Montlhéry () is a

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 ...

in the

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 in

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 ...

in northern

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 ...

. It is located from

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 ...

History

Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to

Orléans Orléans (;"Orleans"
(US) and Merovingians The Merovingian dynasty () was the ruling family of the Franks from the middle of the 5th century until 751. They first appear as "Kings of the Franks" in the Roman army of northern Gaul. By 509 they had united all the Franks and northern Gauli ...

, it was owned by the church in Reims and in 768 it was given to the abbey of St. Denis in Paris. It was the site of a number of battles between the lords of Montlhéry and the early

Capetian The Capetian dynasty (; french: Capétiens), also known as the House of France, is a dynasty of Frankish origin, and a branch of the Robertians. It is among the largest and oldest royal houses in Europe and the world, and consists of Hugh Ca ...

monarchy. The Montlhéry noble house was related to the Montmorency family; Thibaud, the founder of the Montlhéry dynasty, was the brother of Bouchard II, the progenitor of the Montmorency house. Thibaud ruled from 970 to 1031 and was succeeded by his son Guy I, who ruled until 1095. Guy I's children married into other local noble families: his daughter Melisende married Hugh,

count of Rethel This is a list of counts and dukes of Rethel. The first counts of Rethel ruled independently, before the county passed first to the Counts of Nevers, then to the Counts of Flanders, and finally to the Dukes of Burgundy. In 1405 the County became pa ...

, and another daughter Elizabeth married Joscelin of Courtenay. Through these marriages and subsequent Montlhéry participation on the

First Crusade The First Crusade (1096–1099) was the first of a series of religious wars, or Crusades, initiated, supported and at times directed by the Latin Church in the medieval period. The objective was the recovery of the Holy Land from Islamic r ...

, Guy I was the ancestor of the ruling dynasties of the crusader

Kingdom of Jerusalem The Kingdom of Jerusalem ( la, Regnum Hierosolymitanum; fro, Roiaume de Jherusalem), officially known as the Latin Kingdom of Jerusalem or the Frankish Kingdom of Palestine,Example (title of works): was a Crusader state that was establish ...

and the

County of Edessa The County of Edessa (Latin: ''Comitatus Edessanus'') was one of the Crusader states in the 12th century. Ferdinandi, Sergio (2017). La Contea Franca di Edessa. Fondazione e Profilo Storico del Primo Principato Crociato nel Levante (1098-115 ...

. Another daughter, Alice, married into the Le Puiset family, and a son, Guy, became count of

Rochefort Rochefort () may refer to: Places France * Rochefort, Charente-Maritime, in the Charente-Maritime department ** Arsenal de Rochefort, a former naval base and dockyard * Rochefort, Savoie in the Savoie department * Rochefort-du-Gard, in the Ga ...

. Guy I was succeeded by Milo I, followed by Milo's sons Guy II and Milo II. In 1118, after many disputes with the rebellious lords, Louis VI of France ordered the castle to be dismantled and turned the town into a royal residence. Louis VI had himself been married to a granddaughter of Guy I, Lucienne of Rochefort, from 1104 to 1107. After being absorbed into the royal domain, Montlhéry became part of the territory governed by the viscount of Paris. In the early 13th century, the French king Philip II (Augustus) completely rebuilt the castle in the contemporary style, at a new site high above the town. During the Hundred Years' War, the town and the castle frequently passed between

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national ide ...

and French forces. On 16 July 1465,

Charles the Bold Charles I (Charles Martin; german: Karl Martin; nl, Karel Maarten; 10 November 1433 – 5 January 1477), nicknamed the Bold (German: ''der Kühne''; Dutch: ''de Stoute''; french: le Téméraire), was Duke of Burgundy from 1467 to 1477. ...

defeated Louis XI of France at the Battle of Montlhéry. The town was left in ruins by the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

, but it was rebuilt in 1591 under Henry IV. In the 19th century, the tower was used for scientific experiments. In 1822, François Arago calculated the speed of sound there; a

cannon A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder ...

ball shot at the tower was observed from the Observatory of

Villejuif Villejuif () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Name The earliest reference to Villejuif appears in a bill signed by the Pope Callixtus II on 27 November 1119. It refers to Villa Jud ...

. In 1823, Claude Chappe installed a relay for the Paris- Bayonne

telegraph Telegraphy is the long-distance transmission of messages where the sender uses symbolic codes, known to the recipient, rather than a physical exchange of an object bearing the message. Thus flag semaphore is a method of telegraphy, whereas p ...

line. On 5 June 1874, Alfred Cornu tried to calculate the

speed of light The speed of light in vacuum, commonly denoted , is a universal physical constant that is important in many areas of physics. The speed of light is exactly equal to ). According to the special theory of relativity, is the upper limit ...

between the tower and the Observatory in Paris. During the Franco-Prussian War, the town was occupied and pillaged by 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 ...

ns. It was occupied again by

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

in 1940 during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

. Today Montlhéry is twinned with Stetten am kalten Markt,

.Partnerstädte Stetten am kalten Markt
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Population

Inhabitants of Montlhéry are known as ''Montlhériens'' in French.

Château de Montlhéry

The Château de Montlhéry, a 13th-century castle with its prominent keep, succeeded a castle built in the 11th century, and an earlier foundation, built from 991 to 1015.

List of lords of Montlhéry

* Thibaud of Montmorency (970-1031) *

Guy I of Montlhéry Guy I (died 1095) was the second lord of Bray and the second lord of Montlhéry (Latin: ''Monte Leterico''). He was probably the son of Thibaud of Montmorency, but some sources say that his father was named Milo. Thibaud may instead have been his ...

(1031–1095) *

Milo I of Montlhéry Milo I the Great (died 1102) was lord of Montlhéry from 1095 until his death. He was the son of Guy I of Montlhéry and Hodierna of Gometz. The identify of his first wife is unknown. His second wife was Lithuise de Blois, Vicomtesse de Troyes, d ...

(1095–1102) * Guy II of Montlhéry (1102–1109) * Milo II of Montlhéry (1109–1118) *''passes to royal domain of France''

Economy

South of Montlhéry (on the communes of

Linas Linas is a Lithuanian male given name. It is the Lithuanian form of the name Linus, which derives from the Greek for "flax Flax, also known as common flax or linseed, is a flowering plant, ''Linum usitatissimum'', in the family Linaceae. It is ...

and Bruyères-le-Châtel) is the site of an

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

race track A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

, the ''

Autodrome de Montlhéry Board track racing was a type of motorsport popular in the United States during the 1910s and 1920s. Competition was conducted on circular or oval race courses with surfaces composed of wooden planks. This type of track was first used for motor ...

'', established by Alexandre Lamblin in 1924. It is sometimes referred to as the 'French Indianapolis', because it is laid out as a high speed

oval An oval () is a closed curve in a plane which resembles the outline of an egg. The term is not very specific, but in some areas (projective geometry, technical drawing, etc.) it is given a more precise definition, which may include either one ...

. Many speed records were set there within months of its opening. Today the racetrack has fallen into disuse and is also used for other purposes including a variety of automobile meetups. Montlhéry was also a

market town A market town is a settlement most common in Europe that obtained by custom or royal charter, in the Middle Ages, a market right, which allowed it to host a regular market; this distinguished it from a village or city. In Britain, small rural ...

, which is remembered today in the Tomato Festival. The medieval tower is also a popular tourist attraction, which recently re-opened in 2005 after being closed for repairs.

Personalities

Henri Oreiller Henri Oreiller (5 December 1925 – 7 October 1962) was an Alpine skiing, alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from France. He won two gold medals and a bronze at the Alpine skiing at the 1948 Winter Olympics, 1948 Winter Olympics, becoming ...

, was an alpine ski racer and Olympic gold medalist from France. *

Paul Fort Jules-Jean-Paul Fort (1 February 1872 – 20 April 1960) was a French poet associated with the Symbolist movement. At the age of 18, reacting against the Naturalistic theatre, Fort founded the Théâtre d'Art (1890–93). He also founded and edit ...

, nicknamed ''Le Prince des Poètes'' lived there from 1921 until his death in 1960.

External links

*
City council website
(in French)

*
Mayors of Essonne Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Montlhery Communes of Essonne