Church architecture, a mosaic discovery and a numbered hiking stage offer different ways to explore Maranville’s history and landscape. You can choose the focus of your trip based on whether you want to admire architectural features, interpret historical traces or plan a specific hiking route.

Church and architecture

The Église Saint-Pierre-Saint-Paul de Maranville dates from the late 15th century. Its elongated floor plan includes a four-bay nave with a barrel vault. The side aisles have cylindrical pillars, and the choir ends in a semicircle. The church also houses a 16th-century statue of a pope from Clairvaux Abbey. This brings together two distinct cultural aspects: the layout of the church and the statue’s provenance. If you are interested in architecture, the nave, side aisles and choir are specific features that help describe the church’s form.

Crafts and historical traces

At a place called Château in Maranville is a wood-processing factory that manufactures billiard cues; it is adjacent to a branch of the Aujon River. The billiard-cue factory was already producing cues in 1893 and ceased operations in the second half of the 20th century. Maranville also lies on the edge of the major Roman road that connected Langres with Reims; the ancient names of the cities were Andemantunnum and Durocortorum. In Irceville, a hamlet in the commune of Maranville, a 64-square-metre mosaic was discovered in 1897. It depicts a fight between a wild animal and a snake. These provide several points of connection with local history: a long-distance link between Langres and Reims, a specific discovery site in Irceville, and the history of billiard-cue production on the Aujon River.

Hiking through valleys and local history

The GR® 703 includes a 18-kilometre fourth stage from Colombey-les-Deux-Églises to Maranville. It passes through the valleys of the Renne and the Aujon. At Montheries, the GR® 703 joins the Les Lavoirs circular trail and follows it to Maranville; along this section, it follows the PR des Lavoirs. The circular trail reaches Maranville via a forest track from the Bois de Barmont. In the village, it leads to a small standalone washhouse on the Brozé, then climbs up to the local woods. The route also offers a view of the Aujon Valley. For your planning, you can choose between different options: an 18-kilometre stage through two valleys, or a circular trail with a washhouse, a climb through the woods and a valley view. Route descriptions may change, so check the current trail conditions before setting out.

Aujon River, fishing and bird sanctuary

The Aujon River flows through Maranville. The permitted fishing waters near Maranville include 16 kilometres of the Aujon’s banks; the Association de Maranville is associated with fishing on the Aujon. Fishing regulations and access conditions may change, so check them before your fishing trip. Maranville is also included in the Barrois et forêt de Clairvaux Natura 2000 bird sanctuary. If your plans take you into the protected area, take current guidance on area management and access into account. This distinguishes the specific fishing option on the river from the nature-related designation of the bird sanctuary.

Discover more destinations: Coublanc, Villars-En-Azois, Doulaincourt-Saucourt, Champigny-sous-Varennes, Wassy, Neuilly-l'Évêque, Vitry-Lès-Nogent, Guindrecourt-Sur-Blaise

For the broader travel overview: Haute-Marne.