
- The Butte, the castle hill above the town, with its long history of fortification.
Dom Pérignon and Champagne
You should not expect Sainte-Menehould to be a champagne town in the strict sense: there is no grand cru or premier cru here. But if you want to follow in the footsteps of Dom Pérignon, the best place to begin is his birthplace, before travelling on westwards into the vineyards. The town has been twinned with Bruchsal in Baden-Württemberg since 1965, which also makes it easier for German-speaking visitors to feel at home.
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