Yvelines
Encyclopedia
Yvelines is a French department in the region
of Île-de-France
.
on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application (a decree specifying how a law should be enforced) from 26 February 1965.
It gained the communes
of Châteaufort
and Toussus-le-Noble
from the adjacent department of Essonne
in 1969.
The departmental capital, Versailles, which grew up around Louis XIV's château
, was also the French
capital
for more than a century under the Ancien Régime
and again between 1871 and 1879 during the early years of the Third Republic
. Since then the château has continued to welcome the parlement
when called upon to sit in a congressional
sitting, jointly with the upper house in order to enact constitutional
changes or, as happened most recently in June 2009, to listen to a formal declaration by the president.
on the north, Hauts-de-Seine
on the east, Essonne
on the southeast, Eure-et-Loir
on the southwest, and Eure
on the west.
The eastern part of the department, as well as its northern part along the Seine
, is part of the Paris metropolitan area, but the rest of the department is rural, much of it covered by the Forest of Rambouillet
(also known as the Forest of Yveline, from which the name of the department is derived).
Besides Versailles (the prefecture) and the subprefectures of Mantes-la-Jolie
, Rambouillet
, and Saint-Germain-en-Laye
, important cities include Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
, Poissy
, Les Mureaux
, Houilles
, Plaisir, Sartrouville
, Chatou
, Le Chesnay
, and the new agglomeration community of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
.
Two regional parks can be found in Yvelines: the parc of the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse and part of the parc of Vexin Français.
Yvelines is home to one of France's best known golf courses, La Tuilerie-Bignon, in the village of Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche
.
See also Map of Yvelines.
Régions of France
France is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
.
History
Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-OiseSeine-et-Oise
Seine-et-Oise was a département of France encompassing the western, northern, and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris. Its préfecture was Versailles and its official number was 78. Seine-et-Oise was abolished in 1968....
on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application (a decree specifying how a law should be enforced) from 26 February 1965.
It gained the communes
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...
of Châteaufort
Châteaufort
Châteaufort is the name of two communes in France:* Châteaufort, Alpes-de-Haute-Provence, in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence département* Châteaufort, Yvelines, in the Yvelines département...
and Toussus-le-Noble
Toussus-le-Noble
Toussus-le-Noble is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-History:In 1969, the communes of Châteaufort and Toussus-le-Noble were separated from the Essonne department and added to Yvelines.-References:*...
from the adjacent department of Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
in 1969.
The departmental capital, Versailles, which grew up around Louis XIV's château
Palace of Versailles
The Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
, was also the French
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...
capital
Capital City
Capital City was a television show produced by Euston Films which focused on the lives of investment bankers in London living and working on the corporate trading floor for the fictional international bank Shane-Longman....
for more than a century under the Ancien Régime
Ancien Régime in France
The Ancien Régime refers primarily to the aristocratic, social and political system established in France from the 15th century to the 18th century under the late Valois and Bourbon dynasties...
and again between 1871 and 1879 during the early years of the Third Republic
French Third Republic
The French Third Republic was the republican government of France from 1870, when the Second French Empire collapsed due to the French defeat in the Franco-Prussian War, to 1940, when France was overrun by Nazi Germany during World War II, resulting in the German and Italian occupations of France...
. Since then the château has continued to welcome the parlement
Parliament of France
The French Parliament is the bicameral legislature of the French Republic, consisting of the Senate and the National Assembly . Each assembly conducts legislative sessions at a separate location in Paris: the Palais du Luxembourg for the Senate, the Palais Bourbon for the National Assembly.Each...
when called upon to sit in a congressional
Congress of France
The French Congress is the name given to the body created when both houses of the present-day French Parliament—the National Assembly and the Senate—meet at the Palace of Versailles to vote on revisions to the Constitution or to listen to an address by the President of the French...
sitting, jointly with the upper house in order to enact constitutional
Constitution of France
The current Constitution of France was adopted on 4 October 1958. It is typically called the Constitution of the Fifth Republic, and replaced that of the Fourth Republic dating from 1946. Charles de Gaulle was the main driving force in introducing the new constitution and inaugurating the Fifth...
changes or, as happened most recently in June 2009, to listen to a formal declaration by the president.
Geography
Yvelines is bordered by the departments of Val-d'OiseVal-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department, created in 1968 after the split of the Seine-et-Oise department and located in the Île-de-France region. In local slang, it is known as "quatre-vingt quinze" or "neuf cinq"...
on the north, Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine
Hauts-de-Seine is designated number 92 of the 101 départements in France. It is part of the Île-de-France region, and covers the western inner suburbs of Paris...
on the east, Essonne
Essonne
Essonne is a French department in the region of Île-de-France. It is named after the Essonne River.It was formed on 1 January 1968 when Seine-et-Oise was split into smaller departments.- History :...
on the southeast, Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir
Eure-et-Loir is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers.-History:Eure-et-Loir is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790 pursuant to the Act of December 22, 1789...
on the southwest, and Eure
Eure
Eure is a department in the north of France named after the river Eure.- History :Eure is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
on the west.
The eastern part of the department, as well as its northern part along the Seine
Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
, is part of the Paris metropolitan area, but the rest of the department is rural, much of it covered by the Forest of Rambouillet
Forest of Rambouillet
The Forest of Rambouillet or Forest of Yveline is a large forest covering some 200 km², located to the west of Paris, in the Île-de-France region in northern France...
(also known as the Forest of Yveline, from which the name of the department is derived).
Besides Versailles (the prefecture) and the subprefectures of Mantes-la-Jolie
Mantes-la-Jolie
Mantes-la-Jolie is a commune based in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center. Mantes-la-Jolie is a sub-prefecture department.-History:...
, Rambouillet
Rambouillet
Rambouillet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located in the suburbs of Paris southwest from the center...
, and Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye
Saint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
, important cities include Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine
Conflans-Sainte-Honorine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
, Poissy
Poissy
Poissy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center.In 1561 it was the site of a fruitless Catholic-Huguenot conference, the Colloquy at Poissy...
, Les Mureaux
Les Mureaux
Les Mureaux is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center.-Transport:...
, Houilles
Houilles
Houilles is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Transport:...
, Plaisir, Sartrouville
Sartrouville
Sartrouville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. it is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center.-Name:...
, Chatou
Chatou
Chatou is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center...
, Le Chesnay
Le Chesnay
Le Chesnay is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center-History:...
, and the new agglomeration community of Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines
Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines is a new town in the French département of Yvelines. It is one of the original five villes nouvelles of Paris and was named after the Saint Quentin Pond, which was chosen to become the town's centre. The town was built from a greenfield site starting in the 1960s. In...
.
Two regional parks can be found in Yvelines: the parc of the Haute Vallée de Chevreuse and part of the parc of Vexin Français.
Yvelines is home to one of France's best known golf courses, La Tuilerie-Bignon, in the village of Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche
Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche
Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-History:Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche was built around 4 core hamlets near the Forest of Marly...
.
See also Map of Yvelines.
Demographics
In French, a man from the Yvelines is called Yvelinois (plural Yvelinois); a woman is Yvelinoise (plural Yvelinoises).Place of birth of residents
Palaces and Châteaux
- Palace of VersaillesPalace of VersaillesThe Palace of Versailles , or simply Versailles, is a royal château in Versailles in the Île-de-France region of France. In French it is the Château de Versailles....
- Château of Breteuil
- Château of Buc
- Château of Dampierre
- Château of Maisons-Lafitte
- Château of Rambouillet
- Château of Saint-Germain-en-Laye
- Château of ThoiryChâteau of Thoiry-External links:...
- Château of Vaux-sur-Seine
- Château of Mauvières
- Château du Pont
- Château VilletteChâteau VilletteChâteau Villette, located 40 minutes away from Paris in Condécourt, France, is a manor house hotel containing 18 bedrooms.There are numerous outbuildings including a chapel and adjacent reception room, horse stable and greenhouse.-History:...
Museums
- Museum of National Antiques (Saint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-Germain-en-LayeSaint-Germain-en-Laye is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre.Inhabitants are called Saint-Germanois...
) - Museum of River and Canal Craft (Conflans-Sainte-HonorineConflans-Sainte-HonorineConflans-Sainte-Honorine is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the north-western suburbs of Paris from the center....
) - Horse-drawn Coach Museum (Versailles)
- Toy Museum (PoissyPoissyPoissy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center.In 1561 it was the site of a fruitless Catholic-Huguenot conference, the Colloquy at Poissy...
) - Sheep Museum (RambouilletRambouilletRambouillet is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located in the suburbs of Paris southwest from the center...
) - Cloth Museum of Jouy (Jouy-en-JosasJouy-en-JosasJouy-en-Josas is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris from the center.Jouy-en-Josas is home to the prestigious HEC School of Management.-Geography:...
) - National Barn Museum of Port-Royal (Magny-les-HameauxMagny-les-HameauxMagny-les-Hameaux is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...
) - International Museum of Naive Art
- Musee Lambinet (Versailles)
Artist's and Writer's Houses
- André DerainAndré DerainAndré Derain was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.-Early years:...
's house (ChambourcyChambourcyChambourcy is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located west of Saint-Germain-en-Laye and about west of Paris....
) - Elsa TrioletElsa TrioletElsa Yur'evna Triolet was a French writer.-Biography:Born Ella Kagan into a Jewish family of a lawyer and a music teacher in Moscow, she and her sister, Lilya Brik received excellent educations; they were able to speak fluent German and French and play the piano...
-Aragon's house (Saint-Arnoult-en-YvelinesSaint-Arnoult-en-YvelinesSaint-Arnoult-en-Yvelines is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-References:*...
) - Émile ZolaÉmile ZolaÉmile François Zola was a French writer, the most important exemplar of the literary school of naturalism and an important contributor to the development of theatrical naturalism...
's house (MédanMédanMédan is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...
) - Maurice RavelMaurice RavelJoseph-Maurice Ravel was a French composer known especially for his melodies, orchestral and instrumental textures and effects...
's house/museum (Montfort-l'AmauryMontfort-l'AmauryMontfort-l'Amaury is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the south-western suburbs of Paris N of Rambouillet....
) - Ivan TurgenevIvan TurgenevIvan Sergeyevich Turgenev was a Russian novelist, short story writer, and playwright. His first major publication, a short story collection entitled A Sportsman's Sketches, is a milestone of Russian Realism, and his novel Fathers and Sons is regarded as one of the major works of 19th-century...
House (BougivalBougivalBougival is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the center....
) - Alexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, pèreAlexandre Dumas, , born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie was a French writer, best known for his historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world...
's Château de Monte-CristoChâteau de Monte-CristoThe Château de Monte-Cristo is the English garden-style country-house of the writer Alexandre Dumas, père built in 1846 by the architect Hippolyte Durand in Port-Marly, Yvelines, France. Short of money, Dumas had to sell the property in 1848. The abandoned château fell into disrepair by the 1960s...
(Port-Marly) - Jean-Claude RichardJean-Claude RichardJean-Claude Richard de Saint-Non was a French painter and engraver.-Family background and history:His family estate, from which he derives his full title, is The Château de Saint-Nom. It is located in the village of Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche in Yvelines, France...
's family estate (Saint-Nom-la-BretècheSaint-Nom-la-BretècheSaint-Nom-la-Bretèche is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-History:Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche was built around 4 core hamlets near the Forest of Marly...
)
Parks and Gardens
- Chèvreloup Arboretum (RocquencourtRocquencourtRocquencourt is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is mostly known for:* hosting a research unit of INRIA ;...
) - Marly Estate (Marly-le-RoiMarly-le-RoiMarly-le-Roi is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris from the centre....
) - Vaux sur Seine Castle Garden (Vaux sur Seine)
- The King's Vegetable Garden (Versailles)
Senators from Yvelines
- Nicolas AboutNicolas AboutNicolas About is a French politician from the centrist MoDem. he is a member of the French Senate and President of the Centrist Union group. About was the mayor of Montigny-le-Bretonneux from 1977 to 2004. He was elected senator of Yvelines on September 24, 1995, and reelected on September 26,...
(Centrist UnionCentrist UnionThe Centrist Union is a current parliamentary group in the French Senate founded in 1983. As of April 2009, the UC group has 29 Senators.Since the 2008 Senate elections, the group is known as the Centrist Union. Prior to that, between 2005 and 2008, it was known as the Centrist Union-Union for...
) - Jacques Bellanger (Socialist PartySocialist Party (France)The Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
) - Dominique BrayeDominique BrayeDominique Braye is a member of the Senate of France, representing the Yvelines department. He is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement.-References:*...
(UMPUnion for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
) - Alain GournacAlain GournacAlain Gournac is a French politician and a member of the Senate of France. He represents the Yvelines department and is a member of the Union for a Popular Movement Party.-References:*...
(UMPUnion for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
) - Gérard LarcherGérard LarcherGérard Larcher is a French politician who was President of the Senate of France from 2008 to 2011. A member of the center-right Union for a Popular Movement, he was a Senator for the Yvelines département from 1986 to 2004 and has been again since 2007.Larcher was born in Flers, Orne to a Catholic...
(UMPUnion for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
)
See also
- Cantons of the Yvelines department
- Communes of the Yvelines department
- Arrondissements of the Yvelines department