Marne (department)

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Marne
Department
Prefecture building of the Marne department, in Châlons-en-Champagne
Prefecture building of the Marne department, in Châlons-en-Champagne
Flag of Marne
Flag
Coat of arms of Marne
Coat of arms
Location of Marne in France
Location of Marne in France
Country France
Region Grand Est
Prefecture Châlons-en-Champagne
Subprefectures Épernay
Reims
Vitry-le-François
Government
 • President of the General Council René-Paul Savary
Area1
 • Total 8,162 km2 (3,151 sq mi)
Population (2016)
 • Total 570,883
 • Rank 45th
 • Density 70/km2 (180/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Department number 51
Arrondissements 4
Cantons 23
Communes 613
^1 French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km2

Marne (French pronunciation: ​[maʁn]) is a department in the Grand Est region of France. It is named after the river Marne which flows through it. The prefecture (capital) of Marne is Châlons-en-Champagne (formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne). The subprefectures are Épernay, Reims, and Vitry-le-François.

The Champagne vineyards producing the world-famous sparkling wine are located within Marne.

Name

The department is named after the Marne, which was called Matrona in Roman times.

History

Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from the province of Champagne.

Marne has a long association with the French Army. The training ground of the Camp Militaire de Mailly straddles the border with the département of Aube in the south while that of the Camp de Mourmelon occupies a large area north of Châlons-en-Champagne. The smaller Camp de Moronvilliers lies to the east of Reims and the Camp Militaire de Suippes lies to the east of that. These are all on the chalk of the Champagne plateau, a feature comparable in geology but not size, with the British military training ground on Salisbury Plain.

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Geography

Marne is part of the region of Grand Est and is surrounded by the departments of Ardennes, Meuse, Haute-Marne, Aube, Seine-et-Marne, and Aisne.

Geologically, it divides into two distinct parts; the Upper Cretaceous chalk plain in the east and the more wooded and hilly Eocene and Oligocene in the west.

Rivers draining the department include the Marne, Vesle, Ardre and Somme-Soude. Numerous other rivers, such as the Grande and the Petite Morin rise in the department but flow mainly in others. Conversely, the Aube joins the Seine in the department of Marne.

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Marnais.

Population development since 1801:

Historical population
Year Pop. ±% p.a.
1801 304,651 —    
1806 311,017 +0.41%
1821 307,644 −0.07%
1831 337,076 +0.92%
1841 356,632 +0.57%
1851 373,302 +0.46%
1861 385,498 +0.32%
1872 386,157 +0.02%
1881 421,800 +0.99%
1891 434,734 +0.30%
1901 432,882 −0.04%
1911 436,310 +0.08%
1921 366,734 −1.72%
1931 412,156 +1.17%
1936 410,238 −0.09%
1946 386,926 −0.58%
1954 415,141 +0.88%
1962 442,135 +0.79%
1968 485,388 +1.57%
1975 530,399 +1.27%
1982 543,627 +0.35%
1990 558,217 +0.33%
1999 565,229 +0.14%
2006 565,841 +0.02%
2011 566,571 +0.03%
2016 570,883 +0.15%
source:[1]

Politics

Current National Assembly Representatives

Constituency Member[2] Party
Marne's 1st constituency Valérie Beauvais The Republicans
Marne's 2nd constituency Aina Kuric La République En Marche!
Marne's 3rd constituency Éric Girardin La République En Marche!
Marne's 4th constituency Lise Magnier The Republicans
Marne's 5th constituency Charles de Courson Union of Democrats and Independents

Tourism

Reims, with its famous cathedral in which the kings of France were traditionally crowned, is a major attraction. Other branches of tourism are provided by the bird reserve on the Lake Der-Chantecoq and the fishing lakes nearby. The Parc Naturel Régional de la Montagne de Reims is a major area of country recreation. In the west of the département there are many scenic routes to be explored as also are the several wine cellars of Épernay.

See also

References

  1. Site sur la Population et les Limites Administratives de la France
  2. http://www.assemblee-nationale.fr/

External links

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