The Église Saint-Désiré has Romanesque origins. It was partially rebuilt in the 16th century and restored in the 19th century, when a bell tower was added. The tabernacle, the statue of the Visitation, the presbytery staircase and the baptismal font in the church are classified as Monuments Historiques.
Those wishing to experience the Église Saint-Désiré and the Fête de Champagné can rent a holiday apartment in Champagné.
Culture and History
The Pont Leduc-Ladevèze is an Eiffel-style bridge over the Huisne. A fresco by Lydia Leblanc is located on the gable of the Aimée Prilleux multi-purpose hall. Bertrand Thomas’s fresco in Champagné was created in 2008. The mosaics by Mosca de Selva are located on the walls of the École Maternelle and the Collège Wilbur Wright.
The memorial to the battle of 11 January 1871 stands at the junction of the upper Route de Verdun and Les Hauts Villiers. Opposite the town hall, the statue with fountain by Jean-Bernard Métais stands on the Esplanade de la Liberté. The Chapelle Saint Sauveur has a painted wall fresco from the 16th century.
The Belgian Military Cemetery bears witness to the presence of Belgian soldiers at Camp d’Auvours during the First World War from 1914 to 1918. A memorial stele erected around 1920 has been relocated near Camp d’Auvours, at the St-Hubert roundabout, and commemorates the centenary of Wilbur Wright’s flights. The monument dedicated to Wilbur Wright by the Aéro-Club de France was moved to Champagné, near Camp d’Auvours. A total of 120 flights took place at Camp d’Auvours between 21 August 1908 and 2 January 1909.
Transport
SETRAM bus services serve Champagné. Champagné is also served by TER trains on the Le Mans–Paris route.
Nature
Champagné has two ZNIEFF areas and one Natura 2000 site.
Festivals
The Fête de Champagné is an old tradition dating back to the 12th century, held every year on Palm Sunday. In the morning of the Fête de Champagné, the twelve lancers and Judas, with his horse, proceed in a procession to the cemetery to reenact the scene of Judas’s betrayal of Christ. In the afternoon of the Fête de Champagné, the lancers gallop and must drive the iron lance tip into the Quintaine post and break it.
