Marcoussis
Encyclopedia
Marcoussis is a commune
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...

 in the southern suburbs of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

. It is located 24.8 km (15.4 mi) from the center of Paris
Kilometre Zero
In many countries, Kilometre Zero or similar terms in other languages, is a particular location , from which distances are traditionally measured...

.

Marcoussis is famous as the location of the CNR (National Centre of Rugby) where the French national rugby union team
France national rugby union team
The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

 prepare for international competitions. It is at the CNR that the Linas-Marcoussis Agreement was signed in January 2003 between belligerents in the Ivorian Civil War.

A market village until the 1960s, Marcoussis supplied the markets of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

 with tomato
Tomato
The word "tomato" may refer to the plant or the edible, typically red, fruit which it bears. Originating in South America, the tomato was spread around the world following the Spanish colonization of the Americas, and its many varieties are now widely grown, often in greenhouses in cooler...

es and strawberries. A small train route, the Arpajonnais, inaugurated in 1894, took food at 4am every morning, it ceased functioning in 1937.

Geography

Marcoussis is located to the south of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...

, between trunk road
Trunk road
A trunk road, trunk highway, or strategic road is a major road—usually connecting two or more cities, ports, airports, and other things.—which is the recommended route for long-distance and freight traffic...

 RN20
Route nationale 20
The Route nationale 20 is a trunk road between Paris and the frontier with Spain heading south through the heart of France and passing through the Cathedral City of Orléans and Toulouse. The road forks at Col de Puymorens with one branch being the Route nationale 22 which leads to Andorra...

, in the east and Autoroute
Autoroutes of France
The Autoroute system in France consists largely of toll roads, except around large cities and in parts of the north. It is a network of worth of motorways. Autoroute destinations are shown in blue, while destinations reached through a combination of autoroutes are shown with an added autoroute logo...

 A10 to the west and trunk road RN104 called the Francilienne
Francilienne
The Francilienne is a partial ring road around Île-de-France , France, lying outside the A86.The planned ring is approximately in diameter, similar in size to London's M25 motorway....

 to the south. It is crossed by the RN446, and a small river of the Orge
Orge
The Orge is a 53 km long river in France, left tributary of the Seine. Its source is in the village Saint-Martin-de-Bréthencourt. Its course crosses the départements of Yvelines and Essonne. It flows northwest through the towns of Dourdan, Saint-Chéron, Breuillet, Arpajon, and Savigny-sur-Orge,...

, called Sallemouille (previously called Gadanine).

Neighboring communes

  • in canton of Montlhéry:
    • Linas
      Linas
      Linas is a common given name among people of Lithuanian descent. It is the Lithuanian form of the name Linus which is derived from the ancient Greek name Linos that meant flax...

      ;
    • Montlhéry
      Montlhéry
      Montlhéry is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris.Inhabitants of Montlhéry are known as Montlhériens.-History:...

      ;
    • Nozay
      Nozay, Essonne
      Nozay is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.Inhabitants of Nozay are known as Nozéens.-History:...

      ;
    • Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard
      Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard
      Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Saint-Jean-de-Beauregard are known as Bellinagardinois.-References:** -External links:* *...

      ;
    • La Ville-du-Bois
      La Ville-du-Bois
      La Ville-du-Bois is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of La Ville-du-Bois are known as Urbisylvains.-Notable residents:...

      ;
  • in canton of Arpajon (same district):
    • Ollainville
      Ollainville, Essonne
      Ollainville is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Ollainville are known as Ollainvillois.-References:** -External links:* * *...

      ;
  • in canton of Limours (same district):
    • Fontenay
      Fontenay
      Fontenay can refer to:a person*Charles L. Fontenay, journalist and science-fiction writer*Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay I, French paintera battle* Battle of Fontenay , during the Carolingian civil war...

      ;
    • Janvry
      Janvry, Essonne
      Janvry is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Janvry are known as Janvryssois.-References:** -External links:* * * image:Église Janvry.JPGimage:Janvry église.JPG...

      ;
  • in canton of Ulis (same district):
    • Les Ulis
      Les Ulis
      Les Ulis is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Les Ulis are known as Ulissiens.- Location :...

      ;
  • in canton of Villebon-on-Yvette (same district):
    • Villejust
      Villejust
      Villejust is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Villejust are known as Villejustiens.-References:** -External links:* *...

      .

Population

Inhabitants are officially called the Marcoussissiens or according to other sources are called the Marcoussiens.

Historical population:
  • 1982 - 4465
  • 1990 - 5680
  • 1999 - 7226
  • 2006 - 7863

List of successive mayors

  • March 1977- March 1983, Jean Montaru - socialist party
  • March 1983- May 1986, M Jean Montaru (décédé during the course of mandate) - socialist party
  • June 1986- March 1989, Marc Nogues - socialist party
  • March 1989- March 1995 Daniel Hochet - centre-right
  • March 1995- January 2003 Eric Cochard - socialist party
  • January 2003- 2014 Olivier Thomas - socialist party, councillor of Ile-de-France region

History

Very old traces of occupation exist, in particular a polishing machine found on the southern slope of the valley. The village really started to develop around the priory of Wandrille Saint, depending on the Abbey of Saint-Wandrille. In 854, a charter of Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald
Charles the Bald , Holy Roman Emperor and King of West Francia , was the youngest son of the Emperor Louis the Pious by his second wife Judith.-Struggle against his brothers:He was born on 13 June 823 in Frankfurt, when his elder...

 mentions Marcoussis. Initially, it would only be absolutely necessary for one vinyard at Bution, near to Arpajon
Arpajon
Arpajon is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Seat of the canton, the commune is located south of Paris, accessible by the N20, and to in the north of Étampes...

. The monks losing Bution settled in Marcoussis at the beginning of the 12th-century. The absence of records prevents an exact description of what was the priory at the time. It is known only that in 1298, there remained only one monk and that the village had 120 inhabitants. Célestins arrived at the beginning of the 15th-century, and absorbed the possessions of the old ruined priory. But the history of Marcoussis also includes the construction desired by Jean de Montagu in 1404–1408. Minister of Finance for Charles VI of France
Charles VI of France
Charles VI , called the Beloved and the Mad , was the King of France from 1380 to 1422, as a member of the House of Valois. His bouts with madness, which seem to have begun in 1392, led to quarrels among the French royal family, which were exploited by the neighbouring powers of England and Burgundy...

 he built his castle here (of which only the base and a tower remains, known as the Oubliettes), the convent of Célestins (remains of the cellars and a portion of the gate) and ordered the rebuilding of the village church. The church shelters a superb marble statue of the Virgin Mary donated by Jean de Berry to the convent of Célestins. The kings came to hunt at Marcoussis and there remains the royal house built under Louis XV. There was a commandry of the order of Saint Jean of Jerusalem from the 13th-century (Brother Baudoyn commander of the "meson of the flood" in 1290); a vault is still visible. On the plateau close to Nozay
Nozay, Essonne
Nozay is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.Inhabitants of Nozay are known as Nozéens.-History:...

, an important establishment of Alcatel shelters research laboratories.

Recent times

  • Since 2002, the field of Bellejame in the east of the commune, abandoned for decades, saw the building of the CNR (National Centre of Rugby), where the French team trains.
  • The Kleber Accords were signed at the CNR in January 2003 between the government of Ivory Coast and the rebels of North.
  • 29 July 2007, for the first time, the town was the departure for the 20th stage of the 2007 Tour de France
    2007 Tour de France
    The 2007 Tour de France, the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 July to 29 July 2007. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain...

    .

Famous people associated with the town

  • Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues
    Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues
    Catherine Henriette de Balzac d'Entragues, Marquise de Verneuil was the favourite mistress of Henry IV of France after Gabrielle d'Estrées died...

    , was the daughter of the Lord of Marcoussis, François de Balzac d' Entragues, she was the mistress of Henry IV of France
    Henry IV of France
    Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

    , who had promised marriage to her.
  • Jean-Jacques Rousseau
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau
    Jean-Jacques Rousseau was a Genevan philosopher, writer, and composer of 18th-century Romanticism. His political philosophy influenced the French Revolution as well as the overall development of modern political, sociological and educational thought.His novel Émile: or, On Education is a treatise...

     spent a few days in Marcoussis in 1750–1751 about which he speaks in the Confessions
  • Jean-Baptiste Camille Corot had several stays at Marcoussis with his/her friend Dumax painter. From these stays, he left several painting of which Souvenir de Marcoussis, also called La charette, is one the main works of art at the Orsay Museum
  • Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun
    Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun
    Victor Adolphe Malte-Brun was a French geographer and cartographer.He was born in Paris, France. The son of Conrad Malte-Brun, another geographer, of Danish origin, and founder of the Société de Géographie....

    , famous geographer, died in his property at Marcoussis, in the street which bears his name today.
  • Louis Marcoussis
    Louis Marcoussis
    Louis Marcoussis, formerly Ludwik Kazimierz Wladyslaw Markus or Ludwig Casimir Ladislas Markus, was a painter and engraver of Polish origin who lived in Paris for much of his life and became a French citizen.After studying law briefly in Warsaw he went to the Kraków Academy of Fine Arts, where his...

    , painter of Polish extraction, gallicized his name Markus to Marcoussis on the advice of his friend, Guillaume Apollinaire
    Guillaume Apollinaire
    Wilhelm Albert Włodzimierz Apolinary Kostrowicki, known as Guillaume Apollinaire was a French poet, playwright, short story writer, novelist, and art critic born in Italy to a Polish mother....

    .
  • Aymar de la Baume-Pluvinel
    Count Aymar de la Baume Pluvinel
    Aymar de la Baume Pluvinel was a French astronomer and professor in the Grandes écoles SupOptique . He belonged to an old noble family, whose main character was Antoine de Pluvinel, King Louis XIII's master of equitation....

    , astronomer, member of the Academy of Sciences, pioneer of the photography of the celestial bodies.

Transport

Marcoussis is served by no station of the Paris Métro, RER, or suburban rail network. The closest station to Marcoussis is Saint-Michel-sur-Orge station on Paris RER line
RER C
The RER C is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France. It is operated by SNCF.The line runs from the northwestern terminuses Pontoise , Versailles – Rive Gauche and Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines to the southeastern terminuses Massy-Palaiseau , Dourdan-la-Forêt , ...

 . This station is located in the commune of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge
Saint-Michel-sur-Orge is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.Inhabitants of Saint-Michel-sur-Orge are known as Saint-Michellois.-Transport:...

, 5.7 km (3.5 mi) from the town center of Marcoussis.

Important Events

The strawberry festival continues although the mass growing of strawberries disappeared at the start of the 1980s, whereas it was formerly produced locally in great quantity.

Bineau carnival

Each year in spring, the carnival of Bineau fills the streets of the village. This carnival is, according to certain sources, dedicated to the minister Jean-Martial Bineau (1805–1855) who under Napoleon III, took unpopular measures by decreasing the spending of State. The carnival takes place in the following towns: Arpajon
Arpajon
Arpajon is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Seat of the canton, the commune is located south of Paris, accessible by the N20, and to in the north of Étampes...

, Leuville-on-Barley, Nozay
Nozay, Essonne
Nozay is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located southwest of Paris.Inhabitants of Nozay are known as Nozéens.-History:...

, City-of-Wood. Marcoussis is not in the official procession of floats and majorettes, but has a popular festival organised by its citizens. A covered puppet in black trousers and a tail coat, capped with a hat top hat
Top hat
A top hat, beaver hat, high hat silk hat, cylinder hat, chimney pot hat or stove pipe hat is a tall, flat-crowned, broad-brimmed hat, predominantly worn from the latter part of the 18th to the middle of the 20th century...

, and girds of a tricolour scarf is carried by the young people who are 18 years that year (formerly conscripts, nowadays boys and girls) dressed in the same costume. They are followed by the dressed up tanks and inhabitants. For certain groups the preparation for "' 'Bineau' '" lasts several months (choice of the them, of the costumes and construction of the float which is drawn by a tractor). For the last ten years several groups are mobilized to make this festival a success. The procession starts at around 3pm, crosses the town by the main street from east to west to finish in place de la Republique, at dusk. Along the way, several stops take place among the houses of people who liberally offer drink to those in the procession. Bineau is placed at the top of a large heap of straw, piled-up over previous days, and set alight. The crowd forms a large farandole around fire, until it goes out. It is one of the great moments of the life of the commune, where the joy and good mood reign as Masters, and which many Marcoussisiens would not miss under any pretext.

Parish church

The parish church Sainte-Marie-Madeleine was built by Jean de Montagu at the same time as its castle at the beginning of the 15th-century, it is registered on the additional inventory of historic buildings by decree of December 17, 1965. The nave
Nave
In Romanesque and Gothic Christian abbey, cathedral basilica and church architecture, the nave is the central approach to the high altar, the main body of the church. "Nave" was probably suggested by the keel shape of its vaulting...

 with three spans was built in the middle of 16th-century by Jeanne d' Amboise, daughter of the amiral de Graville whose armorial bearings decorate the key of central crossing. One can admire inside the church a Virgin with the Child in marble
Marble
Marble is a metamorphic rock composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite.Geologists use the term "marble" to refer to metamorphosed limestone; however stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.Marble is commonly used for...

 of Carrara
Carrara
Carrara is a city and comune in the province of Massa-Carrara , notable for the white or blue-grey marble quarried there. It is on the Carrione River, some west-northwest of Florence....

, of 2 meters height, œuvre of Jean de Cambrai for Duke of Berry
Duke of Berry
The title of Duke of Berry in the French nobility was frequently created for junior members of the French royal family. The Berry region now consists of the départements of Cher, Indre and parts of Vienne. The capital of Berry is Bourges. The first creation was for John, third son of John II, King...

 who made of it gift with the monastery of Célestins in 1408, it was classified as a historic building as of 1896. The frontage is of style Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture
Gothic architecture is a style of architecture that flourished during the high and late medieval period. It evolved from Romanesque architecture and was succeeded by Renaissance architecture....

 blazing, the door is sumontée of a contour in accodance, the stained glass with the top of the door of entry represents the armorial bearings of the lords of Marcoussis: Montagu, Graville, Balzac and Iliers d' Entragues and Esclignac.

Vestiges of the castle of Montagu

Was given to the orphans apprentices of Auteuil in 1940, by Genevieve de la Baume-Pluvinel, as well as the grounds and the modern castle, with the proviso of making it a school of horticulture which would bear the name of Saint-Anthony in homage to her brother who died at 18 years of age during the First World War. What remains today and is protected:
  • the tower of the chatelet of entry,
  • the tower of the oubliettes and grounds with levelling of the castle, classified with the title of historic buildings by a state decree of July 9, 1984,
  • arched cellars, registered on the additional Inventory of Historic Buildings by a decree of 21 December 1984.

Castle of Célestins

Owned by the commune and currently housing the school of Arts, built in 1859 on the site of the convent dedicated to the Holy Trinity which had bee completed in 1408 and occupied by Célestins. The convent was set on fire at the time of the Wars of Religion then demolished at the start of the French Revolution.

The remains of the Castle of Bellejame

The castle was destroyed by fire in 1976 and the adjoining park now has the National Center of Rugby in its northern section. In the southern section, the park is managed by the general council of Essonne and has:
  • The refrigerator which was used to store the ice recovered from nearby waters
  • An arched source and;
  • The remains of a hydraulic ram
    Hydraulic ram
    A hydraulic ram, or hydram, is a cyclic water pump powered by hydropower. It functions as a hydraulic transformer that takes in water at one "hydraulic head" and flow-rate, and outputs water at a higher hydraulic-head and lower flow-rate...

    .

Old Bailiwick

This building is now used as leisure centre, it was built in the last quarter of the 18th-century. Municipal property, indexed but not protected by the historic buildings decree.

Old Commandry of the Deluge

Ferme générale
Ferme générale
The Ferme générale was, in ancien régime France, essentially an outsourced customs and excise operation which collected duties on behalf of the king, under six-year contracts...

 of the Deluge, including the vestiges of a vault dedicated to John the Baptist
John the Baptist
John the Baptist was an itinerant preacher and a major religious figure mentioned in the Canonical gospels. He is described in the Gospel of Luke as a relative of Jesus, who led a movement of baptism at the Jordan River...

, dating from the 12th-century and partially rebuilt in the fourteenth and seventeenth centuries. It is the only vestige of the time when it belonged to the Order of the Templars
Knights Templar
The Poor Fellow-Soldiers of Christ and of the Temple of Solomon , commonly known as the Knights Templar, the Order of the Temple or simply as Templars, were among the most famous of the Western Christian military orders...

, before it passed into to the hands of the Order of Malta, it was then joined together in Saint-Jean-de-Latran in Paris. Private property, it is listed by the historic buildings decree but not protected.

Various castles and remarkable residences

  • House of the King: It was built under the reign of Louis XV
    Louis XV of France
    Louis XV was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death. He succeeded his great-grandfather at the age of five, his first cousin Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, served as Regent of the kingdom until Louis's majority in 1723...

     to be used for royal hunts. It is now a private property, partially classified as a historic building by a decree of 26 November 1968 (protection of facades and roofs).
  • Château du Bel-Ebat Beautiful-Plays about: Located on the plate, it was rebuilt in the 19th-century, it is a private residence.
  • Château of the Round Oak: Property of the Ministry for the Navy since 1946, it housed a radar research laboratory. Amongst other things the research covered applications on the development of the Nançay
    Nançay
    Nançay is a commune in the Cher department in central France.-Geography:The village is located south of the Sologne and north-east of Vierzon. The Rère flows southwestward through the middle of the commune.-History:...

     radio telescope
    Radio telescope
    A radio telescope is a form of directional radio antenna used in radio astronomy. The same types of antennas are also used in tracking and collecting data from satellites and space probes...

    .
  • Castle of the Deluge: Located behind the old commandery, it was built in 1857; now private property.
  • Field of Brambles: located more than 3 km (1.9 mi) from the centre of the village, it belongs to the commune of Bourg-la-Reine
    Bourg-la-Reine
    Bourg-la-Reine is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. The inhabitants are called Réginaburgiens. The town is twinned with Kenilworth, UK.-History:...

    , which transformed it into a holiday centre, it is now abandoned.
  • Ferme de l'Hôtel-Dieu: remarkable for its frame "to Philibert Delorme" dating from the beginning of the 19th-century, it is located in rue de Voltaire in the Gue district.

Twin towns

- Waldsassen
Waldsassen
Waldsassen is a town in the district of Tirschenreuth bordering the Czech Republic in the Upper Palatinate, Bavaria.As of June 2005, Waldsassen had a population of 7,483....

 town of 7,483 inhabitants located in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...

 (Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

) - twinned since 1970. - Bérégadougou
Bérégadougou
Bérégadougou is a town in the Bérégadougou Department of Comoé Province in south-western Burkina Faso. It is the capital of Bérégadougou Department and the town has a population of 9,036.-External links:*...

, village of 8,000 inhabitants located in the province of Comoé in the south of Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso
Burkina Faso – also known by its short-form name Burkina – is a landlocked country in west Africa. It is surrounded by six countries: Mali to the north, Niger to the east, Benin to the southeast, Togo and Ghana to the south, and Côte d'Ivoire to the southwest.Its size is with an estimated...

 (Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...

) - twinned since 1998. - Mariánské Lázně
Mariánské Lázne
Mariánské Lázně is a spa town in the Karlovy Vary Region of the Czech Republic. The town, surrounded by green mountains, is a mosaic of parks and noble houses...

 or Marianské Lazné (ex Marienbad in German), in Czech Republic
Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....

, town of 14,300 inhabitants was twinned to Marcoussis by a pact of international friendship in 1995 which led to an oath of twinning in May 2005 and the official signature of twinning on 23 September 2006.

Tour de France

In 2007
2007 Tour de France
The 2007 Tour de France, the 94th running of the race, took place from 7 July to 29 July 2007. The Tour began with a prologue in London, and ended with the traditional finish in Paris. Along the way, the route also passed through Belgium and Spain...

, Marcoussis was the start of the final stage of the Tour de France
Tour de France
The Tour de France is an annual bicycle race held in France and nearby countries. First staged in 1903, the race covers more than and lasts three weeks. As the best known and most prestigious of cycling's three "Grand Tours", the Tour de France attracts riders and teams from around the world. The...

. The stage was 130 km (80.8 mi) long and finished with eight laps of the traditional circuit around the Champs-Élysées
Champs-Élysées
The Avenue des Champs-Élysées is a prestigious avenue in Paris, France. With its cinemas, cafés, luxury specialty shops and clipped horse-chestnut trees, the Avenue des Champs-Élysées is one of the most famous streets and one of the most expensive strip of real estate in the world. The name is...

.

External links

The source of this article is wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.  The text of this article is licensed under the GFDL.
 
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