Ermenonville () is a
commune in the
Oise
Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...
department, northern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. Located near Paris, Ermenonville is notable for its park named for
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
Jean-Jacques Rousseau (, ; ; 28 June 1712 – 2 July 1778) was a Republic of Geneva, Genevan philosopher (''philosophes, philosophe''), writer, and composer. His political philosophy influenced the progress of the Age of Enlightenment through ...
by
René Louis de Girardin. Rousseau's tomb was designed by the painter
Hubert Robert, and sits on the Isle of Poplars in its lake.
History
On 3 March 1974,
Turkish Airlines Flight 981 crashed in the
Ermenonville Forest in
Fontaine-Chaalis,
Oise
Oise ( ; ; ) is a department in the north of France. It is named after the river Oise. Inhabitants of the department are called ''Oisiens'' () or ''Isariens'', after the Latin name for the river, Isara. It had a population of 829,419 in 2019.< ...
, near Ermenonville killing all 346 occupants onboard.
Three town councilors died on 1 June 2009 when
Air France Flight 447
Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled international passenger flight from Rio de Janeiro/Galeão International Airport, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Charles de Gaulle Airport, Paris, France. On 1 June 2009, inconsistent airspeed indications and mi ...
crashed into the Atlantic killing all 228 occupants onboard.
Park
The
garden
A garden is a planned space, usually outdoors, set aside for the cultivation, display, and enjoyment of plants and other forms of nature. The single feature identifying even the wildest wild garden is ''control''. The garden can incorporate bot ...
at Ermenonville was one of the earliest and finest examples of the
French landscape garden. The garden at Ermenonville was planned beginning in 1762 by Marquis
René Louis de Girardin, the friend and final patron of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Girardin's master plan drew its inspiration from Rousseau's novels and philosophy of the nobility of Nature.
Rousseau's tomb is prominently situated on the
artificial island
An artificial island or man-made island is an island that has been Construction, constructed by humans rather than formed through natural processes. Other definitions may suggest that artificial islands are lands with the characteristics of hum ...
in Ermenonville's lake. It is remarked that
Hubert Robert was the architect. Completed by 1778 with care and craft, the garden came to resemble a natural environment, almost a wilderness, appearing untouched by any human intervention. Girardin admired the work of
William Shenstone at
The Leasowes and made a (decorative farm) at Ermenonville. An imitation of Rousseau's island is at
Dessau-Wörlitz Garden Realm, Germany.
During the early nineteenth century it was much visited and admired. The garden at Ermenonville was described by Girardin's son in 1811 in an elegant tour-book with
aquatint plates that reveal Girardin's love of diverse vistas that capture painterly landscape effects. Enhancing the elegiac mood of these views were the altars and monuments, the 'Rustic Temple', and other details meant to evoke Rousseau's ''
Julie, ou la nouvelle Héloïse''.
Nearby is Rousseau's 'cabin' in the secluded désert of Ermenonville.
Napoleon Bonaparte visited Ermenonville, where he remarked to Girardin that it might have been better for the French peace if neither he nor Rousseau had ever been born. Girardin retold this story again and again after the fact.
Population
Ermenonville has a population of 1,007. Its proximity to
Charles de Gaulle Airport causes it to have the highest-density of
Air France
Air France (; legally ''Société Air France, S.A.''), stylised as AIRFRANCE, is the flag carrier of France, and is headquartered in Tremblay-en-France. The airline is a subsidiary of the Air France-KLM Group and is one of the founding members ...
employees among French communes.
See also
*
Communes of the Oise department
The following is a list of the 680 Communes of France, communes of the Oise Departments of France, department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following Communes of France#Intercommunality, intercommunalities (as of 2025):
References
External links
*
*
Château d'Ermenonville website
{{Authority control
Communes of Oise