Tinqueux

If you drive from Paris to Reims, you will almost inevitably pass through Tinqueux. The commune, with 10,771 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023), borders Reims directly to the west, and many people see it more as a district of the city than as a place in its own right. Some businesses call themselves "Reims-Tinqueux" accordingly. Tinqueux is neither a Grand Cru nor a Premier Cru village, and you should not expect any vineyards here.

Location and character

Tinqueux lies in the Marne département and borders Reims, Saint-Brice-Courcelles, Champigny, Thillois, Ormes and Bezannes. The Vesle forms the northern boundary of the commune, and the Muire also flows through its territory. The land use is strongly urban: according to the 2018 statistics, almost 89 per cent of the area is built up or otherwise artificially used, including many commercial and retail zones. Arable land makes up only a little over 9 per cent.

Getting there and practicalities

It is precisely the transport links that make Tinqueux interesting for travellers:

• A4 motorway (Paris, Strasbourg), exit 22 Reims-Tinqueux
• Route nationale 31 from Rouen to Reims
• Route départementale 980 from Dormans to Reims
• CITURA city buses, including line 13 between Champagne TGV station and Saint-Brice-Courcelles

If you want to visit Reims and the surrounding champagne houses, this makes a convenient base on the edge of the city.

“From the 12th century it belonged to the County of Champagne, and until 1789 to the Abbey of Saint-Denis in Reims.

History

Traces of human settlement go back a long way. Excavations in the Champ Paveau district in the 1980s uncovered a Neolithic cemetery. In Gallo-Roman times Tinqueux was a small hamlet with farmsteads along the Roman road that ran west from Durocortorum, Roman Reims. The village is first mentioned in documents in 975. From the 12th century it belonged to the County of Champagne, and until 1789 to the Abbey of Saint-Denis in Reims. Because Tinqueux lies on the edge of Reims, the French kings also passed through on their way to their coronation.

Chartogne Taillet Champagne

In the 19th century the village suffered during the Battle of Reims in 1814, commemorated by a memorial at Mont-Saint-Pierre. Industrialisation then brought businesses to the area. The First World War reduced the village to ruins: by 1920 only 20 houses were left standing. In 1921 Tinqueux was awarded the Croix de guerre 1914-1918. The interwar reconstruction produced, among other things, the town hall, the church of Saint-Pierre and four housing estates. The fact that the commune remembers the persecution of the Schwartzmann family, who were deported in January 1944, is also part of its history: the former Rue Jean-Gutenberg now bears the family's name.

Things to see

Do not expect great monuments. Places worth a visit include the churches of Saint-Pierre and Sainte-Bernadette, as well as the Parc de la Muire and the Parc de la Croix Cordier, a leisure and sports park. Tinqueux is twinned with Leimen in Baden-Württemberg (since 1966) and Myślenice in Lesser Poland (since 2005).