Aube is the department of Troyes and Champagne, a land of chalky plains and forests which, in the Middle Ages, hosted the famous Champagne fairs – annual gatherings of merchants from all over Europe that made Troyes, Bar-sur-Aube and Provins into the hubs of medieval trade. This commercial heritage has left its mark on the urban landscape of the towns of Aube in the form of characteristic timber-framed and cob architecture, which gives the historic centres their charm.
Troyes, whose medieval centre, shaped like a champagne cork, miraculously escaped the ravages of history, boasts a flamboyant Gothic cathedral and a collection of medieval stained-glass windows that make the city one of the world’s capitals of this art form. The castles of the Aube are less spectacular than those in neighbouring regions, but they bear witness to a rich history of the county: Troyes, capital of the Counts of Champagne, was one of the most brilliant courts in Europe in the 12th century.
The Forest of Orient and its three artificial lakes, the vineyards of the Côtes des Bar and Clairvaux Abbey, founded by Saint Bernard and now converted into a prison pending its planned restoration, complete the picture of a department whose heritage deserves to be better known.