Vienne-la-Ville

Location

Vienne-la-Ville lies in the north-east of the Marne département, in the Grand Est region. The village belongs to the Argonne landscape and sits where the Bionne flows into the Aisne from the south-west. The commune covers 748 hectares, with heights ranging from 121 to around 171 metres. By road it is about 10 kilometres to Sainte-Menehould and 57 kilometres to Châlons-en-Champagne, the prefecture of the département. Verdun is also 57 kilometres away by road.

Landscape and climate

You will look in vain for rows of vines here. The commune is rural in character, with around 86 per cent of its land used for farming. Meadows account for the largest share at just under 40 per cent, followed by arable land, mixed farmland and a little woodland. Viticulture does not appear in this breakdown at all.

The climate is temperate oceanic with cool summers. At the nearest Météo-France station in Argers, eleven kilometres away, the annual mean for 1991 to 2020 is 10.9 °C, and rainfall adds up to a good 739 millimetres. In July 2019 a temperature of 41.1 °C was recorded there.

“At the nearest Météo-France station in Argers, eleven kilometres away, the annual mean for 1991 to 2020 is 10.9 °C, and rainfall adds up to a good 739 millimetres.

Name and history

The name of the village probably derives from the Aisne, which was known as Axona in antiquity. A settlement grew up where the Roman road from Reims to Metz crossed the river, probably at the plot known as Bongué. A name in the form Axuena is already recorded in the 3rd century, and in the year 898 the phrase apud Viennam appears. The neighbouring Vienne-le-Château, younger than its namesake, later took its name from here. During the French Revolution the village was briefly called Vienne-sur-Aisne.

In the First World War the village lay close to the front line. In the Second World War, German troops blew up the bridge over the Bionne as they retreated.

Vienne-le-Château in der ChampagneFoto: Lt. Charles Stone, S.C., Public domain, Wikimedia Commons

What to see and where it fits in

The best-known building is the church of Saint-Maurice, dating from the 16th century. It was almost completely destroyed in the First World War. Otherwise Vienne-la-Ville is a quiet place with around 160 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2023).

• Département: Marne, arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne
• Canton: Argonne Suippe et Vesle
• Neighbouring villages include: Vienne-le-Château, Moiremont, La Neuville-au-Pont

For champagne lovers, the village is not a destination for tastings, and it has neither grand cru nor premier cru status. It does make a good stop, though, if you would like to get to know the Argonne with its meadows, woods and rivers. The wine villages of Champagne lie further to the west and south-west.