Châlons-en-Champagne

**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 .

With a population of 45,002, Châlons-en-Champagne has a population density of  inhabitants/km2.

**Evolution of the population in Châlons-en-Champagne**

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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
 square in Châlons-en-Champagne.]]

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

## References
## Other websites
* Ville de Châlons-en-Champagne - official website  
* Tourism office website 
* Châlons Agglo website