Dourdan

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Coordinates: 48°31′47″N 2°00′42″E / 48.52972, 2.01167

Commune of Dourdan
View of Dourdan
Location
Image:Paris_plan_pointer_b_jms.gif
Map highlighting the commune of
Coordinates 48°31′47″N 2°00′42″E / 48.52972, 2.01167
Administration
Country France
Region Île-de-France
Department Essonne
Arrondissement Étampes
Canton Chief town of 10 cantons
Intercommunality CC Le Dourdannais en Hurepoix
Mayor Olivier Legois
(2008-2014)
Statistics
Elevation 87 m–103 m
(avg. 95 m)
Land area¹ 30.64 km²
Population²
(1999)		 9,555
 - Density 312/km² (1999)
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code 91223/ 91150
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.
France

Dourdan is a commune of the département of Essonne and of the Île-de-France région of France, located in the metropolitan area of Paris.

Contents

[edit] Géography

Dourdan is on the river Orge in the western Essonne. The town is surrounded by some nice forests called Dourdan's forest (see Around Dourdan)

[edit] Demographics

At the 1999 census, the population was 9,555. The estimate for 2005 was 9,590.

Inhabitants of Dourdan are known as Dourdannais.

[edit] Twinnings

Dourdan has 4 twin towns:

[edit] 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 Dover. The radical "Dan" could have meant "hill".

Dourdan developed from the Gallo-Roman period because it was an important center of production of ceramics.

Dourdan was the residence of Hugues le Grand (the Great), father of Hugues Capet; he died there there 956.

Dourdan became a royal city 987, when Hugues Capet was crowned king.

In 1220, Philippe Auguste built a new castle. The most famous owners of the castle were: Blanche de Castile, Louis d'Évreux, Jean de Berry, François I de Guise (see House of Guise), Sully, Anne of Austria and th House of Orleans.

[edit] Transportation

Two stations are located in Dourdan: Dourdan and Dourdan-la-Forêt (Dourdan-the-forest), 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 Chateaudun. Both stations allow you to go to Paris and Versailles (trains leaves every 30 minutes).

[edit] Remarkable monuments

[edit] Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois Church

The construction begun in 1150 and was completed in the 14th century. It underwent important deteriorations on its high parts in 1428, on behalf of Salisbury, but was restored at the end of the 15th century. During the Religious wars, the church is again damaged. In 1641 the arrows were constructed and in 1689 Mary's chapel was built which increased by 14 meters the length of the building (from 36 to 50 metres).

[edit] The Castle

Main article: Château de Dourdan

Built at the request of Philippe Auguste 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 3 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 of the donjons being built by Philippe Auguste at this time (e.g. Rouen), and by french nobility through the 13th century.

The donjon separated from the castle by its own ditch
The donjon separated from the castle by its own ditch

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 VIP spent some time there:

The donjon was still a royal prison during 17th century. There is a museum of local history.

[edit] The market Hall

It was built in 1836 and is located in the downtown. It replaced the former hall from the 13th century. There is a floor to remind the former hall. The architect was Lucien-Tirte van Clemputte.

Townhall in front of François Mitterrand park
Townhall in front of François Mitterrand park

[edit] Around Dourdan

[edit] The Royal forest of Dourdan

This is an old Royal forest where the kings of France used to hunt. It's 17 square kilometers. 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).

[edit] English Speaking Expatriates

Banlieue 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.

Generally, via the internet, a look on services such as Yahoo Groups can yield a few useful resources with expat groups such as Live in France, English Speakers in France, Paris Sud or Webvivant. All of these can provide much needed advice and friendship to English speaking residents of the Île de France.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

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