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Commune of Orsay |
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| Town Hall | |
| Location | |
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| Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs | |
| Coordinates | 48°41′56″N 2°11′18″E / 48.69889°N 2.18833°E |
| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Essonne |
| Arrondissement | Palaiseau |
| Canton | Orsay (chief town) |
| Intercommunality | CA du Plateau de Saclay |
| Mayor | David Ros (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 51–160 m (170–520 ft) (avg. 90 m/300 ft) |
| Land area1 | 7.97 km2 (3.08 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 16,236 (1999 census) |
| - Density | 2,037 /km2 (5,280 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| INSEE/Postal code | 91471/ 91400 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Orsay is a commune of Essonne, Île-de-France located in the south-western suburbs of Paris, France. It is 20.7 km (12.9 mi) from the center of Paris.
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History
There has been a village called Orsay on this site since 999, and the first church there was consecrated in 1157. From the sixteenth century, the town and surrounding area were owned by the Boucher family, and it was in honour of this family that Louis XIV gave the quai d'Orsay its name. This is the reason that the Musée d'Orsay is not in Orsay. In the eighteenth century, the family of Grimod du Fort bought the land and received the title of comte d'Orsay. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, Orsay was occupied by the Prussian army. 88 young "Orcéens" were killed in the First World War.
In 1957, largely due to the influence of Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie, the Institut de physique nucléaire (nuclear physics institute) was opened in the Chevreuse valley, and the region, especially Orsay, became an important scientific centre. Another development was the creation of the Université de Paris-Sud, whose most important faculty is the faculty of science.
On 19 February 1977, a part of the territory of Orsay was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Bures-sur-Yvette to create the commune of Les Ulis.
Demographics
At the 1999 census, the population was 16,236. The estimate for 2005 was 16,500. Inhabitants of Orsay are known as Orcéens.
Transport
Orsay is served by two stations on Paris RER line B: Le Guichet and Orsay-Ville.
Neighborhoods of Orsay
- Le Guichet
- Mondétour
- Le Petit Madagascar
- Corbeville
Nearby towns
Places of worship
Orsay has one Catholic church: Saint-Martin – Saint-Laurent, opposite the town hall. It boasts a fine organ.
Civil heritage
Forested areas
- The Bois des Rames around the university campus
- The Bois Persan
- Parc botanique de Launay
Architecture
- la Grande Bouvêche
- la Pacaterie
- le Temple de la Gloire
- le château de Corbeville
Notable residents
- Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt., leader of the British Union of Fascists.
- Lady Diana Mosley, one of the Mitford sisters and wife of Sir Oswald Mosley.
- Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, later Duke of Windsor after abdicating the throne and marrying American divorcee Wallis Simpson.
- Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, American wife of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom.
References
"Orsay". Wikipėdia — L'encyclopédie libre. http://fr.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Orsay&oldid=3349158. Retrieved October 14 2005. (in French)
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Orsay |
- Orsay official website (French)
- Mérimée database - Cultural heritage (French)
- Land use (IAURIF) (English)
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