Houdan () is a commune of the Yvelines department west of Paris in the north of

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

History

The name has evolved from the

Saxon The Saxons, sometimes called the Old Saxons or Continental Saxons, were a Germanic people of early medieval "Old" Saxony () which became a Carolingian " stem duchy" in 804, in what is now northern Germany. Many of their neighbours were, like th ...

"Hoding," meaning "settlement on the hill". Houdan is thought to have been inhabited since the 5th century. By the 12th century, two churches and a château were present. During the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, the town changed hands and was pillaged frequently. The town was destroyed; only the 12th century keep survives from that period. After the war, the town was ruled by the English until 1475. Houdan is mentioned in the Prophecies of

Nostradamus Michel de Nostredame (December 1503 – July 1566), usually Latinisation of names, Latinised as Nostradamus, was a French Astrology, astrologer, apothecary, physician, and reputed Oracle, seer, who is best known for his book ''Les Prophéti ...

. Houdan was a staging post on the road from Paris to

Brittany Brittany ( ) is a peninsula, historical country and cultural area in the north-west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known as Armorica in Roman Gaul. It became an Kingdom of Brittany, independent kingdom and then a Duch ...

, and many old inns are still standing. Houdan was also an important

poultry Poultry () are domesticated birds kept by humans for the purpose of harvesting animal products such as meat, Eggs as food, eggs or feathers. The practice of animal husbandry, raising poultry is known as poultry farming. These birds are most typ ...

market for Paris and a breed is named after the town. The breed is ornamental, but is also used for its meat and white eggs. It is the site of the Boldoflorine factory which over the years had transformed from

absinthe Absinthe (, ) is an anise-flavored Liquor, spirit derived from several plants, including the flowers and leaves of ''Artemisia absinthium'' ("grand wormwood"), together with green anise, sweet fennel, and other medicinal and culinary herbs. His ...

distillery to producer of herbal remedies and

tisane Herbal teas, technically known as herbal infusions, and less commonly called tisanes (UK and US , US also ), are beverages made from the infusion or decoction of herbs, spices, or other plant material in hot water. Often herb tea, or the plain ...

s. In the 2000s the factory was converted to residential use.

Population

Infrastructure

Houdan station is on the train line between Dreux station in

Eure-et-Loir Eure-et-Loir (, locally: ) is a French department, named after the Eure and Loir rivers. It is located in the region of Centre-Val de Loire. In 2019, Eure-et-Loir had a population of 431,575.Gare Montparnasse Gare Montparnasse (; Montparnasse station), officially Paris Montparnasse, is one of the seven large List of Paris railway stations, Paris railway termini, and is located in the 14th arrondissement of Paris, 14th and 15th arrondissement of Paris ...

in Paris. It is on the route nationale 12 connecting Paris with

, which once passed through, but now bypasses, the town.

Attractions

* Vestiges of the old town wall fortifications, including a

keep A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residen ...

built around 1135. * Houses of the 15th and 16th centuries. * Church, 15th - 17th centuries, Gothic style containing an organ (1735), and a

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) is a Periodization, period of history and a European cultural movement covering the 15th and 16th centuries. It marked the transition from the Middle Ages to modernity and was characterized by an effort to revive and sur ...

-style choir.

International relations

Houdan is twinned with: *

Pangbourne Pangbourne is a village and civil parish on the River Thames in the West Berkshire unitary area of the county of Berkshire, England. Pangbourne has shops, churches, schools and a village hall. Outside its nucleated village, grouped developed are ...

, United Kingdom * Baïla, Sénégal

References

External links

Houdan website
Communes of Yvelines {{Yvelines-geo-stub