- Département
- Marne (Grand Est region)
- Site
- Montagne de Reims, about 10 km south of Reims
- Inhabitants
- 933 (as of 1 January 2023)
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
Villers-Allerand is a village of 933 inhabitants on the edge of the Montagne de Reims, ten kilometres south of Reims. In the Middle Ages it was known for its red wine.
Location
Villers-Allerand lies in the Marne département, about ten kilometres south of Reims, on the edge of the Montagne de Reims. On 1 January 2023 the commune had 933 inhabitants. Administratively it belongs to the arrondissement of Reims and the canton of Mourmelon-Vesle et Monts de Champagne. Neighbouring villages are Champfleury, Montbré, Rilly-la-Montagne, Germaine, Sermiers and Villers-aux-Nœuds. Anyone who knows the area will tell you: well-known champagne villages sit close together here.
Villers-Allerand is neither a grand cru nor a premier cru. For wine lovers who like to travel off the beaten track, away from the famous names, it is nonetheless part of the landscape where champagne is made.
Viticulture and landscape
Land use shows how strongly the commune is shaped by forest: according to Corine Land Cover data, around 46 per cent was woodland in 2018 and a good 35 per cent arable land. Permanent crops, which in this region mainly means vines, accounted for 12.4 per cent. The climate is oceanic and temperate. The nearest Météo-France weather station, at Mailly-Champagne, recorded an average annual temperature of 11.2 °C and average rainfall of 755.5 millimetres for 1991 to 2020. Extremes were measured there too: 39.8 °C in July 2019 and minus 20 °C in January 1985.
He was born in Villers-Allerand in 1903.Planning your visitVillers-Allerand makes a quiet base for a tour of the Montagne de Reims.
History
In the 10th century Hugues Capet granted the land as a fief to the Abbey of Saint-Remi in Reims. The inhabitants were not serfs, and in 1145 they paid only the seigneurial levy. At that time the village was known for its red wine, which is mentioned at the coronation of Charles V in 1364. This fits the history of the Montagne de Reims, where still wines played a major role for a long time before sparkling wine came to define the reputation of Champagne.
In the 14th century the hamlet of Mont-Chenot flourished thanks to its brickworks. The population peaked in the middle of the 19th century, when many workers came to the village during the building of the railway tunnel between Reims and Épernay.
Sights
- The church of Sainte-Agathe
- Several fountains and wash-houses in the village
- The Château de la Rosière: Adèle Palloteau bequeathed it to the city of Reims in 1910, which set up an open-air school there. Today it serves as a leisure centre for children.
Among those linked to the village are the Champenois Impressionist Paul Bocquet and Georges Bonnet, a member of the Compagnons de la Libération, who rebuilt destroyed bridges during the Second World War. He was born in Villers-Allerand in 1903.
Planning your visit
Villers-Allerand makes a quiet base for a tour of the Montagne de Reims. From here you can reach Reims in a short time, as well as the winegrowing villages nearby, such as Rilly-la-Montagne.
Pictures
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