Montereau-Fault-Yonne
Encyclopedia
Montereau-Fault-Yonne, or simply Montereau, 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 Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...

 department in the 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....

 region
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...

 in north-central 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...

.

Name

The city takes its name from its geographical position on the confluence of the Yonne
Yonne River
The Yonne is a river in France, left tributary of the Seine. It is 292 km long. The river gives its name to the Yonne département. Its source is in the Nièvre département, in the Morvan hills near Château-Chinon...

 and 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...

 rivers. Fault, also spelled faut comes from the verb faillir ("to fail") in its old meaning to fall. Montereau is where the Yonne falls into the Seine.

Sights

The town is split in three by the rivers, ville basse situated on the southern shore and Surville on the hill to the north. The old town centre is located in ville basse while Surville is an assembly of high rise buildings, erected after World War II, and is in many ways a typical cité in the 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....

. Some of these high rise buildings are now (2005) going to be destroyed and replaced by individual houses. The old château-park in Surville (now the site of a high school Lycée André Malraux) however gives a very nice view over the confluent and the Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne is a French department, named after the Seine and Marne rivers, and located in the Île-de-France region.- History:Seine-et-Marne is one of the original 83 departments, created on March 4, 1790 during the French Revolution in application of the law of December 22, 1789...

 region.
On the east side, between the two rivers, are the port and an industrial park.

History

In 1359, the King of Navarre Charles II of Navarre
Charles II of Navarre
Charles II , called "Charles the Bad", was King of Navarre 1349-1387 and Count of Évreux 1343-1387....

, who held the town because of his Champagne
Champagne (province)
The Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...

 ascent, lost it in front of the regent of France (the future king Charles V
Charles V of France
Charles V , called the Wise, was King of France from 1364 to his death in 1380 and a member of the House of Valois...

).

John the Fearless was killed on the town's in September, 1419 by Tanneguy du Chastel
Tanneguy du Chastel
Tanneguy du Chastel was a French military leader of the Hundred Years' War.- Life :In 1415, he was provost of Paris, charged with keeping order in the city. During the civil war between the Armagnacs and Burgundians, he was one of the leaders of the Armagnac faction under Bernard VII, Count of...

 and the sire de Barbazan
Arnaud Guillaume de Barbazan
Arnaud Guillaume , Seigneur de Barbazan, was a counsellor and butler to Charles VII of France and later a general during the Hundred Years' War who earned for himself the name of the Irreproachable Knight.He was one of the chief Armagnacs, a fervent partisan of...

, during an interview with the dauphin (who became in 1422 Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

).

In the collegiate church Notre-Dame-et-Saint-Loup there is a sword which has long been said to be John the Fearless'. But actually this sword is certainly more recent.

The Geographer 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....

 reported, in La France illustrée (1882), the existence of an inscription on the bridge where the duke was murdered.

In 1420, Philip the Good, the son of John the Fearless, seized the town, which remained for eight years in the hands of the Anglo-Burgundian coalition. However, at the end of a long siege, the king Charles VII
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...

, helped by Chabannes and Dunois, managed to take it again.

In 1567, 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...

, Condé
Condé
-Places in France:*Condé, Indre, in the Indre département*Condé-en-Brie, in the Aisne département*Condé-Folie, in the Somme département*Condé-lès-Autry, in the Ardennes département*Condé-lès-Herpy, in the Ardennes département...

 briefly seized the town.

In 1587, the inhabitants of Montereau took of party of the Catholic League
Catholic League (French)
The Catholic League of France, sometimes referred to by contemporary Roman Catholics as the Holy League, a major player in the French Wars of Religion, was formed by Duke Henry of Guise in 1576...

, but in 1590 accepted the legitimacy of the new king Henry IV
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....

.

Montereau was also the place of one of the last victories
Battle of Montereau
The Battle of Montereau was fought near Montereau-Fault-Yonne on 18 February 1814 and resulted in the victory of the French under Napoleon Bonaparte against the Austrians and the Württembergers under the King of Württemberg.- Background :...

 of Napoleon
Napoleon I of France
Napoleon Bonaparte was a French military and political leader during the latter stages of the French Revolution.As Napoleon I, he was Emperor of the French from 1804 to 1815...

 on 14 February 1814.

Demographics

Inhabitants of Montereau-Fault-Yonne are called Monterelais.
Datas since 2006 : population municipale

*Source EHESS Cassini


Histogramme
(Graph by Wikipedia)


The canton
Canton of Montereau-Fault-Yonne
The canton of Montereau-Fault-Yonne is a French administrative division, located in the arrondissement of Provins, in the Seine-et-Marne département .-Composition :The canton of Montereau-Fault-Yonne is composed of 14 communes:...

, which belonged to the arrondissement of Fontainebleau
Arrondissement of Fontainebleau
The arrondissement of Fontainebleau is an arrondissement of France, located in the Seine-et-Marne département, in the Île-de-France région...

 in the beginning, was attached to Provins
Arrondissement of Provins
The arrondissement of Provins is an arrondissement of France, located inthe Seine-et-Marne département, in the Île-de-France région. It has 9 cantons and 165 communes.-Cantons:The cantons of the arrondissement of Provins are:# Bray-sur-Seine...

 in 1926. It has 14 communes and 33,646 inhabitants.

Economy

Historically, the city has sported a strong industrial base and thus has strong blue collar roots. In recent decades, unemployment has become an increasing problem, especially within the immigrant community in Surville.

Twin towns

Montereau is twinned with the British
Great Britain
Great Britain or Britain is an island situated to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island, as well as the largest of the British Isles...

 town of Otley
Otley
-Transport:The main roads through the town are the A660 to the south east, which connects Otley to Bramhope, Adel and Leeds city centre, and the A65 to the west, which goes to Ilkley and Skipton. The A6038 heads to Guiseley, Shipley and Bradford, connecting with the A65...

, north of Leeds
Leeds
Leeds is a city and metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. In 2001 Leeds' main urban subdivision had a population of 443,247, while the entire city has a population of 798,800 , making it the 30th-most populous city in the European Union.Leeds is the cultural, financial and commercial...

.

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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