Saint-Cyr-l'École 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 western 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 21.4 km (13.3 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...

.

It used to host the training school for officers of the French army, the École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr

École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr

The École Spéciale Militaire de Saint-Cyr is the foremost French military academy. Its official name is . It is often referred to as Saint-Cyr . Its motto is "Ils s'instruisent pour vaincre": literally "They study to vanquish" or "Training for victory"...

 (ESM), which was relocated to Coëtquidan

Coëtquidan

Camp Coëtquidan is a French military educational facility located in Guer, Morbihan département, in Brittany, France...

 in 1945.
The old buildings of the ESM are now used by the lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr

Lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr

Situated at Saint-Cyr-l'École , the lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr is one of six lycées de la Défense of the French Ministry of Defence. It is sited in a particularly historic building - it succeeds the Maison royale de Saint-Louis, the Prytanée militaire and the École spéciale militaire...

 (military high shcool of Saint-Cyr).

Inhabitants are called Saint-Cyriens.

Geography

Saint-Cyr lies in the arrondissement of Versailles

Versailles

Versailles , a city renowned for its château, the Palace of Versailles, was the de facto capital of the kingdom of France for over a century, from 1682 to 1789. It is now a wealthy suburb of Paris and remains an important administrative and judicial centre...

, west of the Park of Versailles.

History

King Louis XIV of France

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...

, at the request of Madame de Maintenon

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon

Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon was the second wife of King Louis XIV of France. She was known during her first marriage as Madame Scarron, and subsequently as Madame de Maintenon...

, founded Maison royale de Saint-Louis

Maison royale de Saint-Louis

The Maison Royale de Saint-Louis was a 'pensionnat' or boarding school for girls set up in 1684 at Saint-Cyr in France by king Louis XIV at the request of his second wife, Madame de Maintenon, who wanted a school for girls from impoverished noble families...

, an institute for young ladies, which later became a military hospital. Napoleon I

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...

 founded the military academy for infantry and cavalry officers in 1808.

The tomb of Madame de Maintenon lies in the Chapel.

Transport

Saint-Cyr-l'École is served by Saint-Cyr station, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line 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 , ...

, on the Transilien La Défense

Transilien La Défense

Transilien La Défense is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from La Défense station in Paris's business district of La Défense. Transilien service from La Défense is part of the SNCF Saint-Lazare rail network. Service consists of one...

 suburban rail line, and on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse

Transilien Paris – Montparnasse

Transilien Paris – Montparnasse is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare Montparnasse in the southwestern part of Paris. There are three lines in this sector , leading to Rambouillet, Dreux and Mantes-la-Jolie...

 suburban rail line.

Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole airfield is long established and lies on the edge of the commune. It is used by light aircraft flown by private pilot owners and by members of aero clubs. It is operated for public use by Aeroports de Paris

Aéroports de Paris

Aéroports de Paris or ADP is the airport authority that owns and manages the fourteen civil airports and airfields in the Île-de-France area. Among its notable airports are Charles de Gaulle International Airport, Orly Airport and Le Bourget Airport...

.