commune
A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to:
Administrative-territorial entities
* Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township
** Communes of ...
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...
,
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
Essonne
Essonne () is a department of France in the southern Île-de-France region. It is named after the river Essonne. In 2019, it had a population of 1,301,659 across 194 communes.department.
Étampes, together with the neighboring communes of Morigny-Champigny and Brières-les-Scellés, form an
urban area
An urban area, built-up area or urban agglomeration is a human settlement with a high population density and infrastructure of built environment. Urban areas are created through urbanization and are categorized by urban morphology as cities ...
of 30,881 inhabitants (2018). This urban area is a "satellite city" of Paris.
History
Étampes () existed at the beginning of the 7th century and in the early
Middle Ages
In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire ...
belonged to the crown domain. During the Middle Ages it was the scene of several councils, the most notable of which took place in 1130 and resulted in the recognition of
Innocent II
Pope Innocent II ( la, Innocentius II; died 24 September 1143), born Gregorio Papareschi, was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 14 February 1130 to his death in 1143. His election as pope was controversial and the fi ...
as the legitimate pope. In 1652, during the war of the
Fronde
The Fronde () was a series of civil wars in France between 1648 and 1653, occurring in the midst of the Franco-Spanish War, which had begun in 1635. King Louis XIV confronted the combined opposition of the princes, the nobility, the law cour ...
it suffered severely at the hands of the royal troops under
Turenne
Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, vicomte de Turenne (11 September 161127 July 1675), commonly known as Turenne , was a French general and one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France. The most illustrious member of the ...
.
Geography
Étampes lies on the river Chalouette, a tributary of the Juine, which borders the eastern outskirts of the serene town.
Inhabitants of Étampes are known as ''Étampois''.
Transport
Étampes is served by two stations on Paris
RER line C
RER C is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its suburbs. The line crosses the region from north to south.
The li ...
A fine view of Étampes is obtained from the Tour Guinette, a keep (now ruined) built by Louis VI in the 12th century on an eminence on the other side of the railway. Notre-Dame du Fort, the chief church, dates from the 11th and 12th centuries; irregular in plan, it is remarkable for a fine Romanesque tower and spire, and for the crenellated wall which partly surrounds it. The interior contains ancient paintings and other artistic works. St Basile (12th and 16th centuries), preserves a Romanesque doorway, and St Martin (12th and 13th centuries), has a leaning tower of the 16th century.
The civil buildings offer little interest, but two houses named after Anne de Pisseleu, mistress of Francis I, and
Diane de Poitiers
Diane de Poitiers (9 January 1500 – 25 April 1566) was a French noblewoman and prominent courtier. She wielded much power and influence as King Henry II's royal mistress and adviser until his death. Her position increased her wealth and famil ...
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
architecture. In the square there is a statue of the naturalist,
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire
Étienne Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire (15 April 177219 June 1844) was a French naturalist who established the principle of "unity of composition". He was a colleague of Jean-Baptiste Lamarck and expanded and defended Lamarck's evolutionary theories ...
, who was born in Étampes.
Monuments and tourist attractions
File:Etampestour1.jpg, La Tour Guinette-the remains of Château d'Étampes
File:France_Essonne_Etampes_Hotel_de_Ville_02.jpg, L'Hôtel de Ville
File:France_Essonne_Etampes_Hotel_de_Ville_01.jpg, L'Hôtel de Ville
* Hôtel Anne de Pisseleu
* Théâtre built by the
architect
An architect is a person who plans, designs and oversees the construction of buildings. To practice architecture means to provide services in connection with the design of buildings and the space within the site surrounding the buildings that h ...
Gabriel Davioud
Jean-Antoine-Gabriel Davioud (; 30 October 1824 – 6 April 1881) was a French architect. He worked closely with Baron Haussmann on the transformation of Paris under Napoleon III during the Second Empire. Davioud is remembered for his contribution ...
in 1851-1852, paid for by a public subscription
* Regional leisure park (wave pool)
* Sculptures created by André Deluol: ''Vénus anadyomène'', ''La Terre'', ''Le Corbeau et le Renard'', ''Jeune fille et oiseau'', ''Un Ange'', ''Deux danseuses nues''
* The "Pergola de la Douce France" is located in the gardens of the Tour Guinette in Étampes and was part of a larger composition created in 1925 for the Exposition des Arts décoratifs et industriels. It was acquired by Étampes in 1934. The work comprises four large stone blocks on which sixteen bas-reliefs have been created by various sculptors. Georges Saupique executed the reliefs "Le Saint Graal" and "L'Aurochs".
* Louise Abbéma (1853–1927), painter, sculptor, and designer
*
Jean-Marc Fessard
Jean-Marc Fessard (born 31 October 1969) is a French classical clarinetist.
Life
Born in Étampes, Fessard studied at the Conservatoire de Paris ( 1st prize for clarinet, bass clarinet, and chamber music) at the Paris 8 University (master of m ...
Prix des Deux Magots The Prix des Deux Magots is a major French literary prize. It is presented to new works, and is generally awarded to works that are more off-beat and less conventional than those that receive the more mainstream Prix Goncourt.
The name derives from ...
Carcassonne and Trèbes attack
On 23 March 2018, there was a series of Islamist terrorist attacks in the towns of Carcassonne and Trèbes in southern France. Redouane Lakdim, a 25-year-old French-Moroccan (born 11 April 1992 in Taza, Morocco), shot the two occupants of a ca ...