Rambouillet
Rambouillet (IPA: [ʁɑ̃bujɛ]) is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France in north-central France.It is located in the suburbs of Paris 44.3 km (27.5 mi) southwest from the center. Rambouillet is a sub-prefecture of the department.
Rambouillet lies on the edge of the vast Forest of Rambouillet (Forêt de Rambouillet or Forêt de l'Yveline), and is famous for its historical castle, the Château de Rambouillet, which hosted several international summits. Due to its proximity to Paris and Versailles, Rambouillet has long been an occasional seat of government.
History
The history of Rambouillet is linked to that of its castle. In a more recent time, in 1999, Rambouillet was in the spotlight during the Kosovo Crisis, where parties to this conflict met in February/March 1999 under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The meeting was meant to end the crisis there, with calls for restoration of Kosovo's autonomy, ceasefire by Yugoslavian military forces and allow NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. Yugoslavian authorities refused to sign the Rambouillet Agreement, claiming a deferred independence to Kosovo. This started the Kosovo War: NATO's reaction to the refusal to sign the agreement was an air strike on Yugoslavia carried out between March and June 1999.
Transport
Rambouillet is served by the SNCF Rambouillet train station on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail line to Chartres.
Features
- The Palais du Roi de Rome. In 1784, on a parcel adjacent to the gardens of the castle, Louis XVI had ordered the construction of the Hôtel du Gouvernement, which was restored during the reign of Napoléon I, and renamed Palais du Roi de Rome as the official Rambouillet residence of Napoleon 's infant son.
- The Hôtel de Ville, the former Bailliage (Bailiwicks building) was built in 1786 at the request of Louis XVI by the architect Jean-Jacques Thévenin. It was given by Emperor Napoléon I to the inhabitants of Rambouillet to serve as their City Hall. The inscription over the doors of the City Hall reads "Gifted to the inhabitants of Rambouillet by Napoleon the Great, [in the] Year 1809".
- The new Saint-Lubin church was built between 1868 and 1871. Its architect was Anatole de Baudot.
- The Bergerie nationale was built on the grounds of the Domain of Rambouillet at the request of Louis XVI, and is the home of the Rambouillet Merino sheep since 1786.[2]
- The Laiterie de la Reine, the Queen's Dairy also built on the grounds of the Domain of Rambouillet, is adjacent to the Bergerie. It was built in 1787 at the request of Louis XVI for his wife Marie Antoinette and designed by the architect Jean-Jacques Thévenin.[3]
- The Chaumière des coquillages, a thatched-roof cottage with its marble interior decorated with shells and mother of pearl, was built in 1779-1780 in the English garden of the Domain of Rambouillet by Claude-Martin Goupy, the architect of the duc de Penthièvre, for the princesse de Lamballe, Penthièvre's widowed daughter-in-law.
- The Musée Rambolitrain, situated across from the Saint-Lubin church, is a museum featuring miniature trains[4]. We find the a faithful reconstruction of a Parisian toy store of the 1930s [5].
- The Monument Américain (The American Eagle Monument), is situated at the south entrance of the town on the D 906 road to Chartres, at the site of two ambushes in which seven American soldiers were killed, on 16 August 1944. The monument was erected in 1947. It bears the inscription: "À la mémoire des soldats américains tombés pour la libération de notre région en août 1944", "In memory of the American soldiers fallen for the liberation of our region in August 1944". The names of nine American soldiers are inscribed on a plaque on the monument. Commemorative ceremonies are held at the monument every 19 August.[6][7]
People
who were born in Rambouillet:
who lived in Rambouillet:
- Charles d'Angennes, marquis de Rambouillet, and his wife Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet
- Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier and his wife Julie d'Angennes, the daughter of Charles d'Angennes and Catherine de Vivonne
- Napoleon I, Emperor of the French
- Charles X, king of France
- Théodore Gosselin, French author and historian, who wrote under the pen name G. Lenotre
- Ernest Hemingway, American writer and journalist, lived a few days in Rambouillet in August 1944
- Charles de Gaulle
- Benoit Huvet, General Director of Eurogerm
who died in Rambouillet:
International relations
Twin towns — sister cities
Rambouillet is twinned with:
See also
References
- ^ G. Lenotre, Le château de Rambouillet : six siècles d'histoire, Éditions Calmann-Lévy, collection « Châteaux : décors de l'histoire », Paris, 1930.
- ^ http://www.bergerie-nationale.educagri.fr/presentation.htm (French)
- ^ http://chaumiere-laiterie-rambouillet.monuments-nationaux.fr/en/
- ^ http://www.ramboliweb.com/museerambolitrain/index.asp (French)
- ^ http://www.rambouillet.fr/Musee-Rambolitrain,628.html (French)
- ^ http://fr.topic-topos.com/monument-americain-rambouillet (French)
- ^ Françoise Winieska, Août 1944, la Libération de Rambouillet, France, Société Historique et Archéologique de Rambouillet et de l'Yveline (SHARY), Rambouillet, 1999, ISBN 2-9514047-0-0, English version by author under the title August 1944, the Liberation of Rambouillet, France, published by SHARY under same cover, ISBN 2-9514047-0-0.
External links
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