Épône
Encyclopedia
Épône is a commune
in the Yvelines
department in the Île-de-France
region
in north-central France
. It is situated on the left bank of the River Seine
40 kilometres (25 mi) west of Paris
. It is the most populous commune in the Guerville canton. Together with Mézières-sur-Seine
and La Falaise
, it forms a settlement of around 10,000 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are known as Épônois.
The name comes from the Latin Spedona and, according to Daniel Bricon, has no link to Epona
the Gaulish goddess of horses and protector of horseriders.
and 36 kilometres north west of Versailles
.
The commune is bordered by Gargenville
to the north (on the opposite bank of the Seine), Aubergenville
and La Falaise
to the east, Maule
to the south east, Jumeauville
and Goussonville
to the south west, and Mézières-sur-Seine
to the west.
The commune is relatively large, covering 1300 hectares in total. It consists of three main parts.
type that is typical of the Ile-de-France
region. The average temperatures vary between 2-5°C in January to 14-25°C in July. Annual rainfall is relatively low at around 600 millimetres per year, with October to January the rainiest months.
|-
|align="left" |Built-up urban space
|align="right" |20 %
|align="right" |261.35
|-
|align="left" |Unbuilt urban space
|align="right" |7 %
|align="right" |88.29
|-
|align="left" |Rural space
|align="right" |74 %
|align="right" |983.51
|}
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 Yvelines
Yvelines
Yvelines is a French department in the region of Île-de-France.-History:Yvelines was created from the western part of the defunct department of Seine-et-Oise on 1 January 1968 in accordance with a law passed on 10 January 1964 and a décret d'application from 26 February 1965.It gained the...
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...
. It is situated on the left bank of the River 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...
40 kilometres (25 mi) west 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...
. It is the most populous commune in the Guerville canton. Together with Mézières-sur-Seine
Mézières-sur-Seine
Mézières-sur-Seine 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, near the bank of the Seine west of Paris....
and La Falaise
La Falaise
La Falaise is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-References:*...
, it forms a settlement of around 10,000 inhabitants. Its inhabitants are known as Épônois.
The name comes from the Latin Spedona and, according to Daniel Bricon, has no link to Epona
Epona
In Gallo-Roman religion, Epona was a protector of horses, donkeys, and mules. She was particularly a goddess of fertility, as shown by her attributes of a patera, cornucopia, ears of grain and the presence of foals in some sculptures suggested that the goddess and her horses were leaders of the...
the Gaulish goddess of horses and protector of horseriders.
Geography
Situated in the north west of Yvelines at the confluence of the rivers Mauldre and Seine, Épône is located in the Mantois at around 10 kilometres to the east of Mantes-la-JolieMantes-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:...
and 36 kilometres north west 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...
.
The commune is bordered by Gargenville
Gargenville
Gargenville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France....
to the north (on the opposite bank of the Seine), Aubergenville
Aubergenville
Aubergenville is a commune in the Yvelines department in north-central France. It is located between Mantes-la-Jolie and Saint-Germain-en-Laye, in the valley of the Seine...
and La Falaise
La Falaise
La Falaise is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.-References:*...
to the east, Maule
Maule, Yvelines
Maule is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France....
to the south east, Jumeauville
Jumeauville
Jumeauville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.-References:*...
and Goussonville
Goussonville
Goussonville is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France....
to the south west, and Mézières-sur-Seine
Mézières-sur-Seine
Mézières-sur-Seine 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, near the bank of the Seine west of Paris....
to the west.
The commune is relatively large, covering 1300 hectares in total. It consists of three main parts.
- The south: limestone plateaus, at an altitude of around 130 metres, mainly used for growing crops. The hamlet of Vélannes is also found here.
- The north: the river valley at an altitude of around 20 metres, used for agriculture, and transport links, as well as housing around the railway.
- Centre: the old town, situated on the hillside around the tenth century church.
Climate
Épône has a temperate climate of oceanicOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
type that is typical of the Ile-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. The average temperatures vary between 2-5°C in January to 14-25°C in July. Annual rainfall is relatively low at around 600 millimetres per year, with October to January the rainiest months.
Land usage
(hectares)|-
|align="left" |Built-up urban space
|align="right" |20 %
|align="right" |261.35
|-
|align="left" |Unbuilt urban space
|align="right" |7 %
|align="right" |88.29
|-
|align="left" |Rural space
|align="right" |74 %
|align="right" |983.51
|}
The majority of the commune is essentially rural (74%), with urban space accounting for around 20% of the total.
The town area falls into three main groups; the old walled town, the Vélannes hamlet and the
Élisabethville area in the alluvial plain. The urban area is more developed at the eastern end of the commune at the edge of the hamlet of Villeneuve (Mézières), and an additional hamlet of around a dozen homes in the area known as "Canada" at the southern end.
Épône includes a part (1500 out of the 4000 inhabitants) of the "garden city" of Élisabethville. Created in the 1920s and named after the then queen of Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, the area became popular among Parisians looking to escape the city during the années folles for its beach on the banks of the Seine, its casino
Casino
In modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
and 18-holes golf
Golf
Golf is a precision club and ball sport, in which competing players use many types of clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a golf course using the fewest number of strokes....
course. It retains one of the first churches built from reinforced concrete, built in 1928 by the architect Paul Tournon and dedicated to Saint Theresa
Thérèse de Lisieux
Saint Thérèse of Lisieux , or Saint Thérèse of the Child Jesus and the Holy Face, born Marie-Françoise-Thérèse Martin, was a French Carmelite nun...
.
The majority of the houses (~75% ) are detached, but there are also around 600 homes in collective housing in the town centre, mainly council housing from the 1960s to accommodate employees of the Renault
Renault
Renault S.A. is a French automaker producing cars, vans, and in the past, autorail vehicles, trucks, tractors, vans and also buses/coaches. Its alliance with Nissan makes it the world's third largest automaker...
factory.
Economic activity centres around the railway station in an industrial zone bordering the motorway and the RD133 road.
Rural land is principally given to agriculture, with wooded land occupying an additional 20% (primarily the Lourdet and Étibot woods in the south of the commune). There is also a small lake in the Seine valley near Élisabethville on the site of a former gravel pit now converted to a nature reserve.
People linked with Épône
- Hérault de SéchellesMarie-Jean Hérault de SéchellesMarie-Jean Hérault de Séchelles was a French judge and politician who took part in the French Revolution.-Origins and early career:...
(1759–1794), former lord of Épône, representative of Seine-et-OiseSeine-et-OiseSeine-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....
in the National ConventionNational ConventionDuring the French Revolution, the National Convention or Convention, in France, comprised the constitutional and legislative assembly which sat from 20 September 1792 to 26 October 1795 . It held executive power in France during the first years of the French First Republic...
, beheaded in 1794, and author of Théorie de l'ambition, codicille politique pratique d’un jeune habitant d’Épône - Alphonse Durand (1814–1882), architect. Died in Épône on August 4, 1882.
- Émile Sergent (1867–1943), professor of medicine, president of the Académie de médecine and director of Boucicaut Hospital, Paris during the Second World War.
- Max Brusset (1909–1992), politician (mayor of Royan).
- Daniel Bricon (1928–2004), teacher and historian, author of a history of Épône (1982) ;
- Dominique de Roux (1935–1977), writer and journalist. Worked at the château d'Épône owned by her father-in-law, Max Brusset ;
- Pierre Amouroux, conseiller général of Yvelines, mayor of Épône between 1977 and 2004, and MP between 2004 and 2007.
Twin towns
"Sponsorship" of Doïna-GirovGirovGirov is a commune located 11 km east of Piatra Neamţ, Romania on the road DN15D , on the Cracău River valley. It is composed of nine villages: Boţeşti, Căciuleşti, Dăneşti, Doina, Girov, Gura Văii, Popeşti, Turtureşti and Verşeşti. It also included Băluşeşti and Dochia villages from 1968 to...
, RomaniaRomaniaRomania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
organised by "Les Amis de Doïna Girov" to provide humanitarian help to the Romanian village.
Education
- Schools :
- Three nursery schools: Les Pervenches, Les Lavandes, Les Perce-Neiges (Élisabethville),
- Three primary schools: Jean de la Fontaine, Blaise Pascal, Louis Pasteur (Élisabethville).
- Secondary school: Benjamin Franklin (opened 1982), home to 600 pupils from neighbouring communes Épône, Mézières-sur-Seine and La Falaise. Its name is derived from the fact that Franklin stayed in Épône when he was Ambassador in France.
Pupils usually then move to the Vincent Van Gogh
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh , and used Brabant dialect in his writing; it is therefore likely that he himself pronounced his name with a Brabant accent: , with a voiced V and palatalized G and gh. In France, where much of his work was produced, it is...
lycée
Secondary education in France
In France, secondary education is in two stages:* collèges cater for the first four years of secondary education from the ages of 11 to 14...
at Aubergenville.