Suippes

Location in the Champagne crayeuse

Suippes lies in the east of the Marne département, on the river of the same name. The Suippe is 82 kilometres long, rises in the neighbouring commune of Somme-Suippe and flows into the Aisne at Saint-Juvin. The landscape belongs to the Champagne crayeuse, the chalk plain that was once known as the Champagne pouilleuse, the barren Champagne, in contrast to the Champagne of vines and growers.

Anyone looking for vineyards here will not find them. Well over half of the commune's land is farmed, mostly as arable fields. The town's mayors, too, have almost without exception been farmers. For champagne travellers, then, Suippes is not a place for tastings but a look at the side of the region that gets by without vines.

The Camp de Suippes

The military leaves its mark on everything. The Camp de Suippes is the second largest military camp in France by area, and on the other side of the town it joins up with the camp at Mourmelon. Today the 40th Artillery Regiment is stationed in Suippes. Until around 1993 the 15th Artillery Regiment was based here, which also had nuclear-capable short-range Pluton missiles at its disposal.

“In the First World War the town lay roughly on the Hindenburg Line and became the scene of fighting in 1918.

History

The name goes back to the river and derives from the late Latin suppa, meaning sodden ground. In the First World War the town lay roughly on the Hindenburg Line and became the scene of fighting in 1918. By the end of the war it was considered destroyed, and on 20 September 1920 it was awarded the Croix de guerre 1914-1918. The Croix de guerre 1939-1945 followed on 11 November 1948.

Suippes also played a special role in French space history. On 31 July 1950 the first launch attempt of the Véronique rocket took place here, but it failed: it rose only three metres and stuck on the launch pad. Five more attempts followed from Suippes, after which the launches moved to Vernon, Hammaguir and Kourou. The experience fed into the Diamant launch vehicle, with which France became the third space power in the 1960s.

Boizel Champagner

On 17 November 2022 a tornado tore through the town and damaged around fifty buildings, including the fire station. Nobody was injured.

Things to see

• The church of Saint-Martin with its impressive organ, a monument historique since 1920
• The Centre d'Interprétation Marne 14-18, which commemorates the First World War in the region

Suippes is twinned with Hardheim in Baden-Württemberg. The town belongs to the arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne and the canton of Argonne Suippe et Vesle. If you want to see a rather different side of Champagne on your way through, you can stop here between the church, the museum and the river valley before heading back to the vineyards.