Le Presbytère de Vicq

In the south of the Champagne region, at the crossroads of Bourgogne, Franche-Comté and Lorraine, the Haute-Marne rolls out 6220 square km of versatile landscapes, plateaus, hills, valleys, and plains, along the central axis of the river Marne. Forests cover 40% of that surface.

As a natural corridor between the Paris bassin, the older reliefs of the Vosges and the Saône valley, the Haute-Marne functions as a natural rise and important transit zone. Tipping like a giant table from the south-east to the north-west, it rises 516 m above sea level at the Haut-du-Sec in the Langres region.

Joining three slopes, the Haute-Marne constitutes an important hydraulic net, stretching out 2300 km with about 500 rivers and streams. It's where the Marne, the Aube and the Meuse spring.

Scarcely populated with actually about 200000 inhabitants of which most are living in rural areas, the department possesses only three major cities along the thread of the Marne: Langres in the south (10000 inhabitants), the prefecture Chaumont in the centre (27000 inhabitants) and Saint-Dizier in the north (33500 inhabitants).

Rich in its natural resources, historically the Haute-Marne is fueled with merged activities: the exploitation and transformation of wood, agriculture, breeding, and the steel industry along the rivers, although in recession still remaining the major source of employment. New branches develop: plastics and automotive parts, especially in the canton of Langres and agro-food industry with the factory of Miko in Saint-Dizier for example. Furthermore there is thermal cure in Bourbonne-les-Bains.

Also, the rich historic past and the environment of the Haute-Marne, carefully preserved and upgraded, attract more and more amateurs among tourists. The old Roman site of Langres, protected by its ramparts and the village of Colombey-les-Deux-Eglises, burial place of General De Gaulle, are top tourist locations.

(Source: Météo France)