Dourdan
Encyclopedia
Dourdan is a commune
in the Essonne
department in Île-de-France
in northern France
.
It is located in the metropolitan area
of Paris
.
. The town is surrounded by the Dourdan's forest (Forêt de Dourdan).
Inhabitants of Dourdan are known as Dourdannais.
. The radical "dan" could have meant "hill". Dourdan (Dordincum) developed during the Gallo-Roman period
as an important center of production of ceramics. In the Middle Ages, it became the residence of Hugh the Great
, father of Hugh Capet; he died there in 956.
Dourdan became a royal city in 987, when Hugh Capet was crowned king.
In 1220, King Philip II Augustus of France built a new castle; its most famous owners were: Blanche de Castille, Louis d'Évreux
, Jean, duc de Berry
, François de Lorraine, duc de Guise
, Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully
, Anne of Austria
and the House of Orléans
.
stations are located in Dourdan: Dourdan and Dourdan-la-Forêt
, terminus of one of the branches of the "RER C
" line.
The Dourdan SNCF
station is on the line going from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz
to Vendôme
and Châteaudun
.
Both stations allow passengers to go to Paris and Versailles, with trains leaving every 30 minutes.
, its upper part was badly damaged by the troops of the Earl of Salisbury
, and it was not restored before the end of the 15th century. It was again damaged by the Huguenot
s during the Wars of Religion
(1562–1598). In 1641, the asymmetric spire
s were constructed and, in 1689, the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary
(chapelle de la Vierge) was built, increasing the length of the building from 36 to 50 metres. During the French Revolution
of 1789, the church was again damaged. It was turned into a Temple of Reason
(Temple de la Raison victorieuse), and also a prison until 1795.
), and by French nobility through the 13th century.
The conception of the geometric pattern and isolated donjon was similar to that of the castle of the Louvre
. A near identical castle is found at Seringes-et-Nesles
, Aisne
.
The castle became the property of Jean de Berry in 1385. There was a siege during the French Wars of Religion
, stables were built in this period. Some figures who spent some time there include Jeanne II, Countess of Burgundy
, and La Hire, friend of Joan of Arc
.
The donjon was still a royal prison during 17th century. There is a museum of local history.
towns of the Île de France tend to depend a lot on Paris for administration purposes and other facilities. The centre of Paris
is also a haven for several English speaking nationalities and EU expatriates, however in outlying towns such as this one there isn't the network that caters for these groups.
, Germany
, since 1963 Troungoumbé, Mali
, since 1988 Lac Megantic, Canada
, since 1989 Great Dunmow
, United Kingdom
, since 1991
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 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 :...
department in 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....
in northern 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 in the metropolitan area
Aire urbaine
The aire urbaine is a statistical region created by the INSEE that comprises a commuter belt surrounding a contiguous urban core...
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...
.
Géography
Dourdan is located on the river Orge in the western EssonneEssonne
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 :...
. The town is surrounded by the Dourdan's forest (Forêt de Dourdan).
Inhabitants of Dourdan are known as Dourdannais.
History
The origin of the name comes credibly from "Dour" derived of the Celtic root "Dor" which means "water" or "river", the same origin as for the English city of DoverDover
Dover is a town and major ferry port in the home county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel, and lies south-east of Canterbury; east of Kent's administrative capital Maidstone; and north-east along the coastline from Dungeness and Hastings...
. The radical "dan" could have meant "hill". Dourdan (Dordincum) developed during the Gallo-Roman period
Roman Gaul
Roman Gaul consisted of an area of provincial rule in the Roman Empire, in modern day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and western Germany. Roman control of the area lasted for less than 500 years....
as an important center of production of ceramics. In the Middle Ages, it became the residence of Hugh the Great
Hugh the Great
Hugh the Great or Hugues le Grand was duke of the Franks and count of Paris, son of King Robert I of France and nephew of King Odo. He was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France. His eldest son was Hugh Capet who became King of France in 987...
, father of Hugh Capet; he died there in 956.
Dourdan became a royal city in 987, when Hugh Capet was crowned king.
In 1220, King Philip II Augustus of France built a new castle; its most famous owners were: Blanche de Castille, Louis d'Évreux
Louis d'Évreux
Louis of France, Count of Évreux was the third son of King Philip III the Bold and his second wife Maria of Brabant, and half-brother of King Philip IV the Fair....
, Jean, duc de Berry
John, Duke of Berry
John of Valois or John the Magnificent was Duke of Berry and Auvergne and Count of Poitiers and Montpensier. He was the third son of King John II of France and Bonne of Luxemburg; his brothers were King Charles V of France, Duke Louis I of Anjou and Duke Philip the Bold of Burgundy...
, François de Lorraine, duc de Guise
Francis, Duke of Guise
Francis de Lorraine II, Prince of Joinville, Duke of Guise, Duke of Aumale , called Balafré , was a French soldier and politician.-Early life:...
, Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully
Maximilien de Béthune, duc de Sully
Maximilien de Béthune, first Duke of Sully was the doughty soldier, French minister, staunch Huguenot and faithful right-hand man who assisted Henry IV of France in the rule of France.-Early years:...
, Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria
Anne of Austria was Queen consort of France and Navarre, regent for her son, Louis XIV of France, and a Spanish Infanta by birth...
and the House of Orléans
House of Orleans
Orléans is the name used by several branches of the Royal House of France, all descended in the legitimate male line from the dynasty's founder, Hugh Capet. It became a tradition during France's ancien régime for the duchy of Orléans to be granted as an appanage to a younger son of the king...
.
Transportation
Two train and RERRER
The RER is a rapid transit system in France serving Paris and its suburbs. The RER is an integration of a modern city-centre underground rail and a pre-existing set of commuter rail lines. It has several connections with the Paris Métro within the city of Paris. Within the city, the RER...
stations are located in Dourdan: Dourdan and Dourdan-la-Forêt
Dourdan-la-Forêt (Paris RER)
Dourdan-la-Forêt is a train station in Dourdan near Paris. It is served by Paris' express suburban rail system, the RER.- See also :* List of stations of the Paris RER...
, terminus of one of the branches of the "RER C
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 , ...
" line.
The Dourdan SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
station is on the line going from Paris Gare d'Austerlitz
Gare d'Austerlitz
Paris Austerlitz is one of the six large terminus railway stations in Paris. It is situated on the left bank of the Seine in the southeastern part of the city, in the XIIIe arrondissement...
to Vendôme
Vendôme
Vendôme is a commune in the Centre region of France.-Administration:Vendôme is the capital of the arrondissement of Vendôme in the Loir-et-Cher department, of which it is a sub-prefecture. It has a tribunal of first instance.-Geography:...
and Châteaudun
Châteaudun
Châteaudun is a commune in the Eure-et-Loir department in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of Eure-et-Loir.-Geography:Châteaudun is located about 45 km northwest of Orléans, and about 50 km south-southwest of Chartres, on the river Loir, a tributary of the...
.
Both stations allow passengers to go to Paris and Versailles, with trains leaving every 30 minutes.
Saint-Germain-d'Auxerre Church
Construction of the church began in 1150 and was completed by the end of the 12th century. In 1428, during the Hundred Years' WarHundred Years' War
The Hundred Years' War was a series of separate wars waged from 1337 to 1453 by the House of Valois and the House of Plantagenet, also known as the House of Anjou, for the French throne, which had become vacant upon the extinction of the senior Capetian line of French kings...
, its upper part was badly damaged by the troops of the Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, 5th Earl of Salisbury
Richard Neville, jure uxoris 5th Earl of Salisbury and 7th and 4th Baron Montacute, KG, PC was a Yorkist leader during the early parts of the Wars of the Roses.-Background:...
, and it was not restored before the end of the 15th century. It was again damaged by the Huguenot
Huguenot
The Huguenots were members of the Protestant Reformed Church of France during the 16th and 17th centuries. Since the 17th century, people who formerly would have been called Huguenots have instead simply been called French Protestants, a title suggested by their German co-religionists, the...
s during the Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
(1562–1598). In 1641, the asymmetric spire
Spire
A spire is a tapering conical or pyramidal structure on the top of a building, particularly a church tower. Etymologically, the word is derived from the Old English word spir, meaning a sprout, shoot, or stalk of grass....
s were constructed and, in 1689, the chapel dedicated to the Virgin Mary
Mary (mother of Jesus)
Mary , commonly referred to as "Saint Mary", "Mother Mary", the "Virgin Mary", the "Blessed Virgin Mary", or "Mary, Mother of God", was a Jewish woman of Nazareth in Galilee...
(chapelle de la Vierge) was built, increasing the length of the building from 36 to 50 metres. During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
of 1789, the church was again damaged. It was turned into a Temple of Reason
Temple of Reason
The Temple of Reason was, during the French Revolution, a temple for a new belief system created to replace Christianity: the Cult of Reason, which were based on the ideals of atheism and humanocentrism...
(Temple de la Raison victorieuse), and also a prison until 1795.
Castle
Built at the request of Philip II Augustus at the beginning of 13th century in the place of a wooden fortress, it is characteristic of the military architecture of this period. The castle is built on a square pattern, with towers at three of the corners and an isolated donjon at the fourth. The walls are punctuated by towers in the middle of each side, and two, on the east side, flank the gate. A deep stone-lined dry moat follows the outline of the castle. The donjon, the major defensive component of the castle, measures approximately 30 metres in height and 13.6 metres in diameter. It is the typical of the donjons being built by Philip Augustus at this time (e.g. RouenRouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
), and by French nobility through the 13th century.
Louvre
The Musée du Louvre – in English, the Louvre Museum or simply the Louvre – is one of the world's largest museums, the most visited art museum in the world and a historic monument. A central landmark of Paris, it is located on the Right Bank of the Seine in the 1st arrondissement...
. A near identical castle is found at Seringes-et-Nesles
Seringes-et-Nesles
Seringes-et-Nesles is a commune in the Aisne department in Picardy in northern France.-References:*...
, Aisne
Aisne
Aisne is a department in the northern part of France named after the Aisne River.- History :Aisne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from parts of the former provinces of Île-de-France, Picardie, and Champagne.Most of the old...
.
The castle became the property of Jean de Berry in 1385. There was a siege during the French Wars of Religion
French Wars of Religion
The French Wars of Religion is the name given to a period of civil infighting and military operations, primarily fought between French Catholics and Protestants . The conflict involved the factional disputes between the aristocratic houses of France, such as the House of Bourbon and House of Guise...
, stables were built in this period. Some figures who spent some time there include Jeanne II, Countess of Burgundy
Jeanne II, Countess of Burgundy
Joan II, Countess of Burgundy , also known Joan II, Countess Palatine of Burgundy, was the eldest daughter of Otto IV, Count of Burgundy, and his wife Mahaut, Countess of Artois. She was married to Philip V of France, the second son of King Philip IV of France, in 1307...
, and La Hire, friend of Joan of Arc
Joan of Arc
Saint Joan of Arc, nicknamed "The Maid of Orléans" , is a national heroine of France and a Roman Catholic saint. A peasant girl born in eastern France who claimed divine guidance, she led the French army to several important victories during the Hundred Years' War, which paved the way for the...
.
The donjon was still a royal prison during 17th century. There is a museum of local history.
The market hall
It was built in 1836 and is located in the downtown. It replaced the former hall from the thirteenth century. There is a floor to remind the former hall. The architect was Lucien-Tirte van Clemputte.The Royal forest of Dourdan
This is an old Royal forest where the kings of France used to hunt, covering a surface of 17 square kilometres. The forest is divided in 2 by the Orge river. The northern part is called forest of Saint-Arnoult while the southern part is the Ouÿe Forest (the name comes from a nearby abbey).English Speaking Expatriates
BanlieueBanlieue
In francophone areas, banlieues are the "outskirts" of a city: the zone around a city that is under the city's rule.Banlieues are translated as "suburbs", as these are also residential areas on the outer edge of a city, but the connotations of the term "banlieue" in France can be different from...
towns of the Île de France tend to depend a lot on Paris for administration purposes and other facilities. The centre 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...
is also a haven for several English speaking nationalities and EU expatriates, however in outlying towns such as this one there isn't the network that caters for these groups.
Twin towns
Dourdan has four twin towns: Bad WiesseeBad Wiessee
Bad Wiessee is a spa town on Lake Tegernsee, Bavaria, Germany. The name "Bad" means for "spa" or "baths", while "Wiessee" derives from "West See", meaning "western part of the lake"....
, 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...
, since 1963 Troungoumbé, Mali
Mali
Mali , officially the Republic of Mali , is a landlocked country in Western Africa. Mali borders Algeria on the north, Niger on the east, Burkina Faso and the Côte d'Ivoire on the south, Guinea on the south-west, and Senegal and Mauritania on the west. Its size is just over 1,240,000 km² with...
, since 1988 Lac Megantic, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, since 1989 Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow
Great Dunmow is an ancient market town in the Uttlesford district of Essex, England in which the great Shannon Gray, also known as Hazzah Potter, lives...
, United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, since 1991