Title: Marne Content: Marne is a department in northeastern France named after the river Marne which flows through the department. The prefecture (capital) of Marne is Châlons-en- Champagne (formerly known as Châlons-sur-Marne). The Champagne vineyards producing the world-famous sparkling wine are located within Marne. ==History== Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790 with Châlons-sur-Marne as is capital. It was formed with part of the former province of Champagne. It was divided in six districts: Châlons-sur-Marne, Reims, Épernay, Sézanne, Sainte-Menehould and Vitry-le-François. In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into five arrondissements: Châlons-sur- Marne, Épernay, Reims, Sainte-Menehould and Vitry-le-François. After the Battle of Waterloo (18 June 1815), the department was occupied by the Austrian army from June 1815 to November 1818. On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Sainte-Menehould was eliminated but in 1940 Sainte-Menehould was made again an arrondissement. In 1995, the name of Châlons-sur-Marne was changed to Châlons-en-Champagne but it was rejected in 1997. But, finally, this change was accepted in 1998. ==Geography== The Marne department is in the Grand Est region after being part of the Champagne-Ardenne region till 2016. It is surrounded by 6 departments in 3 regions: * Grand Est region ** Ardennes department (north) ** Meuse department (east) ** Haute-Marne department (southeast) ** Aube department (south) * Île-de-France region ** Seine-et- Marne department (southwest) * Hauts-de-France region ** Aisne department (west) Marne has an area of , the 7th largest department of the Metropolitan France. The department is long from Villeneuve-la-Lionne to Trois- Fontaines-l'Abbaye, and wide from Cormicy to Clesles. There are three geographic regions in the department: # The Champagne crayeuse in the centre of the department; it is a plain where cereals are grown. # A region with low hills in the eastern part of the department. # Champagne vineyards, in the western part of the deparment. Here is the Montagne de Reims ("Mountain of Reims") where are the highest points of the department in the forests of the Verzey commune; several hills are high . The Marne river flows through the department from the southeast to the west. ===Climate=== This area is characterized by climates with few extremes of temperature. The Köppen climate classification type for the climate at Châlons-en-Champagne is a "Marine West Coast Climate" and of the subtype "Cfb". 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 . 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 ==Administration== Marne is managed by the Departmental Council of Marne in Châlons-en-Champagne. The department is part of the Grand Est region. ===Administrative divisions=== There are 5 arrondissements (districts), 23 cantons and 616 communes (municipalities) in Marne.  ==Gallery== File:The Porte Mars, an ancient Roman triumphal arch in Reims dating from the 3rd century AD and the widest arch in the Roman world, Durocortorum (Reims, France) (9292412785).jpg|The Porte Mars in Reims. File:La Cathédrale de Reims .jpg|Cathedral of Reims File:View of Épernay from Mont Bernon.jpg|Vineyards near Epernay File:Notredamedevaux-chevet.jpg|Notre-Dame-en-Vaux church in Châlons-en-Champagne ==Related pages== * Arrondissements of the Marne department * Communes of the Marne department