Versailles, Yvelines
Versailles | |
---|---|
Prefecture and commune | |
Coordinates: 48°48′19″N 2°08′06″E / 48.8053°N 2.135°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Île-de-France |
Department | Yvelines |
Arrondissement | Versailles |
Canton | Versailles-1 and 2 |
Intercommunality | CA Versailles Grand Parc |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | François de Mazières[1] (DVD) |
Area 1 | 26.18 km2 (10.11 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 83,587 |
• Density | 3,200/km2 (8,300/sq mi) |
Demonym | Versaillais |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 78646 /78000 |
Elevation | 103–180 m (338–591 ft) (avg. 132 m or 433 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Versailles (French pronunciation:
A
.Versailles is historically known for numerous treaties such as the
Name
The argument over the etymology of Versailles tends to privilege the Latin word versare, meaning "to keep turning, turn over and over",[4] an expression used in medieval times for ploughed lands, cleared lands (lands that had been repeatedly "turned over"). This word formation is similar to Latin seminare ("to sow") which gave French semailles ("sowings", "sown seeds").
During the Revolution of 1789, city officials had proposed to the convention to rename Versailles Berceau-de-la-Liberté ("Cradle of Liberty"), but they had to retract their proposal when confronted with the objections of the majority of the population.[5]
A seat of power
From May 1682, when
Versailles was made the
Versailles is the seat of a Roman Catholic
In 1975, Versailles was made the seat of a
Since 1972, Versailles has been the seat of one of France's 30 nationwide académies (districts) of the Ministry of National Education. The académie de Versailles, the largest of France's thirty académies by its number of pupils and students, is in charge of supervising all the elementary schools and high schools of the western suburbs of Paris.
Versailles is also an important node for the French army, a tradition going back to the monarchy with, for instance, the military camp of Satory and other institutions.
Geography
Versailles is located 17.1 km (10.6 mi) west-southwest from the centre of Paris. The city sits on an elevated plateau, 130 to 140 metres (425 to 460 ft) above sea level (whereas the elevation of the centre of Paris is only 33 m (108 ft) above sea level), surrounded by wooded hills: in the north the forests of Marly and Fausses-Reposes, and in the south the forests of Satory and Meudon.
The city (
Born out of the will of a king, the city has a rational and symmetrical grid of streets. By the standards of the 18th century, Versailles was a very modern European city. Versailles was used as a model for the building of Washington, D.C., by Pierre Charles L'Enfant.[8]
Climate
Versailles has an oceanic climate (Köppen: Cfb). Summer days are usually warm and pleasant with average temperatures between 15 and 25 °C (59 and 77 °F), and a fair amount of sunshine. in the winter, sunshine is scarce; days are cool, and nights are cold but generally above freezing with low temperatures around 3 °C (37 °F).[9] Light night frosts are however quite common, but the temperature seldom dips below −5 °C (23 °F). Snow falls every year, but rarely stays on the ground. The city sometimes sees light snow or flurries with or without accumulation.
Climate data for Versailles (Palace of Versailles, 1981-present | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
Record high °C (°F) | 17.5 (63.5) |
22.9 (73.2) |
25.4 (77.7) |
31.5 (88.7) |
36.0 (96.8) |
37.6 (99.7) |
41.9 (107.4) |
40.2 (104.4) |
35.7 (96.3) |
30.7 (87.3) |
22.5 (72.5) |
17.5 (63.5) |
41.9 (107.4) |
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) | 6.9 (44.4) |
9.1 (48.4) |
13.0 (55.4) |
16.4 (61.5) |
20.4 (68.7) |
23.5 (74.3) |
25.9 (78.6) |
25.8 (78.4) |
22 (72) |
17.2 (63.0) |
11.5 (52.7) |
8.1 (46.6) |
16.7 (62.0) |
Daily mean °C (°F) | 5.4 (41.7) |
6.1 (43.0) |
9.3 (48.7) |
11.9 (53.4) |
15.6 (60.1) |
18.6 (65.5) |
20.8 (69.4) |
20.7 (69.3) |
17.3 (63.1) |
13.5 (56.3) |
8.8 (47.8) |
5.9 (42.6) |
12.8 (55.1) |
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) | 3.0 (37.4) |
3.1 (37.6) |
5.5 (41.9) |
7.3 (45.1) |
10.8 (51.4) |
13.7 (56.7) |
15.8 (60.4) |
15.6 (60.1) |
12.7 (54.9) |
9.8 (49.6) |
6.1 (43.0) |
3.7 (38.7) |
8.9 (48.1) |
Record low °C (°F) | −13.8 (7.2) |
−11.6 (11.1) |
−6.2 (20.8) |
−2.0 (28.4) |
2.3 (36.1) |
6.1 (43.0) |
8.7 (47.7) |
8.6 (47.5) |
5.0 (41.0) |
−1.0 (30.2) |
−6.3 (20.7) |
−8.0 (17.6) |
−13.8 (7.2) |
Average precipitation mm (inches) | 53 (2.1) |
43 (1.7) |
50 (2.0) |
55 (2.2) |
68 (2.7) |
55 (2.2) |
61 (2.4) |
57 (2.2) |
54 (2.1) |
64 (2.5) |
53 (2.1) |
62 (2.4) |
674 (26.5) |
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) | 10.5 | 9.4 | 10.6 | 9.3 | 9.9 | 8.4 | 7.9 | 7.8 | 8.0 | 10.1 | 10.6 | 11.1 | 113.6 |
Source: Meteociel[10] |
History
The name of Versailles appears for the first time in a medieval document dated 1038. In the feudal system of medieval France, the lords of Versailles came directly under the king of France, with no intermediary overlords between them and the king; yet they were not very important lords. At the end of the 11th century, the village curled around a medieval castle and the Saint Julien church. Its farming activity and its location on the road from Paris to Dreux and Normandy brought prosperity to the village, culminating at the end of the 13th century, the so-called "century of Saint Louis", famous for the prosperity of northern France and the building of Gothic cathedrals. The 14th century brought the Black Death and the Hundred Years' War, and with it death and destruction. At the end of the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century, the village started to recover, with a population of only 100 inhabitants.
In 1561, Martial de Loménie, secretary of state for finances under King Charles IX, became lord of Versailles. He obtained permission to establish four annual fairs and a weekly market on Thursdays. The population of Versailles was 500 inhabitants. Martial de Loménie was murdered during the St. Bartholomew's Day massacre (24 August 1572). In 1575, Albert de Gondi, a man from Florence who had come to France with Catherine de' Medici, bought the seigneury of Versailles.
Louis XIII
Henceforth Versailles was the possession of the
At the death of Louis XIII, in 1643, the village had 1,000 inhabitants.
This small château was the site of one of the historical events that took place during the reign of Louis XIII, on 10 November 1630, when, on the Day of the Dupes, the party of the queen mother was defeated and Richelieu was confirmed as Prime minister.
Louis XIV
King
At the same time, a new city was emerging from the ground, resulting from an ingenious decree of the king dated 22 May 1671, whereby the king authorized anyone to acquire a lot in the new city for free. There were only two conditions to acquire a lot: 1- a token tax of 5 shillings (5 sols) per arpent of land should be paid every year ($0.03 per 1,000 sq ft (93 m2) per year in 2005 US dollars); 2- a house should be built on the lot according to the plans and models established by the Surintendant des Bâtiments du Roi (architect in chief of the royal demesne). The plans provided for a city built symmetrically with respect to the Avenue de Paris (which starts from the entrance of the castle). The roofs of the buildings and houses of the new city were not to exceed the level of the Marble Courtyard, at the entrance of the castle (built above a hill dominating the city), so that the perspective from the windows of the castle would not be obstructed.
The old village and the Saint Julien church were demolished to make room for buildings housing the administrative services managing the daily life in the castle. On both sides of the Avenue de Paris were built the Notre-Dame neighbourhood and the Saint-Louis neighbourhood, with new large churches, markets, and aristocratic mansions, all built in a very homogeneous style according to the models established by the Surintendant des Bâtiments du Roi. Versailles was a vast construction site for many years. Little by little came to Versailles all those who needed or desired to live close to the maximum power. At the death of the Sun King in 1715, the village of Versailles had turned into a city of approximately 30,000 inhabitants.
Louis XV and Louis XVI
When the court of King
French Revolution
Seat of political power, Versailles naturally became the cradle of the
From then on, Versailles lost a good deal of its inhabitants. From 60,000, the population had declined to 26,974 inhabitants by 1806.
19th century to the present day
The
Restoration of a monarchy almost occurred in 1873, with parliament offering the crown to
Only in 1911 did Versailles definitely recover its level of population of 1789, with 60,458 inhabitants at the 1911 census.[13] In 1919, at the end of the First World War, Versailles came into the limelight again as the various treaties ending the war were signed in the castle proper and in the Grand Trianon. After 1919, as the suburbs of Paris continued to expand, Versailles was absorbed by the urban area of Paris and the city experienced a strong demographic and economic growth, turning it into a large suburban city of the metropolitan area of Paris. The role of Versailles as an administrative and judicial centre has been reinforced in the 1960s and 1970s, and somehow Versailles has become the main centre of the western suburbs of Paris.
In the present times, the centre of the town has kept its very bourgeois atmosphere, while more middle-class neighbourhoods have developed around the train stations and on the outskirts of the city. Versailles is a chic suburb of Paris, well linked with the centre of Paris by several train lines. However, the city is extremely compartmentalized, divided by large avenues inherited from the monarchy which create the impression of several small cities ignoring each other. Versailles was never an industrial city, even though there are a few chemical and food-processing plants. Essentially, Versailles is a place of services, such as public administration, tourism, business congresses, and festivals. From 1951 until France's withdrawal from the NATO unified command in 1966, nearby Rocquencourt functioned as the site for SHAPE. Versailles is an important military centre, with several units and training schools headquartered at the Satory military base, which hosted the headquarters of the famed 2nd French Armored Division until 1999, and where a military exhibition is organized[by whom?] annually.
Culture
Versailles' primary cultural attraction is the Palace, with its ornately decorated rooms and historic significance. The Potager du roi is a kitchen garden created under Louis XIV to supply fruits and vegetables to the Court. It is officially recognized as a Remarkable Garden of France.
The town also has other points of cultural notability; in recent times, its position as an affluent suburb of Paris has meant that it forms a part of the Paris artistic scene, and musical groups such as Phoenix, Air, Fuzati, and Daft Punk have some link to the city,[14] as does the director Michel Gondry.
Sport
Population
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Source: EHESS[13] and INSEE[3] |
Immigration
Born in metropolitan France | Born outside metropolitan France | |||
---|---|---|---|---|
87.9% | 12.1% | |||
Born in overseas France |
Born in foreign countries with French citizenship at birth1 | EU-15 immigrants2
|
Non-EU-15 immigrants | |
0.9% | 4.2% | 3.2% | 3.8% | |
1 This group is made up largely of former French settlers, such as Northwest Africa , followed by former colonial citizens who had French citizenship at birth (such as was often the case for the native elite in French colonies), as well as to a lesser extent foreign-born children of French expatriates. A foreign country is understood as a country not part of France in 1999, so a person born for example in 1950 in Algeria, when Algeria was an integral part of France, is nonetheless listed as a person born in a foreign country in French statistics.2 An immigrant is a person born in a foreign country not having French citizenship at birth. An immigrant may have acquired French citizenship since moving to France, but is still considered an immigrant in French statistics. On the other hand, persons born in France with foreign citizenship (the children of immigrants) are not listed as immigrants. |
Education
The headquarters of the
Transport
Versailles is served by
Versailles is also served by two other stations on Paris RER line C:
Versailles is also served by two stations on the
Twin towns – sister cities
Versailles is twinned with:
- Carthage, Tunisia[15]
- Gyeongju, South Korea[16]
- Nara, Japan[17]
- Potsdam, Germany[18]
- Taipei, Taiwan[19]
Notable people
- Philip V of Spain (1683–1746), King of Spain
- Charles-Michel de l'Épée (1712–1789), philanthropic educator
- Louis-Augustin Richer (1740–1819), singer and composer
- Lazare Hoche (1768–1797), general
- Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (1778–1820), prince of France
- Georges Pfeiffer (1835–1908), composer and pianist
- Léonie Yahne (1867–1950), actress
- Pierre Vaillandet (1888-1971), politician
- Yves Brayer (1907–1990), painter
- Hélène Boucher (1908–1934), pilot
- Albert Malbois (1915–2017), Roman Catholic bishop
- Jean-François Lyotard (1924–1998), philosopher
- Stéphane Audran (1932–2018), actress
- Joëlle Mélin (born 1950), politician
- Boris Williams (born 1957), musician
- Marine Jahan (born 1959), dancer
- Bruno Podalydès (born 1961), writer, director and actor
- Michel Gondry (born 1963), film and music video director
- Stéphane Franke (1964–2011), Franco-German athlete
- Jean-Benoît Dunckel (born 1965), musician
- Grégoire de Galzain (born 1971), racing driver
- Mabrouk El Mechri (born 1976), director, screenwriter and actor
- Thomas Mars (born 1977), rock musician
- Mory Correa (born 1979), basketball player
- Hoshi(born 1996), singer and songwriter
- James Hazen Hyde (1876 - 1959), American businessman, bibliophile and patron of the arts
- Arabelle Raphael, pornographic film actress and artist
- Neal Maupay (born 1996), footballer
See also
- Établissement public du château, du musée et du domaine national de Versailles
- Potager du roi, Versailles
References
- ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
- ^ "Populations légales 2021". The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
- ^ a b Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
- ^ University of Notre Dame, William Whitaker's Words, http://www.archives.nd.edu/cgi-bin/wordz.pl?keyword=versare
- ^ Georges Moussoir, Versailles, "Berceau de la Liberté", in Revue de l'histoire de Versailles et de Seine-et-Oise, 1899, pp. 215–224 Archived 28 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine (Gallica)
- ^ a b SPLAF. "Ancien département: Seine-et-Oise" (in French). Archived from the original on 26 March 2010. Retrieved 7 July 2009.
- ^ Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2017, INSEE
- ^ Phillips, P. Lee, F. R. G. S., List of maps and views of Washington and District of Columbia in the Library of Congress, Map Division, Government Printing Office, 1900, p. 16 [1]
- ^ Courtney Traub (31 January 2018). "Visiting Paris in the Winter: A Complete Guide". tripsavvy. Archived from the original on 11 October 2017. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
- ^ "Meteociel.fr 1981-2010 normales/records" (in French). Méteociel.
- ^ La Grande Encyclopédie (1902). "Volume 31 (on page 882)" (in French). Retrieved 20 June 2007.
- ^ Lane, John E. (John Edward) (1928). Jean-Francois Coste: chief physician of the French expeditionary forces in the American revolution. Wellcome Library. [Somerville, N.J.] ; [New York city] : [The American historical society, inc.]
- ^ a b c d e Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Versailles, EHESS (in French).
- ^ Sound Opinions Show #204: 10.23.09
- ^ "Twinning Relationship". commune-carthage.gov.tn. Carthage. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "Sister Cities". gyeongju.go.kr. Gyeongju. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "国内外の「姉妹都市」と「友好都市」". city.nara.lg.jp. Nara. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "Jumelage". versailles.fr (in French). Versailles. Retrieved 13 April 2021.
- ^ "International Sister Cities". tcc.gov.tw. Taipei City. Retrieved 15 December 2021.
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