Title: Châlons-en-Champagne Content: Châlons-en-Champagne is a commune in the Marne department in the Grand Est region in northeastern France. It is the préfecture (capital) of the department. Even if Châlons-en-Champagne is the capital of the department, it is only the second largest city in population after Reims. It should not be confused with Chalon-sur-Saône, a city in the Saône-et-Loire department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. ==History== Formerly called Châlons-sur-Marne, the name of the city was changed to Châlons-en-Champagne in 1995 but it was rejected in 1997. But, finally, this change was accepted in 1998. ==Geography== Châlons-en-Champagne is in the centre of the Marne department. The Marne river flows through the western part of the city. It has an area of . Its average altitude is ; at the city hall, the altitude is . The distances from Châlons-en-Champagne to other cities are: * Paris, the national capital - ; * Strasbourg - ; * Reims - ; * Bordeaux - ; * Toulouse - ; * Montpellier - ; * Lyon - ; * Nantes - ; * Marseille - .  The commune of Châlons-en-Champagne is surrounded by the communes L'Épine, Saint-Memmie, Sarry, Compertrix, Fagnières and Saint-Martin- sur-le-Pré. ===Climate=== The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Châlons-en-Champagne is an "Oceanic climate" (also known as Maritime Temperate climate) and of the subtype "Cfb". The average temperature for the year in Châlons-en-Champagne is . The warmest month, on average, is July with an average temperature of . The coolest month, on average is January, with an average temperature of . The average amount of precipitation for the year in Châlons-en-Champagne is . The month with the most precipitation on average is July with of precipitation. The month with the least precipitation on average is February with an average of . ==Population== The inhabitants of Châlons-en-Champagne are known, in French, as Châlonnais (women: Châlonnaises ). With a population of 45,002, Châlons-en-Champagne has a population density of inhabitants/km2. Evolution of the population in Châlons-en-Champagne Colors= id:lightgrey value:gray(0.9) id:darkgrey value:gray(0.7) id:sfondo value:rgb(1,1,1) id:barra value:rgb(0.6,0.7,0.8) ImageSize = width:500 height:373 PlotArea = left:50 bottom:30 top:30 right:30 DateFormat = x.y Period = from:0 till:55000 TimeAxis = orientation:vertical AlignBars = justify ScaleMajor = gridcolor:darkgrey increment:5000 start:0 ScaleMinor = gridcolor:lightgrey increment:2500 start:0 BackgroundColors = canvas:sfondo BarData= bar:1968 text:1968 bar:1975 text:1975 bar:1982 text:1982 bar:1990 text:1990 bar:1999 text:1999 bar:2006 text:2006 bar:2014 text:2014 PlotData= color:barra width:30 align:left bar:1968 from:0 till: 50764 bar:1975 from:0 till: 52275 bar:1982 from:0 till: 51137 bar:1990 from:0 till: 48423 bar:1999 from:0 till: 47339 bar:2006 from:0 till: 46184 bar:2014 from:0 till: 45002 PlotData= bar:1968 at: 50764 fontsize:S text: 50,764 shift:(-12,5) bar:1975 at: 52275 fontsize:S text: 52,275 shift:(-15,5) bar:1982 at: 51137 fontsize:S text: 51,137 shift:(-15,5) bar:1990 at: 48423 fontsize:S text: 48,423 shift:(-15,10) bar:1999 at: 47339 fontsize:S text: 47,339 shift:(-15,5) bar:2006 at: 46184 fontsize:S text: 46,184 shift:(-15,5) bar:2014 at: 45002 fontsize:S text: 45,002 shift:(-15,5) Châlons-en-Champagne forms, with other 4 communes, the urban area of Châlons-en-Champagne with a population of 57,571 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . This urban area is the centre of the metropolitan area of Châlons-en-Champagne, formed by 66 communes, with a population of 81,486 inhabitants (2014) and an area of . ==Administration== Châlons-en-Champagne is a prefecture of the Marne department since 1800. It is also the capital of the arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne and the administrative centre  of three cantons: * Châlons-en-Champagne-1 formed by 3 communes and part of Châlons-en-Champagne, with 26,915 inhabitants (2014). * Châlons-en-Champagne-2 formed by 18 communes and part of Châlons-en-Champagne, with 25,837 inhabitants (2014). * Châlons- en-Champagne-3 formed by 41 communes and part of Châlons-en-Champagne, with 25,430 inhabitants (2014). It is part of the intercommunality Châlons Agglo . ===Twinned and partner towns=== Châlons-en-Champagne is twinned with: * Ilkeston, United Kingdom, since 1957 * Bobo Dioulasso, Burkina Faso, since 1970 * Neuss, Germany, since 1972 * Wittenberge, Germany, since 1978 * Mirabel, Quebec, Canada, since 2000 * Razgrad, Bulgaria, since 2005 ==Places of interest== Some interesting places in Mâcon are: * The Mâcon Cathedral (Cathédrale Saint-Vincent de Mâcon) in the town centre * The Saint-Pierre Church (Èglise Saint-Pierre) in the Place Saint-Pierre * The Museum of Fine Arts (former Ursuline Convent) * Hôtel Senecé (Lamartine museum) ==People from or related to Mâcon== * Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), poet * Georges Duby (1919–1996), historian ==Gallery== File:Préfecture de la Marne (51).jpg|Prefecture of Marne File:Vue de Châlons-en-Champagne 220407.jpg| Old Town of Châlons. File:Portail occidental et sud 9195.JPG| Saint-Étienne Cathedral of Châlons. File:Châlons-en-Champagne, Église Saint-Alpin (4).JPG|Saint-Alpin church. File:Chateau du marché 2997.JPG|Chateau du Marché. ==Related pages== * Arrondissement of Châlons-en-Champagne * Communes of the Marne department