Mantes-la-Jolie

For other places called Mantes, see Mantes (disambiguation).
Mantes-la-Jolie

The Collegiate Church of Our Lady, in Mantes

Coat of arms
Mantes-la-Jolie

Coordinates: 48°59′27″N 1°43′02″E / 48.9908°N 1.7172°E / 48.9908; 1.7172Coordinates: 48°59′27″N 1°43′02″E / 48.9908°N 1.7172°E / 48.9908; 1.7172
Country France
Region Île-de-France
Department Yvelines
Arrondissement Mantes-la-Jolie
Canton Mantes-la-Jolie
Intercommunality Mantes-en-Yvelines
Government
 • Mayor (2004–2010) Michel Vialay
Area1 9.38 km2 (3.62 sq mi)
Population (2006)2 42,365
 • Density 4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 78361 / 78200
Elevation 17–41 m (56–135 ft)
(avg. 34 m or 112 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Mantes-la-Jolie (French pronunciation: ​[mɑ̃t.la.ʒɔ.li], often informally called Mantes) 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, 48.4 km (30.1 mi) from the center of Paris. Mantes-la-Jolie is a sub-prefecture department.

History

Mantes was half way between the centres of power of the dukes of Normandy at Rouen and the Kings of France at Paris. Along with most of northern France, it changed hands frequently in the Hundred Years' War. Philip Augustus died at Mantes, 14 July 1223.

Louis XIV instituted the manufacture of musical instruments in Mantes, and it was chosen as the centre of brass and woodwind instrument manufacture. In the 19th century, painters were attracted to the town, particularly Corot, whose paintings of the bridge and the cathedral are celebrated. Prokofiev spent the summer of 1920 there orchestrating the ballet Chout.

Originally officially called Mantes-sur-Seine (meaning "Mantes upon Seine"), Mantes merged with the commune of Gassicourt in 1930 and the commune born of the merger was called Mantes-Gassicourt.

Mantes was the location of the first allied bridgehead across the Seine on 19 August 1944, by General Patton's 3rd Army. Major rebuilding was needed after the war.

On 7 May 1953, the commune of Mantes-Gassicourt was officially renamed Mantes-la-Jolie (meaning "Mantes the pretty"), allegedly in reference to a letter of King Henry IV addressed to his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées who resided in Mantes: "I am on my way to Mantes, my pretty".

Population

Palais de Justice

Inhabitants are called Mantais.

Le Val-Fourré, the largest housing project in the district, is extremely ghettoized, and is dominated by immigrants from the Maghreb, the majority of whom are Moroccan, and sub-Saharan immigrants, mostly from Senegal. It is the newest district of Mantes-la-Jolie, built in the sixties and seventies, home to 28,000 of the city's total 45,000 inhabitants.

Sights

The main monument in Mantes is the church of Notre-Dame dating back to 12th century. A previous church was burnt down by William the Conqueror together with the rest of the town, at the capture of which he lost his life in 1087. Modern bridges link Mantes with the town of Limay on the other side of the river.

Economy

Mantes is home to small businesses working on concrete and chemical processing, but is inevitably drawn into the economic area of nearby Paris.

It is historically and at present a center of musical instrument manufacturing. The well known Buffet-Crampon woodwind factory is located in the neighbourhood city of Mantes-la-Ville.

Transportation

Mantes-la-Jolie is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare and Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail lines: Mantes-Station and Mantes-la-Jolie. The Gare de Mantes-la-Jolie is also served by TGV trains towards Le Havre, Cherbourg, Strasbourg and Marseille.

Education

International relations

Mantes-la-Jolie is twinned with:

Notable people

See also

References

    External links

    Wikimedia Commons has media related to Mantes-la-Jolie.
    Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopædia Britannica article Mantes-sur-Seine.
    This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Friday, January 01, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.