Villers-sous-Châtillon

Location

Villers-sous-Châtillon lies in the Marne département, about 32 kilometres south-west of Reims. The village belongs to the western part of the Marne Valley, an area where Pinot Meunier has traditionally played a major role. The name points to its proximity to Châtillon-sur-Marne. The commune is rural and very sparsely populated: at the last count in 2020, 210 people lived here.

Administration and reorganisation

Since 1 January 2023, Villers-sous-Châtillon has no longer been an independent commune. A decree of 28 September 2022 made the village a commune déléguée of the new commune nouvelle of Cœur-de-la-Vallée, together with Binson-et-Orquigny and Reuil. The village name lives on, but administrative duties now rest with the larger grouping.

There were changes earlier, too: in 2017 the commune moved from the arrondissement of Reims to the arrondissement of Épernay. Today it belongs to the intercommunal authority Paysages de la Champagne.

Landscape and viticulture

Visitors to Villers-sous-Châtillon see mostly forest. According to the European land cover database Corine Land Cover, around 74 per cent of the land area was forest and semi-natural land in 2018, and that share has not changed since 1990. The rest breaks down as follows:

“A decree of 28 September 2022 made the village a commune déléguée of the new commune nouvelle of Cœur-de-la-Vallée, together with Binson-et-Orquigny and Reuil.

• Arable land: 8 per cent
• Mixed agricultural land: 7 per cent
• Built-up areas: 6 per cent
• Permanent crops: 5.1 per cent

In this region, permanent crops mean first and foremost vines. Viticulture is therefore a niche here, squeezed in between the wooded slopes. The village is not classified as grand cru or premier cru. For wine lovers the appeal lies elsewhere: if you are looking for growers in small villages, the Marne Valley offers champagnes that often stand out for their fruity, approachable Pinot Meunier cuvées.

Belval-sous-Châtillon in der ChampagneFoto: Roland45, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons

What to see

The most important building is the Romanesque church of Saint-Jacques. It shapes the look of the village and is worth a short stop if you are exploring the Marne Valley. The care given to flowers is also noticeable: the village holds the "Three Flowers" award, given by the Conseil national des villes et villages fleuris in its annual competition for flower-decorated towns and villages.

For your trip

Villers-sous-Châtillon makes a good, quiet stopover on a drive through the western Marne Valley. From Reims it can be reached in about half an hour. If you explore the area by car or by bike, you can combine forest, vineyards and small villages in a single day. It is best to arrange grower visits in advance and by appointment, as estates in such small places usually have no fixed opening hours.