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Champagne (province)

Champagne (French pronunciation: [ʃɑ̃paɲ] ⓘ) was a province in the northeast of the Kingdom of France, now best known as the Champagne wine region for the sparkling white wine that bears its name in modern-day France. The County of Champagne, descended from the early medieval kingdom of Austrasia, passed to the French crown in 1314.[1]

This article is about the historic province in the Kingdom of France. For other uses, see Champagne (disambiguation).

Champagne

 

1314[1]

1790

Formerly ruled by the counts of Champagne, its western edge is about 160 km (100 miles) east of Paris. The cities of Troyes, Reims, and Épernay are the commercial centers of the area. In 1956, most of Champagne became part of the French administrative region of Champagne-Ardenne, which comprised four departments: Ardennes, Aube, Haute-Marne, and Marne. From 1 January 2016, Champagne-Ardenne merged with the adjoining regions of Alsace and Lorraine to form the new region of Grand Est.

Etymology[edit]

The name Champagne, formerly written Champaigne, comes from French meaning "open country" (suited to military maneuvers) and from Latin campanius meaning "level country" or "plain"[2] which is also the derivation of the name of the Italian region of Campania. The toponym dates back to the Renaissance describing its vast chalk lined flat landscape.[3]