Founded by the Gauls, Reims became a major city in the Roman Empire.[5] 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 la cité des sacres ("the Coronation City").
Before the Roman conquest of northern Gaul, Reims had served as the Remi tribe's capital, founded c. 80 BC. 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.[7] 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.[8] Reims was first called Durocortorum[9] in Latin, which is hypothesized to derive from a Gaulish name meaning "Door of Cortoro-".[10] The city later took its name from the Remi tribe[11] (Rēmi or Rhēmi).[12] The modern French name is derived from the accusative case of the latter, Rēmos.[13]
Saint Remigius, Bishop of Reims, begging Clovis of the restitution of the Sacred Vase taken by the Franks in the pillage of Soissons. From the manuscript of the History of the Emperors (Library of the Arsenal).
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.[7] For centuries the events at the crowning of Clovis I became a symbol used by the monarchy to claim the divine right to rule.
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.)[7]
The Coronation Chalice, also known as the Chalice of Saint Remigius (Palace of Tau)
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.[7]
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; 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.[citation needed]
The city was stricken with plague in 1635, and again in 1668, followed by an epidemic of typhus in 1693–1694.[15] The construction of the Hôtel de Ville dates back to the same century.[16]
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."[17] 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.[7] 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.[a] 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."[18]
A month after Blériot's crossing of the English Channel in a biplane, the aviation week in Reims (August 1909) caught special attention.
Hostilities in World War I greatly damaged the city. German bombardment and a subsequent fire in 1914 did severe damage to the cathedral.[20] The ruined cathedral became one of the central images of anti-Germanpropaganda 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.[21] Since the end of World War I, an international effort to restore the cathedral from the ruins has continued.[20]
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.
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Rue de Vesle is the main commercial street (continued under other names), traversing the city from southwest to northeast through the Place Royale.[7] The economy of Reims is driven by the wine and Champagne industries and innovation in the bio-economic field.[25]
The Basilica of Saint-Remi, founded in the 11th century "over the chapel of St. Christophe where St. Remi was buried",[26] is "the largest Romanesque church in northern France, though with later additions."[26]
The Church of Saint-Jacques dates from the 13th to the 16th centuries. A few blocks from the cathedral, it stands as of 2009[update] in a neighbourhood of shopping and restaurants. The churches of Saint-Maurice (partly rebuilt in 1867), Saint-André,[7] and Saint-Thomas (erected from 1847 to 1853, under the patronage of Cardinal Gousset, now buried within its walls[7]) also draw tourists.
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).[7]
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."[27]
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.[29]
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.[30]
The Museum of the Surrender
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.
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.[31]
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.[32]
Wine and food
Place Drouet d'Erlon
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.
As of 2021[update], 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.[35]
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 5 kilometres (3 miles) 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.
Paris Gate, Basses Promenades
Public transport within the city consists of buses and a tramway, the latter opened in 2011. There is also a bikeshare program, Zébullo.[36]
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 Collège des Jésuites de Reims [fr] in 2010. It hosts both the Europe-Africa and Europe-America Program[37] 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,[38] 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.
Yuksek (born 1977), electronic music producer, remixer, singer and DJ
Climate
Reims has an oceanic climate (KöppenCfb), 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.
^Atop the ridge of St Thierry stands a fort of the same name, which with the neighbouring work of Chenay closes the west side of the place. To the north the hill of Brimont has three works guarding the Laon railway and the Aisne canal. Farther east, on the old Roman road, stands the Fort de Fresnes. Due east, the hills of Arnay are crowned with five large and important works which cover the approaches from the upper Aisne. Fort de la Pompelle, which hosts a World War I museum featuring a rich collection of German uniforms, and Montbré close the southeast side, and the Falaise hills on the southwest are open and unguarded. The perimeter of the defences measures just under 22 miles, and the forts are at a mean distance of 6 miles (10 km) from the centre of the city.[7]
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