Durocortorum

Reims
Commune
City hall (hôtel de ville)
Coat of arms
Reims
Location within Grand Est region  Reims
Coordinates: 49°15′46″N 4°02′05″E / 49.2628°N 4.0347°E / 49.2628; 4.0347Coordinates: 49°15′46″N 4°02′05″E / 49.2628°N 4.0347°E / 49.2628; 4.0347
Country	France
Region	Grand Est
Department	Marne
Arrondissement	Reims
Intercommunality	Reims
Government
• Mayor (2014–2019)	Arnaud Robinet (LR)
Area1	46.9 km2 (18.1 sq mi)
Population (2014)2	186,971
• Density	4,000/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	51454 /51100
Elevation	80–135 m (262–443 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Reims (/ˈriːmz/; also spelled Rheims; French: [ʁɛ̃s]), a city in the Grand Est region of France, lies 129 km (80 mi) east-northeast of Paris. The 2013 census recorded 182,592 inhabitants (Rémoises (feminine) and Rémois (masculine)) in the city of Reims proper (the commune), and 317,611 inhabitants in the metropolitan area (aire urbaine). Its river, the Vesle, is a tributary of the Aisne.

Founded by the Gauls, it became a major city during the period of the Roman Empire. Reims played a prominent ceremonial role in French monarchical history as the traditional site of the crowning of the kings of France. The Cathedral of Reims (damaged by the Germans during the First World War but restored since) housed the Holy Ampulla (Sainte Ampoule) containing the Saint Chrême (chrism), allegedly brought by a white dove (the Holy Spirit) at the baptism of Clovis in 496. It was used for the anointing, the most important part of the coronation of French kings.