Espernay.

Title

Espernay.

Description

View shows the town of Épernay on the Marne in France.

ca. 1645

Artist

Merian (1593-1650)

Matthäus Merian (1593 – 1650) , born in Basel, learned the art of copperplate engraving in Zurich and subsequently worked and studied in Strasbourg, Nancy, and Paris, before returning to Basel in 1615. The following year he moved to Frankfurt, Germany where he worked for the publisher Johann Theodor de Bry. He married his daughter, Maria Magdalena 1617. In 1620 they moved back to Basel, only to return three years later to Frankfurt, where Merian took over the publishing house of his father-in-law after de Bry's death in 1623. In 1626 he became a citizen of Frankfurt and could henceforth work as an independent publisher. He is the father of Maria Sibylla Merian, who later published her the famous and wellknown studies of flowers, insects and butterflies.

Historical Description

Épernay was founded in the Middle Ages as a market town on the Marne River and developed into a regional trading center. Since the eighteenth century, it has been regarded as the heart of Champagne and is home to many famous champagne houses. The elegant Avenue de Champagne, with its historic mansions and wine cellars, is considered one of the most important streets in the wine world. Today, Épernay is the economic center of champagne production and forms part of the UNESCO World Heritage site “Champagne Hillsides, Houses and Cellars.”