Châlons-en-Champagne

Châlons stands on the Marne in the chalk country of Champagne. The collegiate church of Notre-Dame-en-Vaux took shape from the twelfth century onward, close to the medieval town walls. During the French Wars of Religion the town council maintained its allegiance to the crown; in 1589 it refused entry to Bishop Cosme Clausse, whose ties to the Guise family had aroused suspicion.