Orsay
Encyclopedia
Orsay 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 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 southwestern 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...

, 20.7 km (12.9 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...

.

Inhabitants of Orsay are known as Orcéens.

History

There has been a village called Orsay on this site since 999, and the first church there was consecrated in 1157. From the sixteenth century, the town and surrounding area were owned by the Boucher family, and it was in honour of this family that Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...

 gave the quai d'Orsay
Quai d'Orsay
The Quai d'Orsay is a quai in the VIIe arrondissement of Paris, part of the left bank of the Seine, and the name of the street along it. The Quai becomes the Quai Anatole France east of the Palais Bourbon, and the Quai de Branly west of the Pont de l'Alma.The French Ministry of Foreign Affairs is...

its name. This is the reason that the Musée d'Orsay
Musée d'Orsay
The Musée d'Orsay is a museum in Paris, France, on the left bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, an impressive Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art dating from 1848 to 1915, including paintings, sculptures, furniture,...

 is not in Orsay. In the eighteenth century, the family of Grimod du Fort
Pierre Grimod du Fort
Pierre Grimaud du Fort was a fermier général and art collector under Louis XV, and a member of the famous Grimaud family. One of the richest fermiers, he was also superintendent of the Post Office....

 bought the land and received the title of comte d'Orsay.
In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, Orsay was occupied by the Prussian army.
88 young "Orcéens" were killed in the First World War.

In 1957, largely due to the influence of Frédéric
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie , born Jean Frédéric Joliot, was a French physicist and Nobel laureate.-Early years:...

 and Irène Joliot-Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie
Irène Joliot-Curie was a French scientist, the daughter of Marie Skłodowska-Curie and Pierre Curie and the wife of Frédéric Joliot-Curie. Jointly with her husband, Joliot-Curie was awarded the Nobel Prize for chemistry in 1935 for their discovery of artificial radioactivity. This made the Curies...

, the Institut de physique nucléaire
Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules
The Institut National de Physique Nucléaire et de Physique des Particules, better known as IN2P3, is a French Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique institute created in 1971. Its purpose is "to promote and unite research activities in the various fields of physics"....

 (nuclear physics institute) was opened in the Chevreuse valley, and the region, especially Orsay, became an important scientific centre. Another development was the creation of the Université de Paris-Sud, whose most important faculty is the faculty of science.

On 19 February 1977, a part of the territory of Orsay was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Bures-sur-Yvette
Bures-sur-Yvette
Bures-sur-Yvette is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Bures-sur-Yvette are known as Buressois.-Geography:...

 to create the commune of 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 :...

.

Transport

Orsay is served by two stations on Paris RER line B
RER B
The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France.The line runs from the northern termini Aéroport Charles de Gaulle and Mitry-Claye to the southern termini Robinson and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse ....

: Le Guichet
Le Guichet (Paris RER)
Le Guichet is one of the two station of Orsay, near Paris, in France. It's also the name of a district of this town. This station is built on a bridge, above the national road 118....

 and Orsay-Ville.

Nearby towns

  • Bures-sur-Yvette
    Bures-sur-Yvette
    Bures-sur-Yvette is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.Inhabitants of Bures-sur-Yvette are known as Buressois.-Geography:...

  • Gif-sur-Yvette
    Gif-sur-Yvette
    Gif-sur-Yvette is a commune in the south-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.-Geography:The town is crossed by and named after the Yvette river.The total area is and is green spaces and woods.-Place names:...

  • Saclay
    Saclay
    Saclay is a commune in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris.It is best known for the large scientific facility CEA Saclay, mostly dealing with nuclear and particle physics....

  • Palaiseau
    Palaiseau
    Palaiseau is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau....

  • Villebon-sur-Yvette
    Villebon-sur-Yvette
    Villebon-sur-Yvette is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France.The inhabitants of Villebon-sur-Yvette are known as Villebonnais.-Geography:...

  • 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 :...


Places of worship

Orsay has one Catholic church: Saint-Martin – Saint-Laurent, opposite the town hall. It boasts a fine organ.

Forested areas

  • The Bois des Rames around the university campus
  • The Bois Persan
  • Parc botanique de Launay
    Parc botanique de Launay
    The Parc botanique de Launay , sometimes known as the Parc botanique d'Orsay or the Parc de l'Université Paris XI, is a botanical garden located on the Université Paris-Sud XI campus at 3 rue Georges-Clemenceau, Orsay, Essonne, Île-de-France, France, and open daily; admission is free.The university...


Architecture

  • la Grande Bouvêche
  • la Pacaterie
  • le Temple de la Gloire
  • le château de Corbeville

Notable residents

  • Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt.
    Oswald Mosley
    Sir Oswald Ernald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, was an English politician, known principally as the founder of the British Union of Fascists...

    , leader of the British Union of Fascists
    British Union of Fascists
    The British Union was a political party in the United Kingdom formed in 1932 by Sir Oswald Mosley as the British Union of Fascists, in 1936 it changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists and then in 1937 to simply the British Union...

  • Lady Diana Mosley
    Diana Mitford
    Diana Mitford, Lady Mosley , was one of Britain's noted Mitford sisters. She was married first to Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, and secondly to Sir Oswald Mosley, 6th Baronet, of Ancoats, leader of the British Union of Fascists; her second marriage, in 1936, took place at the...

    , one of the Mitford sisters and wife of Sir Oswald Mosley
  • Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
    Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
    Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

    , later Duke of Windsor after abdicating the throne and marrying American divorcee Wallis Simpson
  • Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, American wife of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
    Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
    Edward VIII was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth, and Emperor of India, from 20 January to 11 December 1936.Before his accession to the throne, Edward was Prince of Wales and Duke of Cornwall and Rothesay...

  • Sega Keita
    Sega Keita
    Sega Keïta is a French football player of Senegalese descent who currently plays for French club Troyes in Ligue 2. He is a French youth international and is currently playing on the under-19 team...

    , footballer
  • Guy Demel
    Guy Demel
    Guy Roland Demel is a footballer who plays for West Ham United as a defender.-Club career:Born in Orsay, Paris, Demel started his professional career in the French Ligue 2 with Nîmes Olympique. He was discovered and bought by Arsenal, and spent a year there before being transferred to Borussia...

    , footballer
  • Mickael Antoine-Curier
    Mickaël Antoine-Curier
    Mickaël Antoine-Curier is a French born Guadeloupean professional footballer who currently plays in Cyprus for Ethnikos Achnas....

    , footballer
  • Teddy Venel
    Teddy Venel
    Teddy Venel is a French athlete who specialises in the 400 meters. Venel competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics.- References :...

    athlete

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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