Reims

Reims (also spelled Rheims in English) is the most populous city in the French department of Marne, and the 12th most populous city in France. The city lies northeast of Paris on the Vesle river, a tributary of the Aisne.
Founded by the Gauls, Reims became a major city in the Roman Empire. Reims later played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the coronation of the kings of France. The royal anointing was performed at the Cathedral of Reims, which housed the Holy Ampulla of chrism allegedly brought by a white dove at the baptism of Frankish king Clovis I in 496. For this reason, Reims is often referred to in French as ("the Coronation City").
Reims is recognized for the diversity of its heritage, ranging from Romanesque to Art-déco. Reims Cathedral, the adjacent Palace of Tau, and the Abbey of Saint-Remi were listed together as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1991 because of their outstanding Romanesque and Gothic architecture and their historical importance to the French monarchy. Reims also lies on the northern edge of the Champagne wine region and is linked to its production and export.
History
Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims had served as the Remi tribe's capital, founded . In the course of Julius Caesar's conquest of Gaul (58–51 BC), the Remi allied themselves with the Romans, and by their fidelity throughout the various Gallic insurrections secured the special favour of the imperial power. At its height in Roman times the city had a population in the range of 30,000–50,000 or perhaps up to 100,000. Reims was first called in Latin, which is hypothesized to derive from a Gaulish name meaning "Door of Cortoro-". The city later took its name from the Remi tribe (or ). The modern French name is derived from the accusative case of the latter, .
Christianity had become established in the city by 260, at which period Saint Sixtus of Reims founded the Diocese of Reims (which would be elevated to an archdiocese around 750). The consul Jovinus, an influential supporter of the new faith, repelled the Alamanni who invaded Champagne in 336; but the Vandals captured the city in 406 and slew Bishop Nicasius; and in 451 Attila the Hun put Reims to fire and sword.
In 496—ten years after Clovis, King of the Salian Franks, won his victory at Soissons (486)—Remigius, the bishop of Reims, baptized him using the oil of the sacred phial–purportedly brought from heaven by a dove for the baptism of Clovis and subsequently preserved in the Abbey of Saint-Remi. For centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule.
Meetings of Pope Stephen II (752–757) with Pepin the Short, and of Pope Leo III (795–816) with Charlemagne (died 814), took place at Reims; and here Pope Stephen IV crowned Louis the Debonnaire in 816. King Louis IV gave the city and countship of Reims to the archbishop Artaldus in 940. King Louis VII (reigned 1137–1180) gave the title of duke and peer to William of Champagne, archbishop from 1176 to 1202, and the archbishops of Reims took precedence over the other ecclesiastical peers of the realm.
By the 10th century, Reims had become a centre of intellectual culture. Archbishop Adalberon (in office 969 to 988), seconded by the monk Gerbert (afterwards (from 999 to 1003) Pope Silvester II), founded schools which taught the classical "liberal arts". (Adalberon also played a leading role in the dynastic revolution which elevated the Capetian dynasty in the place of the Carolingians.)
The archbishops held the important prerogative of the consecration of the kings of France – a privilege which they exercised (except in a few cases) from the time of Philippe II Augustus (anointed 1179, reigned 1180–1223) to that of Charles X (anointed 1825). The Palace of Tau, built between 1498 and 1509 and partly rebuilt in 1675, would later serve as the Archbishop's palace and as the residence of the kings of France on the occasion of their coronations, with royal banquets taking place in the Salle du Tau.
Louis VII granted the city a communal charter in 1139. The Treaty of Troyes (1420) ceded it to the English, who had made a futile attempt to take it by siege in 1360; but French patriots expelled them on the approach of Joan of Arc, who in 1429 had Charles VII consecrated in the cathedral. Louis XI cruelly suppressed a revolt at Reims, caused in 1461 by the salt tax.
During the French Wars of Religion the city sided with the Catholic League (1585), but submitted to King Henri IV after the battle of Ivry (1590). At about the same time, the English College had been "at Reims for some years."
The city was stricken with plague in 1635, and again in 1668, followed by an epidemic of typhus in 1693–1694. The construction of the dates back to the same century.
The Place Royale was built in the 18th century. Some of the 1792 September Massacres took place in Reims.
In the invasions of the War of the Sixth Coalition in 1814, anti-Napoleonic allied armies captured and re-captured Reims. "In 1852, the Eastern Railways completed the Paris-Strasbourg main line with branch lines to Reims and Metz." In 1870–1871, during the Franco-Prussian War, the victorious Germans made it the seat of a governor-general and impoverished it with heavy requisitions. In 1874 the construction of a chain of detached forts started in the vicinity, the French Army having selected Reims as one of the chief defences of the northern approaches to Paris. In the meantime, British inventor and manufacturer Isaac Holden had opened plants at Reims and Croix, which "by the 1870s [...] were producing almost 12 million kilograms of combed wool a year [...] and accounted for 27 percent of all the wool consumed by French industry."
On 30 October 1908, Henri Farman made the first cross-country flight from Châlons to Reims. In August 1909 Reims hosted the first international aviation meet, the Grande Semaine d'Aviation de la Champagne. Major aviation personages such as Glenn Curtiss, Louis Blériot and Louis Paulhan participated.
Hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral. The ruined cathedral became one of the central images of anti-German propaganda produced in France during the war, which presented it, along with the ruins of the Ypres Cloth Hall and the University Library in Louvain, as evidence that German aggression targeted cultural landmarks of European civilization. Since the end of World War I, an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued.
During World War II, the city suffered additional damage. On the morning of 7 May 1945, at 2:41, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht in Reims. General Alfred Jodl, German Chief-of-Staff, signed the surrender at the Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) as the representative for German President Karl Dönitz.
The British statesman Leslie Hore-Belisha died of a cerebral haemorrhage while making a speech at the in February 1957.
Administration
Reims functions as a subprefecture of the department of Marne, in the administrative region of Grand Est. Although Reims is by far the largest commune in its department, Châlons-en-Champagne is the prefecture. Reims co-operates with 142 other communes in the Communauté urbaine du Grand Reims.
Demographics
Economy
Rue de Vesle is the main commercial street (continued under other names), traversing the city from southwest to northeast through the Place Royale. The economy of Reims is driven by the wine and Champagne industries and innovation in the bio-economic field.
Architecture
Reims Cathedral is an example of French Gothic architecture.
The Basilica of Saint-Remi, founded in the 11th century "over the chapel of St. Christophe where St. Remi was buried", is "the largest Romanesque church in northern France, though with later additions."
The Church of Saint-Jacques dates from the 13th to the 16th centuries. A few blocks from the cathedral, it stands in a neighbourhood of shopping and restaurants. The churches of Saint-Maurice (partly rebuilt in 1867), Saint-André, and Saint-Thomas (erected from 1847 to 1853, under the patronage of Cardinal Gousset, now buried within its walls) also draw tourists.
The Protestant Church of Reims, built in 1921–1923 over designs by Charles Letrosne, is an example of flamboyant neo-Gothic architecture.
The Hôtel de Ville, erected in the 17th century and enlarged in the 19th, features a pediment with an equestrian statue of Louis XIII (reigned 1610 to 1643).
Narcisse Brunette was the architect of the city for nearly 50 years in the 19th century. He designed the Reims Manège and Circus, which "combines stone and brick in a fairly sober classical composition."
Examples of Art Deco in Reims include the Carnegie library.
The Foujita Chapel, built in 1965–1966 over designs and with frescos by Japanese–French artist Tsuguharu Foujita, has been listed as a monument historique since 1992.
Culture
Reims is a candidate in the bid to become the European Capital of Culture in 2028.
Museums
The Palace of Tau contains such exhibits as statues formerly displayed by the cathedral, treasures of the cathedral from past centuries, and royal attire from coronations of French kings.
The Musée Saint-Remi, formerly the Abbey of Saint-Remi, contains tapestries from the 16th century donated by the archbishop Robert de Lenoncourt (uncle of the cardinal of the same name), marble capitals from the fourth century AD, furniture, jewellery, pottery, weapons and glasswork from the sixth to eighth centuries, medieval sculpture, the façade of the 13th-century musicians' House, remnants from an earlier abbey building, and also exhibits of Gallo-Roman arts and crafts and a room of pottery, jewellery and weapons from Gallic civilization, as well as an exhibit of items from the Palaeolithic to the Neolithic periods. Another section of the museum features a permanent military exhibition.
The Automobile Museum Reims-Champagne, established in 1985 by Philippe Charbonneaux, houses a collection of automobiles dating from 1903 to the present day. The museum has five collections: automobiles, motorcycles and two-wheelers, pedal cars, miniature toys, and enamel plaques.
The Museum of Fine Arts is housed in the former Abbey of Saint-Denis. Part of the former Collège des Jésuites has also become a contemporary art gallery: the FRAC Champagne-Ardenne.
The Museum of the Surrender is the building in which on 7 May 1945, General Eisenhower and the Allies received the unconditional surrender of the German Wehrmacht.
Theaters
Venues include the Reims Opera House, built in 1873 and renovated in 1931–1932, and the Reims Manège and Circus, dating from 1865 and 1867.
The Comédie de Reims was inaugurated in 1966.
Libraries
Libraries in Reims include a Carnegie library which was built in the 1920s.
Festivals and events
At the beginning of the year, the FARaway - Festival des Arts à Reims is a two-week event of music, dance, theatre, exhibitions, and installations at various cultural venues around the city.
Every year in June, the Fêtes Johanniques commemorate the entrance of Joan of Arc into Reims in 1429 and the coronation of Charles VII of France in the cathedral.
In August and September there are regular evening light shows called Regalia projected onto the Reims Cathedral. It has a duration of 15 minutes and is free of charge. Regalia is an open-air multimedia show telling the story of the French coronations in a dramatic and whimsical fashion. Pets are welcome.
A Christmas market was held on the parvis of Reims Cathedral (Place du Cardinal-Luçon). It has since been moved in front of the Reims train station. In takes place in the month before Christmas, in 2023 this will be November 24th until December 24th. The Christmas market in Reims is the 3rd largest Christmas market in France. There are 150 different stalls each with various regional crafts, gifts, foods and specialities. This includes a famous poutine stand. The market last year was open on Mondays from 2pm to 8pm, Tuesday to Thursday from 10:30am to 10pm, Friday from 10:30am to 10pm, Saturday from 10am to 10pm, and Sundays from 10pm to 8pm. Access to the Christmas market is free and it is accessible to people with reduced mobility. Dogs are welcome if they are on a leash. Close by, there is a large traditional Christmas tree.
Wine and food
Restaurants and bars are concentrated around Place Drouet d'Erlon in the city centre.
Reims, along with Épernay and Ay, functions as one of the centres of champagne production. Many of the largest champagne-producing houses, known as les grandes marques, have their headquarters in Reims, and most open for tasting and tours. Champagne ages in the many caves and tunnels under Reims, which form a sort of maze below the city. Carved from chalk, some of these passages date back to Roman times.
The biscuit rose de Reims is a biscuit frequently associated with Champagne wine. Reims was long renown for its pain d'épices and nonnette.
Sports
Between 1925 and 1969, Reims hosted the Grand Prix de la Marne automobile race at the circuit of Reims-Gueux. The French Grand Prix took place here 14 times between 1938 and 1966.
, the football club Stade Reims, based in the city, competed in the Ligue 1, the highest tier of French football. Stade Reims became the outstanding team of France in the 1950s and early 1960s and reached the final of the European Cup of Champions twice in that era.
In October 2018, the city hosted the second Teqball World Cup.
The city has hosted the Reims Marathon since 1984.
Transport
Reims is served by two main railway stations: Gare de Reims in the city centre, the hub for regional transport, and the new Gare de Champagne-Ardenne TGV southwest of the city with high-speed rail connections to Paris, Metz, Nancy and Strasbourg. There are two other railway stations for local services in the southern suburbs: Franchet d'Esperey and Reims-Maison-Blanche. The motorways A4 (Paris-Strasbourg), A26 (Calais-Langres) and A34 intersect near Reims.Public transport within the city consists of buses and a tramway, the latter opened in 2011. There is also a bikeshare program, Zébullo.
The Canal de l'Aisne à la Marne is a waterway. There is also an airport, Reims – Prunay Aerodrome, but it had, as of 2020, no commercial airline flights.
Parks and gardens
Among the parks and gardens of Reims are the Parc de Champagne, where a Monument to the Heroes of the Black Army is located.
Next to the main train station, there is the Hautes Promenades, which is a park equipped with leisure facilities such as swings, hammocks, a carousel, in-ground trampolines, and a water park.
Smaller gardens and parks are also peppered throughout Reims, such as Jardin Le Vergeur, Parc Léo-Lagrange, and the Parc Saint-Remi which next to the Basilica of Saint-Remi.
Higher education
The Institut d'Etudes politiques de Paris, the leading French university in social and political sciences, also known as SciencesPo Paris, opened a new campus in the former in 2010. It hosts both the Europe-Africa and Europe-America Program with more than 1,500 students in the respective programs. Aside from its Jesuit architecture, the campus also features the oldest grape vines in France, which are harvested every year by the City of Reims and are not at the disposal of students or visitors. In 2012 the first Reims Model United Nations was launched, which gathered 200 international students from all the Sciences Po campuses. Daniel Rondeau, the ambassador of France to UNESCO and a French writer, is the patron of the event.
The URCA (Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne) was founded in 1548. This multidisciplinary university develops innovative, fundamental, and applied research. It provides more than 18,000 students in Reims (22,000 in Champagne-Ardenne) with a wide initial undergraduate studies program which corresponds to society's needs in all domains of the knowledge. The university also accompanies independent or company-backed students in continuing professional development training.
NEOMA Business School (former Reims Management School) is also one of the main schools in Reims. The Advanced Business School of Reims was created in 1928. It took the name Reims Management School in 2000.
Notable residents
Those born in Reims include:
Adolphe d'Archiac (1802–1868), geologist and paleontologist
Jean Baudrillard (1929–2007), cultural theorist and philosopher
(born 1974), comedian
Nicolas Bergier (1567–1623), scholar of Roman roads
Brodinski (born 1987), musical artist and DJ
Roger Caillois (1913–1978), intellectual
Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683), Minister of Finance from 1665 to 1683 under the reign of Louis XIV
(1817–1902), librarian of Reims, fervent republican
Jean Del Val (1891–1975), actor
Rose Delaunay (born 1857), opera singer
Jean-Baptiste Drouet, Count d'Erlon (1765–1844), marshal of France and soldier in Napoleon's army
Paul Fort (1872–1960), poet
Nicolas Eugène Géruzez (1799–1865), critic
Pauline Ferrand-Prévot (born 1992), world champion cyclist
Nicolas de Grigny (1672–1703), organist and composer
Maurice Halbwachs (1877–1945), philosopher and sociologist
Kyan Khojandi (born 1982), comedian, actor and screenwriter
Jean Lévesque de Burigny (1692–1785), historian
Marie-Claire Jamet (born 1933), classical harpist
Guillaume de Machaut (1300–1377), composer and poet (Machaut was most likely born in Reims or nearby; he spent most of his adult life there)
Henri Marteau (1874–1934), violinist and composer
Merolilan of Rheims, Irish cleric
Olivier Métra (1830–1889), composer, conductor
Maurice Pézard (1876–1923), archaeologist and assyriologist
Robert Pires (born 1973), World Cup winner, footballer for Arsenal and for Villarreal CF
Patrick Poivre d'Arvor (born 1947), television journalist and writer
Jean-Baptiste de la Salle (1651–1719), Catholic saint, teacher and educational reformer
Jules de Saint-Pol (1810–1855), general
Émile Senart (1847–1928), indologist
Adeline Wuillème (born 1975), foil fencer
Yuksek (born 1977), electronic music producer, remixer, singer and DJ
Climate
Reims has an oceanic climate (Köppen Cfb), influenced by its inland position. This renders that although the maritime influence moderates averages, it nevertheless is prone to hot and cold extremes in certain instances. Reims has a relatively gloomy climate due to the said maritime influence and the dominance of low-pressure systems for much of the year. In spite of this, the amount of precipitation is fairly limited.
Twin towns – sister cities
Reims is twinned with:
Florence, Italy (1954)
Brazzaville, Congo (1961)
Canterbury, England, United Kingdom (1962)
Salzburg, Austria (1964)
Aachen, Germany (1967)
Arlington County, United States (2004)
Kutná Hora, Czech Republic (2008)
Nagoya, Japan (2018)
See also
Archbishop of Reims
Battle of Reims
Biscuit rose de Reims
Champagne (province)
Champagne Riots
Reims Aviation
Notes
References
Bibliography
External links
Tourist office website – Official site for L'Office de Tourisme de Reims,
Communes of Marne (department)
Subprefectures in France
Remi
Gallia Belgica
Champagne (province)
Cities in France