Source-Seine (), known as ''Source Seine'' during the first few months after its formation, 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

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or (; literally, "Golden Slope") is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in eastern

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 was formed on 1 January 2009 when

Saint-Germain-Source-Seine Saint-Germain-Source-Seine () was a former commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. On 1 January 2009, Saint-Germain-Source-Seine was merged with Blessey to form the new commune of Source-Seine Source-Seine (), known as ''Sour ...

was merged with

Blessey Blessey () is a former commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. On 1 January 2009, Blessey was merged with Saint-Germain-Source-Seine to form the new commune of Source-Seine.demonym A demonym (; ) or gentilic () is a word that identifies a group of people (inhabitants, residents, natives) in relation to a particular place. Demonyms are usually derived from the name of the place (hamlet, village, town, city, region, province, ...

is ''Sequanien'' (masculine/mixed plural) or ''Sequanienne'' (feminine), most likely named after

Sequana In Gallo-Roman religion, Sequana is the goddess of the river Seine, particularly the springs at the source of the Seine, and the Gaulish tribe the Sequani. The springs, called the ''Fontes Sequanae'' ("The Springs of Sequana"), are located in a va ...

, the goddess of the river

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

Geography

Source-Seine is located northwest of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

. There are two ''hameaux'' or

hamlets A hamlet is a human settlement that is smaller than a town or village. Its size relative to a parish can depend on the administration and region. A hamlet may be considered to be a smaller settlement or subdivision or satellite entity to a lar ...

in Source-Seine : Saint-Germain (originally

), and

Blessey Blessey () is a former commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. On 1 January 2009, Blessey was merged with Saint-Germain-Source-Seine to form the new commune of Source-Seine.source Source may refer to: Research * Historical document * Historical source * Source (intelligence) or sub source, typically a confidential provider of non open-source intelligence * Source (journalism), a person, publication, publishing institute o ...

of the

, in woods off the D103 road approximately 2 km Southeast by east of the cluster of buildings in Saint-Germain, or 3 km East by south of the cluster of buildings in Blessey. The Seine rises at an elevation of in this wooded area, from waters in several closely clustered ditches/depressions. France's second-longest river (after the

Loire The Loire (, also ; ; oc, Léger, ; la, Liger) is the longest river in France and the 171st longest in the world. With a length of , it drains , more than a fifth of France's land, while its average discharge is only half that of the Rhône ...

), the Seine then flows before it passes between the coastal communes of

Le Havre Le Havre (, ; nrf, Lé Hâvre ) is a port city in the Seine-Maritime department in the Normandy region of northern France. It is situated on the right bank of the estuary of the river Seine on the Channel southwest of the Pays de Caux, very cl ...

and

Honfleur Honfleur () is a commune in the Calvados department in northwestern France. It is located on the southern bank of the estuary of the Seine across from le Havre and very close to the exit of the Pont de Normandie. The people that inhabit Honf ...

, on the

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

coast, into the

English Channel The English Channel, "The Sleeve"; nrf, la Maunche, "The Sleeve" (Cotentinais) or ( Jèrriais), (Guernésiais), "The Channel"; br, Mor Breizh, "Sea of Brittany"; cy, Môr Udd, "Lord's Sea"; kw, Mor Bretannek, "British Sea"; nl, Het Kana ...

. Source-Seine borders the communes of Frôlois to the north-west, Chanceaux to the north, Poncey-sur-l'Ignon to the north-east,

Bligny-le-Sec Bligny-le-Sec () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population Places of interest * A 19th century wash house. * Saint-Georges church See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of t ...

to the south-east,

Salmaise Salmaise () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 Communes of France, communes of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, dep ...

to the south and

Boux-sous-Salmaise Boux-sous-Salmaise () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The commu ...

to the south-west.

History

What is now Source-Seine saw Gaulic pilgrimage beginning in the 1st century BC. In the late 4th century AD, Roman Emperor

Theodosius I Theodosius I ( grc-gre, Θεοδόσιος ; 11 January 347 – 17 January 395), also called Theodosius the Great, was Roman emperor from 379 to 395. During his reign, he succeeded in a crucial war against the Goths, as well as in two ...

ordered the closure of pagan temples at the Seine's source and gave their property to Christian institutions. In accordance with this edict, in the 5th century the abbey of Sainte-Marie-de-Cestra, the closest religious institution to the Seine's source, received a donation from the Roman government. In the 17th century, rumors of healing powers in the Seine were circulating around Paris. This led to the construction of a grotto dedicated to the Seine Nymph and financed by its residents in the 19th century. The city of Paris officially bought the source of the Seine in 1864. Modern times have seen a wave of coin throwers flocking to the river's source. The commune of Source-Seine was formed on 1 January 2009 when

was fused with

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 considere ...

when the ruling of 22

frimaire Frimaire () was the third month in the French Republican Calendar. The month was named after the French word ''frimas'', which means ''frost''. Frimaire was the third month of the autumn quarter (''mois d'automne''). It started between 21 Novem ...

of year II of the

French First Republic In the history of France, the First Republic (french: Première République), sometimes referred to in historiography as Revolutionary France, and officially the French Republic (french: République française), was founded on 21 September 1792 ...

(12 December 1793) stipulated that a commune could not be named after a saint or contain any religious references. As a result, the name of Saint-Germain-Source-Seine (which was then called ''Sainct Germain la Fæuille'' or ''Saint-Germain-la-Feuille'') was changed to ''Source-Seine''. The municipal order stated that 'the name of the commune of Saint-Germain-la-Feuille will change to the name of Source-Seine, taking this name from the way the Seine river has its source on the territory of the commune.' Saint-Germain-Source-Seine was renamed ''Saint-Germain-la-Feuille'' in 1815 during the

Bourbon Restoration Bourbon Restoration may refer to: France under the House of Bourbon: * Bourbon Restoration in France (1814, after the French revolution and Napoleonic era, until 1830; interrupted by the Hundred Days in 1815) Spain under the Spanish Bourbons: * ...

. In 1868, the town council requested that the words 'la-Feuille' be replaced by 'Source-Seine', which they were following a decree by President

MacMahon McMahon, also spelled MacMahon (older Irish orthography: ; reformed Irish orthography: ), is a surname of Irish origin. It is derived from the Gaelic ''Mac'' ''Mathghamhna'' meaning 'son of the bear'. The surname came into use around the 11th c ...

on 22 July 1875. The name ''Source-Seine'' was revived when Saint-Germain-Source-Seine was merged with Blessey. After Saint-Germain-Source-Seine and Blessey merged, following a local consultation, the prefectoral decree and the ''

Journal Officiel de la République Française A journal, from the Old French ''journal'' (meaning "daily"), may refer to: *Bullet journal, a method of personal organization *Diary, a record of what happened over the course of a day or other period *Daybook, also known as a general journal, a ...

'' referred to the commune as ''Source Seine'' (without a hyphen), which was against the rules regarding the naming of political and administrative entities. The JORF quickly corrected the name and changed it to ''Source-Seine'', and the

Code officiel géographique The ' ( en, Official geographic code) is a document listing the INSEE code The INSEE code is a numerical indexing code used by the French National Institute for Statistics and Economic Studies (INSEE) to identify various entities, including ...

followed.

Politics and administration

Successive list of mayors *2009-2010 - Jean-Louis Bornier,

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

, teacher *2011-2014 - Marie-Jeanne Fournier, independent, activity leader *2014-2026 - Sophie Louet, independent, salesperson

Economy

The area around Source-Seine is noted for its wine. Grain and livestock are also farmed there, as well as the area being attractive to tourists.

Places of interest

Saint-Germain-Source-Seine - La source de la Seine - 034

* , a park owned by the city of Paris which contains the source of the river Seine and the first bridges across the river, including a nymph statue at the source of the river. The park is popular with tourists. * Notre-Dame church, with a 12th century

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

with

arrowslit An arrowslit (often also referred to as an arrow loop, loophole or loop hole, and sometimes a balistraria) is a narrow vertical aperture in a fortification through which an archer can launch arrows or a crossbowman can launch bolts. The interio ...

s, an 18th century nave and a bell tower. There is a stone with a

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, language, morals and way of life in a uniquely Gaulish context ...

inscription, originally from the Gallo-Roman sanctuary at the sources of the Seine and reused. * Sainte-Anne of Blessey chapel. * Three statues made of multicolored wood. * 8th century

sarcophagi A sarcophagus (plural sarcophagi or sarcophaguses) is a box-like funeral receptacle for a cadaver, corpse, most commonly carved in stone, and usually displayed above ground, though it may also be buried. The word ''sarcophagus'' comes from ...

, made with reused stone, on the walls of the cemetery. * Cemetery with a 12th century sculpture of Christ's head embedded in the wall near the entry, and a 17th century cross. * 18th century calvaries at crossroads, one next to the 'tilleul de la liberté' (freedom tree, planted to signify freedoms gained in the

)https://www.ouest-france.fr/pays-de-la-loire/vertou-44120/vertou-la-morlachere-le-tilleul-de-la-liberte-6444897 and another in front of the Diocese house. * Lime trees dated from the 18th century, including one planted during the French Revolution, referred to as 'arbre de la Liberté'. * Two monuments commemorating WWI deaths, one for Saint-Germain and the other for Blessey. * Wash house at Blessey.

Sister towns

Verghereto Verghereto ( rgn, Vargaréd; Tuscan: (rare)) is a ''comune'' (municipality) in the Province of Forlì-Cesena in the Italian region Emilia-Romagna, located about southeast of Bologna and about south of Forlì. The main parish church is San Mi ...

(

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

) since 2002. The commune of

signed a 'Charte d'amitié' (friendship charter) with the commune of Verghereto in 2001 and a sister town agreement in 2002. The commune of Source-Seine has been twinned with Verghereto since the fusion of the two communes. The source of the

Tiber The Tiber ( ; it, Tevere ; la, Tiberis) is the third-longest river in Italy and the longest in Central Italy, rising in the Apennine Mountains in Emilia-Romagna and flowing through Tuscany, Umbria, and Lazio, where it is joined by the Riv ...

, the river that passes through

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

(which is a sister city 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. S ...

) is located in Verghereto. The partnership is therefore between two communes which contain the sources of rivers that traverse European capital cities.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sourceseine Communes of Côte-d'Or Populated places established in 2009