The best running trails around Rances

This building was badly damaged in 1940 by a fire that destroyed much of the city, but has been restored to its original state. The church, where Napoleon made his first communion, is built of stone from the Champagne region. It has a 14th-century nave and a 16th-century choir with choir girth. Look at the original images in the Renaissance stained glass windows: on the left the story of Noah, on the right the legend of Saint Crispin and Saint Crispinian. Also note the bell-shaped holy water font (16th century), the baptismal font and the choir screen (18th century).

Château de Brienne-le-Château is a magnificent palace from the second half of the 18th century, located in the commune of Brienne-le-Château in the Aube department, in the Grand Est region. The castle is partly registered as a historical monument. The castle was inaugurated in 1778. The castle has a classical style and is surrounded by a large park with an orangery, a lavoir and a glacière. The castle is also called “the little Versailles of the Aube”. The castle also has a historical link with Napoleon Bonaparte, who studied there at the military school. In 1814, he stayed there for two nights during the Battle of La Rothière, where he almost managed to surprise the Prussian general Blücher in the castle1. In 1805, Napoleon tried to buy the castle for his mother, but the young Countess de Brienne refused him. The castle is now a psychiatric hospital.

Brienne lies on the banks of the Aube river in a plain called la Plaine de Brienne. The Counts of Brienne dominated the history of the area for a long time. They were one of the most important noble families of medieval France and produced statesmen, diplomats and crusaders. Johann von Brienne (1169/74–1237). He was chosen by the French King Philip II as husband and regent for the heir to the Kingdom of Jerusalem. From 1210 to 1212 he was king of Jerusalem. He then became the father-in-law of the Roman-German Emperor Frederick II, with whom he became enemies and also fought against him as the Pope's general. From 1229 he ruled Constantinople for nine years. Brienne-le-Château became known as the training site of Napoleon Bonaparte, who studied here for five years (May 1779 to October 1784) as a boarding school student at what was then the Royal Military School. To complete his studies, he left Brienne-le-Château and finished it at the École Militaire in Paris. On April 3, 1805, he visited Brienne-le-Château again on his trip to Italy for the coronation, now already as Emperor of the French. On January 29, 1814, the Battle of Brienne was fought near Brienne, which ended with a victory for France under Napoleon Bonaparte against the Russians and Prussians under Field Marshal Blücher. Sources: Wikipedia