Le Chesnay () is a former commune in the

Yvelines Yvelines () is a Departments of France, department in the western part of the Île-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.department in the

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in north-central

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. On 1 January 2019, it was merged into the new commune Le Chesnay-Rocquencourt. It is located in the western suburbs of

Paris Paris () is the capital and 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), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, from the center of Paris.

History

On 1 July 1815,

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader wh ...

Grande Armée ''La Grande Armée'' (; ) was the main military component of the French Imperial Army commanded by Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. From 1804 to 1808, it won a series of military victories that allowed the French Em ...

fought its last battle in

Rocquencourt Rocquencourt refers to two places in France: * Rocquencourt, Yvelines * Rocquencourt, Oise {{geodis ...

and Le Chesnay. After the defeat of Waterloo on 18 June 1815, Grouchy's army withdrew to

via

Namur Namur (; ; nl, Namen ; wa, Nameur) is a city and municipality in Wallonia, Belgium. It is both the capital of the province of Namur and of Wallonia, hosting the Parliament of Wallonia, the Government of Wallonia and its administration. Na ...

and

Dinant Dinant () is a city and municipality of Wallonia located in the province of Namur, Belgium. On the shores of river Meuse, in the Ardennes, it lies south-east of Brussels, south-east of Charleroi and south of the city of Namur. Dinant is situ ...

, reaching Paris on 29 June, a few days before the

Prussia Prussia, , Old Prussian: ''Prūsa'' or ''Prūsija'' was a German state on the southeast coast of the Baltic Sea. It formed the German Empire under Prussian rule when it united the German states in 1871. It was ''de facto'' dissolved by an e ...

ns, who camped at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, ...

. While negotiating the final

armistice An armistice is a formal agreement of warring parties to stop fighting. It is not necessarily the end of a war, as it may constitute only a cessation of hostilities while an attempt is made to negotiate a lasting peace. It is derived from the ...

, Exelmans was ordered to attack the Prussians at

on 1 July 1815. Under attack the Prussians retreated from Versailles and headed east, but were blocked by the French at Vélizy. They failed to re-enter Versailles and headed for Saint-Germain-en-Laye. Their first squadron came under fire at the entrance of Rocquencourt and attempted to escape through the fields. They were forced into a small, narrow street in Le Chesnay and killed or captured. However, the main body of the Prussian army succeeded in reaching Saint-Germain. (Fro
Presentation of Rocquencourt

Transport

Le Chesnay is not served by any station of the

Paris Métro The Paris Métro (french: Métro de Paris ; short for Métropolitain ) is a rapid transit system in the Paris metropolitan area, France. A symbol of the city, it is known for its density within the capital's territorial limits, uniform architec ...

, RER, or suburban rail network. The closest station to Le Chesnay is Versailles – Rive Droite station on the

Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare Transilien Paris-Saint-Lazare is one of the sectors in the Paris Transilien suburban rail network. The trains on this sector depart from Gare Saint-Lazare in central Paris and serve the north and north-west of Île-de-France region with Transilien ...

suburban rail line. This station is located in the neighboring city of

, from the town center of Le Chesnay.

LDS Temple

In April 2017, the

Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a nontrinitarian Christian church that considers itself to be the restoration of the original church founded by Jesus Christ. The ...

opened its first

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

to the public prior to its dedication on May 21, 2017. The Paris France Temple is located in Le Chesnay near the outer gardens of the

Château de Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed ...

. The Pape'ete Tahiti Temple was built earlier and is in

Overseas France Overseas France (french: France d'outre-mer) consists of 13 France, French-administered territories outside Europe, mostly the remains of the French colonial empire that chose to remain a part of the French state under various statuses after ...

, in Pape'ete,

Tahiti Tahiti (; Tahitian ; ; previously also known as Otaheite) is the largest island of the Windward group of the Society Islands in French Polynesia. It is located in the central part of the Pacific Ocean and the nearest major landmass is Austra ...

Notable residents

Laura Georges Laura Stéphanie Georges (born 20 August 1984) is a French retired footballer who is the Secretary General of the French Football Federation. She last played for German club Bayern Munich of the Bundesliga, and served as the first-choice captai ...

, footballer *

Nicolas Godin Nicolas Godin (born 25 December 1969) is a French musician best known for being half of the music duo Air. Early life Godin was born in Paris, Île-de-France, France, and studied architecture at the École Nationale Supérieure d'Architecture ...

(1969), member of music group Air *

Cyrille Eldin Cyrille is both a French masculine given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: People with the given name * Cyrille Adoula (1921–1978), Congolese politician who served as Premier of the Republic of the Congo (1961&ndash ...

(1973), journalist *

Thomas Lombard Thomas Lombard (born July 5, 1975 in Le Chesnay), is a French rugby union player. Thomas Lombard began playing Rugby Union with Racing but he moved to Stade Français with whom he won four top 14s. After a new title in 2004, he left Paris to pl ...

(1975),

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

player * Nicolas Anelka (1979), "Le Sulk",

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugb ...

Tristan Gommendy Tristan Gommendy (born 4 January 1979) is a French professional racing driver who currently competes in the European Le Mans Series with Duqueine Engineering. Racing career Early career Born in Le Chesnay, Yvelines, Gommendy began his profess ...

(1979), racing driver * Kevin Staut (1980),

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or Riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

Sébastien Rouault Sébastien Rouault (born 24 February 1986) is a male freestyle swimmer from France, who competed for his native country at the 2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as ...

(1986),

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

Victor Wembanyama Victor Wembanyama (born 4 January 2004) is a French professional basketball player for Metropolitans 92 of the LNB Pro A. He is widely projected to be the first overall pick in the 2023 NBA draft and is considered one of the greatest prospects ...

, basketball player

Hospital

André Mignot Hospital The André Mignot Hospital is a celebrated teaching hospital in Le Chesnay. Part of the ''Centre Hospitalier de Versailles'' and a teaching hospital of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University. It has been created in 1981. It was named in ...

Education

Public preschools:Les écoles publiques primaires
" Le Chesnay. Retrieved on September 3, 2016. * Maryse Bastié *

Hélène Boucher Hélène Boucher (23 May 1908 - 30 November 1934) was a well-known French pilot in the early 1930s, when she set several women's world speed records and the all-comers record for 1,000 km (621 mi) in 1934. She was killed in an accident ...

* Jean-Louis Forain *

Jean de La Fontaine Jean de La Fontaine (, , ; 8 July 162113 April 1695) was a French fabulist and one of the most widely read French poets of the 17th century. He is known above all for his ''Fables'', which provided a model for subsequent fabulists across Euro ...

Mozart Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...

Charles Perrault Charles Perrault ( , also , ; 12 January 1628 – 16 May 1703) was an iconic French author and member of the Académie Française. He laid the foundations for a new literary genre, the fairy tale, with his works derived from earlier folk tale ...

Public elementary schools: * Guynemer * Langevin * Le Nôtre *

Molière Jean-Baptiste Poquelin (, ; 15 January 1622 (baptised) – 17 February 1673), known by his stage name Molière (, , ), was a French playwright, actor, and poet, widely regarded as one of the greatest writers in the French language and world ...

Public secondary schools:L'enseignement secondaire public
" Le Chesnay. Retrieved on September 3, 2016. * Collège

Charles Péguy Charles Pierre Péguy (; 7 January 1873 – 5 September 1914) was a French poet, essayist, and editor. His two main philosophies were socialism and nationalism. By 1908 at the latest, after years of uneasy agnosticism, he had become a believing b ...

- Junior high school * Lycée Jean Moulin - Senior high school/sixth form college The commune is also served by senior high schools/sixth form colleges in

: ,

Lycée Hoche The Lycée Hoche is a public secondary school located in Versailles, France. Formerly, it had been a nunnery founded by French queen Marie Leszczyńska. However, after the French Revolution, it became a school in 1803. In 1888, the school was nam ...

, Lycée Marie-Curie, Lycée Jules-Ferry, and Lycée Jacques-Prévert. There is one private school, Blanche de Castille, with a preschool and elementary school campus, and a junior high school and senior high school campus. Universities: * Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University There is also a municipal library, la Bibliothèque du Chesnay.Home
Bibliothèque du Chesnay (Le Chesnay Library). Retrieved on September 3, 2016.

References

External links

Official website
(in French) {{DEFAULTSORT:Chesnay Former communes of Yvelines Populated places disestablished in 2019