Saint-Maur-des-Fossés () is a commune in

Val-de-Marne Val-de-Marne (, "Vale of the Marne") is a department of France located in the Île-de-France region. Named after the river Marne, it is situated in the Grand Paris metropolis to the southeast of the City of Paris. In 2019, Val-de-Marne had a ...

, the southeastern

suburbs A suburb (more broadly suburban area) is an area within a metropolitan area, which may include commercial and mixed-use, that is primarily a residential area. A suburb can exist either as part of a larger city/urban area or as a separa ...

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 ...

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 ...

. It is located from the centre of Paris.

History

The abbey

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to

Saint-Maur Abbey Saint-Maur Abbey (french: Abbaye de Saint-Maur), originally called the Abbaye des Fossés, is a former abbey now subsumed in the Saint-Maur-des-Fossés suburb of Paris, France. The remains and the domain of the abbey have been transformed into a ...

founded in 638 by Queen Nanthild, regent for her son Clovis II, at a place called ''Fossati'' in

Medieval Latin Medieval Latin was the form of Literary Latin used in Roman Catholic Western Europe during the Middle Ages. In this region it served as the primary written language, though local languages were also written to varying degrees. Latin functioned ...

, ''Les Fossés'' in modern

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

, meaning "the moats". This place, located at the narrow entrance of a loop where the river Marne made its way round a rocky outcrop,"Saint-Maur au fil du temps"
was probably named after the moats of an ancient

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foo ...

oppidum and later a

Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lett ...

castrum; the site was known in medieval documents as ''Castrum Bagaudarum'', at a time when the marauding Bagaudae had developed a legendary reputation as defenders of Christians against Roman persecution. Massive foundations, sited so far from a '' Roman frontier'', were attributed by C. Jullian to a temple or a villa instead. In Merovingian times, Gallo-Roman villas in the royal fisc were repeatedly donated as sites for monasteries under royal patronage. The abbey, dedicated to

Saint Peter ) (Simeon, Simon) , birth_date = , birth_place = Bethsaida, Gaulanitis, Syria, Roman Empire , death_date = Between AD 64–68 , death_place = probably Vatican Hill, Rome, Italia, Roman Empire , parents = John (or Jonah; Jona) , occupat ...

Saint Paul Paul; grc, Παῦλος, translit=Paulos; cop, ⲡⲁⲩⲗⲟⲥ; hbo, פאולוס השליח (previously called Saul of Tarsus;; ar, بولس الطرسوسي; grc, Σαῦλος Ταρσεύς, Saũlos Tarseús; tr, Tarsuslu Pavlus; ...

and the

Virgin Mary Mary; arc, ܡܪܝܡ, translit=Mariam; ar, مريم, translit=Maryam; grc, Μαρία, translit=María; la, Maria; cop, Ⲙⲁⲣⲓⲁ, translit=Maria was a first-century Jewish woman of Nazareth, the wife of Joseph and the mother of ...

, was called ''Sanctus Petrus Fossatensis'' in Medieval Latin (''Saint Pierre des Fossés'' in French), meaning "Saint Peter of the Moats". It was founded by Blidegisil, archdeacon of Paris, in 638. One of the early abbots was Saint

Babolen Saint Babolen (or Babolenus, Babolin, Babolein; died ) was Abbot of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés Abbey near Paris. He may have been Irish in origin. His feast day is 26 June. Monks of Ramsgate account The monks of St Augustine's Abbey, Ramsgate wrote ...

(died ). In 868, King

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a se ...

invited the monks of the

Abbey of Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil Glanfeuil Abbey, otherwise the Abbey of St Maurus (french: Abbaye de Glanfeuil, ''Abbaye Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil'', ''Abbaye de Saint-Maur-sur-Loire''), was a French Benedictine monastery founded in the 9th century in the village of Saint-Maur-sur ...

(in

Le Thoureil Le Thoureil () is a village and former commune in the Maine-et-Loire department in western France. On 1 January 2016, the commune was merged into the new commune of Gennes-Val-de-Loire,Maine-et-Loire, western France), who had fled their abbey due to

Viking Vikings ; non, víkingr is the modern name given to seafaring people originally from Scandinavia (present-day Denmark, Norway and Sweden), who from the late 8th to the late 11th centuries raided, pirated, traded and se ...

invasion, to relocate to ''Saint Pierre des Fossés'' with their precious

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains of a saint or the personal effects of the saint or venerated person preserved for purposes of veneration as a tangi ...

s of Saint Maurus. Later in the

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 ...

, the relics of Saint Maurus became very famous as they were supposed to heal

gout Gout ( ) is a form of inflammatory arthritis characterized by recurrent attacks of a red, tender, hot and swollen joint, caused by deposition of monosodium urate monohydrate crystals. Pain typically comes on rapidly, reaching maximal intens ...

and

epilepsy Epilepsy is a group of non-communicable neurological disorders characterized by recurrent epileptic seizures. Epileptic seizures can vary from brief and nearly undetectable periods to long periods of vigorous shaking due to abnormal electrica ...

, and ''Saint Pierre des Fossés'' became one of the most famous pilgrimage centers of medieval France. The rededication to Saint Maurus, in which abbey was renamed Saint-Maur-des-Fossés ("Saint Maurus of the Moats"), was justified by the story that during a drought in 1137, prayers to the Virgin and Saints Peter and Paul having been ineffective, prayer to Saint Maur brought the needed rainfall.

Château de Saint-Maur

The abbey was secularised in 1535, and in 1541, the architect Philibert Delorme designed a

château A château (; plural: châteaux) is a manor house or residence of the lord of the manor, or a fine country house of nobility or gentry, with or without fortifications, originally, and still most frequently, in French-speaking regions. No ...

on the site for Cardinal Jean du Bellay, bishop of Paris, on four ranges of building around a square central court.

Catherine de' Medici Catherine de' Medici ( it, Caterina de' Medici, ; french: Catherine de Médicis, ; 13 April 1519 – 5 January 1589) was an Florentine noblewoman born into the Medici family. She was Queen of France from 1547 to 1559 by marriage to King ...

was a frequent visitor, preferring it to the château de Vincennes; in 1563 she acquired this "château du Bellay", and substantially rebuilt it. On September 23, 1568, her teenage son, King Charles IX, issued the

Edict of Saint-Maur The Edict of Saint-Maur was a prohibitive religious edict, promulgated by Charles IX of France at the outbreak of the third war of religion. The edict revoked the tolerance that had been granted to Protestantism, in the edicts of Saint-Germain ...

, which prohibited all religions but

Catholicism The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. It prompted fierce religious intolerance in

and eventually led to the 1572, St. Bartholomew's Day massacre. Building projects at the site were only interrupted by Catherine's death (1589); the château was sold to the Condé family and was eventually completed, and furnished with extensive

parterre A ''parterre'' is a part of a formal garden constructed on a level substrate, consisting of symmetrical patterns, made up by plant beds, low hedges or coloured gravels, which are separated and connected by paths. Typically it was the part of ...

s, at the end of the seventeenth century. Chateausaintmaur

The Château de Saint-Maur, still in the possession of the Condé family, was nationalised during the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

, emptied of its contents, and its terrains divided up among real-estate speculators. The structure was demolished for the value of its materials; virtually nothing remains.

The village

The little settlement that grew around the abbey, known as Saint-Maur-des-Fossés, developed a market during the thirteenth century. The present territory also includes a formerly distinct village, La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, against the perimeter of the nearby game preserve of Saint-Hilaire, part of the abbey's domaines. In 1791, part of the territory of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés was detached and became the commune of ''La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur'', later renamed Joinville-le-Pont. After the abbey itself was abandoned, its church providing building materials in the town. During the

, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés was temporarily renamed ''Vivant-sur-Marne'' (meaning "Alive upon Marne") in a gesture of rejection of religion. After the Revolution, the official name of the commune was simply Saint-Maur; it is only in 1897 that "des-Fossés" was re-added to the name, probably to conform to the historical name and also to distinguish Saint-Maur-des-Fossés from other communes of France also called Saint-Maur. In 1924, a few vestiges of the abbey were collected in the newly established Musée du vieux Saint-Maur.

Famous residents

Vincenzo Peruggia Vincenzo Peruggia (8 October 1881 8 October 1925) was an Italian museum worker, artist, and thief, most famous for stealing the ''Mona Lisa'' from the Louvre museum in Paris on 21 August 1911.

, an Italian thief who stole the ''

Mona Lisa The ''Mona Lisa'' ( ; it, Gioconda or ; french: Joconde ) is a half-length portrait painting by Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci. Considered an archetypal masterpiece of the Italian Renaissance, it has been described as "the best kno ...

'' on 21 August 1911, died in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. Philippe Diolé (1908 – 1977), diver, writer and explorer, was born in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés. Germaine Tailleferre (born 'Tallefesse'), (French: 9 April 1892 – 7 November 1983. Composer and the only female member of the group of composers known as Les Six. Manu Katché (born 27 October 1958 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés) is a French drummer and songwriter. Laurent Pimond (born 6 April 1965 in Saint-Maur-des-Fossés) is a French Football player, footballer.

Geography

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is almost entirely surrounded by a loop of the river Marne. St Maur - Eglise St Nicolas 2

Demographics

Population

Immigration

Politics

Saint-Maur leans to the right in presidential elections, giving François Fillon 33% of its votes in the first round of the 2017 French presidential election.

Transport

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is served by four stations on Paris RER line A: Saint-Maur – Créteil, Le Parc de Saint-Maur, Champigny, and La Varenne – Chennevières. Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is also served by many buses, like the TVM (Trans-Val-de-Marne), where Saint-Maur-Créteil is one of the bus terminal.

Education

There are 25 public preschools (''écoles maternelles'') and primary schools in the commune. Public junior high schools: *Collège Le Parc *Collège Rabelais Public senior high schools: * *Lycée d'Arsonval *Lycée Condorcet Private schools: *Ensemble scolaire Saint-André (preschool through junior high school) *Ecole et collège Jeanne D'Arc *

Culture

Festivals

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés organize a Short Subject Festival. Prizes (2008) : "The Note" by Jon Greenhalgh and Anne-Élisabeth Blateau as best actress.

Film and literature

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés was the filming location for the old-Paris sections of the 1958

Academy award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

winning film '' Mon Oncle'' by Jacques Tati. A statue of Tati in character as Monsieur Hulot along with two other characters from the film is visible in the Commune at Place d'Arme.

Sport

US Lusitanos Saint-Maur was founded in 1966 by Portuguese immigrants who worked in a factory in the town. They play their games at the Stade Adolphe-Chéron.

Twin towns - sister cities

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is twinned with: * Ramat HaSharon, Israel * Bognor Regis, United Kingdom * Rimini, Italy * La Louvière, Belgium * Ziguinchor, Senegal * Hamelin, Germany *

Leiria Leiria (; cel-x-proto, ɸlāryo) is a city and municipality in the Central Region of Portugal. It is the 2nd largest city in that same region, with a municipality population of 128,640 (as of 2021) in an area of . It is the seat of its own dist ...

, Portugal * Pforzheim, Germany

References

External links

City Website
*
Historical and Archaeological AssociationSite des conseillers municipaux de l'opposition (PS-PC)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saintmaurdesfosses Renaissance architecture in France Communes of Val-de-Marne