- Département
- Marne (Grand Est region)
- Site
- Perthois, on the Saulx, near Vitry-le-François
- Inhabitants
- 863 (as of 1 January 2023)
- Source
- Wikipedia, eigene Zusammenfassung
Vitry-en-Perthois is a village on the Saulx in the south-east of the Marne, close to Vitry-le-François. Vines grow on the south-facing slopes of the Mont de Fourche, but the village has no cru status.
Location
Vitry-en-Perthois lies in the south-east of the Marne département, four kilometres north-east of Vitry-le-François. The village sits on the Saulx, just before it flows into the Marne. Within the commune the Chée and the Bruxenelle also join the Saulx, and the Rhine-Marne Canal runs along the south. Châlons-en-Champagne is 35 kilometres away by road. As of 1 January 2023 the commune has 863 inhabitants.
In terms of landscape, the village belongs to the Perthois, a sub-region of the Champagne humide between Saint-Dizier and Vitry-le-François. The terrain is mostly flat and lies at around 100 metres above sea level. To the north the Mont de Fourche rises to 207 metres and towers over its surroundings.
Viticulture
The south-facing slopes of the Mont de Fourche are planted with vines. That is the village's connection to champagne. Vitry-en-Perthois is neither a grand cru nor a premier cru, and it is not a well-known address for grower champagne either. Anyone passing through will experience the rural side of Champagne: according to the 2018 figures, a good 78 per cent of the commune's area is farmland, most of it arable. Almost 15 per cent is woodland.
There, in 1545, Vitry-le-François was founded, while Vitry-en-Perthois stayed where it had always been.
History
The origins go back to Roman times. After the Huns destroyed Perthes in 451, Vitry became the largest settlement and the new capital of the Perthois. In 929 Boson, brother of King Raoul, had a castle built here. In 1077 it passed to the Counts of Champagne. Vitry became the seat of a comital administration and by the 12th century was already densely populated, with fortifications and two suburbs. In 1230 Count Thibaud IV granted the inhabitants a charter of freedoms. Crafts, trade and even banking are documented at this time, and the place was a proper town.
Vitry was burnt down twice: in the 1140s by the troops of Louis VII, and in 1544 by the army of Charles V. After the second fire, Francis I ordered it rebuilt, but on a different site. There, in 1545, Vitry-le-François was founded, while Vitry-en-Perthois stayed where it had always been. The inhabitants, incidentally, are called Pavois, after the shield on which new Frankish leaders were once raised.
Sights
- Saint-Memmie church
- Sainte-Geneviève chapel
- the former wash-house (lavoir)
Several historical figures were born in Vitry or are linked to it, among them Jacques de Vitry, Bishop of Acre, and Philippe de Vitry, Bishop of Meaux.
For lovers of good food and wine, a stop here makes sense mainly as a short detour if you are already in Vitry-le-François.
Pictures
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