Meudon

Meudon
Town hall
Paris and inner ring départements
Location within Île-de-France region  Meudon
Administration
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Hauts-de-Seine
Arrondissement	Boulogne-Billancourt
Canton	Meudon
Intercommunality	Arc de Seine
Mayor	Hervé Marseille (NC) (2001–present)
Statistics
Elevation	28–179 m (92–587 ft) (avg. 103 m/338 ft)
Land area1	9.90 km2 (3.82 sq mi)
Population2	45,682  (2006)
- Density	4,614 /km2 (11,950 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	92048/ 92190, 92360
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.

Coordinates: 48°48′27″N 2°14′25″E / 48.8075°N 2.24027777778°E / 48.8075; 2.24027777778

Meudon (French pronunciation: [mø.dɔ̃]) is a municipality in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is in the département of Hauts-de-Seine. It is located 9.1 km (5.7 mi) from the center of Paris.

Geography

The town of Meudon is built on the hills and valleys of the Seine. The wood of Meudon lies for the most part to the west of the town. The northwest part of Meudon, overlooking the Seine, is known as Bellevue ("beautiful view").

History

At Meudon, the Argile Plastique clay was extensively mined in the 19th century. The first fossil of the European diatryma Gastornis parisiensis was discovered in these deposits by Gaston Planté.

Archaeological sites show that Meudon has been populated since Neolithic times.

The Gauls called the area Mol-Dum (sand dune), and the Romans Latinized the name as Moldunum.

The handsome Galliera Institutions, on the hill of Fleury, were founded by the duchess of Galliera for the care of aged persons and orphans. The buildings were completed in 1885.

Main article: Château de Meudon

The old castle of Meudon was rebuilt in Renaissance style in the mid-sixteenth century. It was bought by Louis XIV as a residence for Louis, le Grand Dauphin, under whom Meudon became a center of aristocratic life. After the death of le Grand Dauphin in 1711 the château was neglected, emptied in the Revolutionary sales, and finally burned at the close of the Franco-Prussian War, 1871, while it was occupied by Prussian soldiers. A branch of the Paris Observatory was founded in 1877 on the ruins. The Meudon town hall sits some 43 m (141.08 ft) in altitude above that of Paris and the climb from there to the observatory offers some rewarding views of Paris.

Automotive Pioneering

Nicolas-Joseph Cugnot, the inventor of the 'world's first automobile', is reported to have carried out some early trials at Meudon in the early 1770s.

Pioneering Aviation

Chalais-Meudon was important in the pioneering of aviation, initially balloons and airships, but also the early powered craft. 'Hangar Y' (at 48°47′52″N 2°13′59″E / 48.7977°N 2.233°E / 48.7977; 2.233) was built in 1880 on request of the military engineer Captain Charles Renard (1847–1905), for the construction of balloons and airships. The building is 70 meters long, 24 meters wide and around 26 meters high. The airship 'La France', designed by Charles Renard and Arthur Krebs, was built in Hangar Y in 1884 and was the first airship which was controllable during flight and which could return to its starting point.^[1]

Economy

Although a choice residential district, access to the railway (RER) and the Seine River have made Meudon a manufacturing center since the 1840s. Metal products and military explosives have been continuously produced here since then.

Scientific facilities

In addition to the Observatory, what is today ONERA, a national research institute on aerospace topics (and wind tunnels), has been present since the military opened its aerostatic (lighter-than-air) field in the Chalais park in 1877. From 1921 to 1981 the Air Museum was located here until it moved to Le Bourget Airport.

CNRS has a campus in Bellevue.

Transport

Meudon Val Fleury Station

Meudon is served by Meudon – Val Fleury station on Paris RER line C. Meudon is also served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail line: Meudon and Bellevue.

Finally Meudon is served by the Meudon-sur-Seine station on the Paris tramway line T2.

The area was once served by the Bellevue funicular, a model of which is in the local Museum of Art and History.

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Meudon is twinned with:

• Mazkeret Batia, Israel
• Celle, Germany^[2]
• Farnborough, England
• Aldershot, England
• Brezno, Slovakia
• Ciechanow, Poland

Personalities

• Rodin's villa des Brillants, now a museum of his art, is located here, as is his grave.
• Grand Duke Boris Vladimirovich of Russia lived here in exile in Château Sans-Souci (in Bellevue), from 1920.
• Richard Wagner was a resident (No. 27 Av. du Château), and here composed The Flying Dutchman.
• Louis-Ferdinand Céline lived here until his death, and is buried in Bas Meudon.
• Painter May Alcott lived here until her death.
• Artists Jean Arp and Sophie Taeuber-Arp were resident here from 1929-1940. Their neighbours were the artist and architect Theo van Doesburg and his wife Nelly.
• The town has a monument to Rabelais who died here as canon of Meudon, where he held the benefice from 1551-1552.
• Charle-Michel Marle, mathematician, born in 1934, has lived in Meudon since 1970.
• Jean-Luc Marion was born in 1946.
• Clémence Poésy, French actress best known for her portrayal of Fleur Delacour in the Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire movie.
• Lionel Jospin, former France prime minister was born here.
• André Kertész, photographer legend, took a famous photo of the train viaduct in Meudon.
• Marcel Dupré, perhaps the most famous French organist of the 20th century, lived and worked in Meudon. He transformed his home into a small concert hall; the current owners of the home still hold public concerts there.^[3]
• Actor Johnny Depp and his partner Vanessa Paradis maintain a permanent home in Meudon.
• Nicolas Isimat-Mirin, footballer
• Gregoire Defrel, footballer
• Adama Soumare, footballer

See also

• Communes of the Hauts-de-Seine department

References

• INSEE

Notes

1. ^ Ville de Meudon, Aviation, Archdeacon and Wright No 3
2. ^ "Stadt Celle". www.celle.de. http://www.celle.de/index.phtml?sNavID=342.65&La=2. Retrieved 2010-01-05. 
3. ^ l'Association pour la Sauvegarde de l'Orgue de Marcel Dupré

External links

• Ville de Meudon website
• Le musée de Meudon
• Observatoire de Paris (Paris Observatory)