Orsay () is a commune 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 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, ...

Île-de-France , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 = +01:00 , timezone1_DST = CEST , utc_offset1_DST = +02:00 , blank_name_sec1 = Gross regional product , blank_info_sec1 = Ranked 1st , bla ...

in northern

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 in the southwestern suburbs 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 ...

, from the centre of Paris. A fortified location of the Chevreuse valley since the 8th century and agricultural domain of wealthy and influential people, the development of Orsay is marked by the introduction of a

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport that transfers passengers and goods on wheeled vehicles running on rails, which are incorporated in tracks. In contrast to road transport, where the vehicles run on a pre ...

in the second half of the 18th century (today the RER B of which two stations are located in Orsay) and donations which allow the construction of a hospital still active to this day. Orsay is the main home to the Paris-Saclay University. The university significantly shapes Orsay's economy as it employs about 10,000 academic workers. The city's economy is also centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to the area by the Paris-Saclay's research and development infrastructure. Seat of the Orsay campus of Paris-Saclay University, crossed by the 118 national road, Orsay has become a residential city of the Paris metropolitan area and the Chevreuse valley, easily accessible and with a preserved

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

at the heart of the Paris-Saclay scientific cluster with laboratories of the

CNRS The French National Centre for Scientific Research (french: link=no, Centre national de la recherche scientifique, CNRS) is the French state research organisation and is the largest fundamental science agency in Europe. In 2016, it employed 31,637 ...

and the Curie Institute on its territory.

History

There has been a village called Orsay on this site since 999, and the first church there was built 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 , house = Bourbon , father = Louis XIII , mother = Anne of Austria , birth_date = , birth_place = Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, France , death_date = , death_place = Palace of Vers ...

gave the '' quai d'Orsay'' its name. This is the reason that the

Musée d'Orsay The Musée d'Orsay ( , , ) ( en, Orsay Museum) is a museum in Paris, France, on the Left Bank of the Seine. It is housed in the former Gare d'Orsay, a Beaux-Arts railway station built between 1898 and 1900. The museum holds mainly French art ...

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 Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impress ...

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 University of 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.

Population

Inhabitants of Orsay are known as ''Orcéens''.

Education

Higher education

The Paris-Saclay University, former University of Paris in Orsay, dominates the city of Orsay, providing the city with its distinctive college-town character. University buildings are located in the north of the city and the campus is divided between several other cities such as Gif-sur-Yvette, Bures-sur-Yvette and Palaiseau. Colleges that are part of the Paris-Saclay University in Orsay: * ENS Paris-Saclay; * CentraleSupélec; * Paris-Saclay Faculty of Sciences; * Paris-Saclay Polytechnic School; * Orsay University Institute of Technology; * Paris-Saclay Undergraduate School.

Transport

Orsay is served by two stations on Paris RER line B: Le Guichet and Orsay-Ville.

Neighbourhoods of Orsay

*Le Guichet *Mondétour *Le Petit Madagascar *Corbeville * Le Moulon

Nearby towns

* Bures-sur-Yvette * Gif-sur-Yvette * Saclay * Palaiseau *

Villebon-sur-Yvette Villebon-sur-Yvette (, literally ''Villebon on Yvette'') is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France, about 20 kilometers south of Paris. Thanks to the presence of the business centers of Courtaboeuf and Grand ...

* Les Ulis

Places of worship

The territory of the city is divided in two

catholic 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 ...

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

es which depend on the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

of Évry–Corbeil-Essonnes and the

deanery A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

of Yvette-Gif-Orsay. The parish of Ulis-Montdétour-Montjay serves the neighborhood of Montdétour, bois du Roi and bois Persan, while the parish of Orsay serves the rest of the city. These parishes have the main

church Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

of Saint-Martin-Saint-Laurent, the

chapel A chapel is a Christian place of prayer and worship that is usually relatively small. The term has several meanings. Firstly, smaller spaces inside a church that have their own altar are often called chapels; the Lady chapel is a common ty ...

of la Clarté-Dieu and the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Plaine at Mondétour. Additionally, the city has a Portuguese evangelical parish and an international evangelical church: the église évangélique vie et paix. A

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

Khuông Viêt pagoda is also located in the city.

Civil heritage

Forested areas

*The Bois des Rames around the university campus *The Bois Persan *

Parc botanique de Launay The Parc botanique de Launay (90 hectares), sometimes known as the Parc botanique d'Orsay or the Parc de l'Université Paris XI, is a botanical garden located on the Université Paris-Sud XI campus at 3 rue Georges-Clemenceau, Orsay, Essonne, Îl ...

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 The British Union of Fascists (BUF) was a British fascist political party formed in 1932 by Oswald Mosley. Mosley changed its name to the British Union of Fascists and National Socialists in 1936 and, in 1937, to the British Union. In 1939, fo ...

* Lady

Diana Mosley Diana, Lady Mosley (''née'' Freeman-Mitford; 17 June 191011 August 2003) was one of the Mitford sisters. In 1929 she married Bryan Walter Guinness, heir to the barony of Moyne, with whom she was part of the Bright Young Things social group o ...

, 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 Wallis, Duchess of Windsor (born Bessie Wallis Warfield, later Simpson; June 19, 1896 – April 24, 1986), was an American socialite and wife of the former King Edward VIII. Their intention to marry and her status as a divorcée caused ...

, American wife of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom *

Moussa Badiane Moussa Badiane (born 16 October 1981) is a French former professional basketball player. Professional career During his pro career, Badiane played with the French club Antibes Antibes (, also , ; oc, label=Provençal dialect, Provençal, A ...

, basketball player *

Sega Keita Sega Keïta (born 3 March 1992, in Orsay) is a French football player of Senegalese descent, who last played for French club Troyes. He was a French youth international and has played for the under-19 team. Keïta plays as a midfielder. Career ...

, footballer *

Guy Demel Guy Roland Demel (born 13 June 1981) is an Ivorian former professional footballer who played as a defender. He could play in several positions including right back and centre back. Demel started his career in France with Nîmes Olympique befor ...

, footballer * Mickael Antoine-Curier, footballer *

Angelique Spincer Angelique or Angélique may refer to: * Angélique (given name), a French feminine name Arts and entertainment Music * Angélique (instrument), a string instrument of the lute family * ''Angélique'', a 1927 opéra bouffe by Jacques Ibert * ...

, handball player *

Teddy Venel Teddy Atine-Venel (born 16 March 1985 in Orsay, France) is a French athlete who specialises in the 400 meters The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics programme ...

, athlete * Adam Allouche, swimmer

References

External links

Orsay official website
*
Mayors of Essonne Association
{{Authority control 999 establishments Communes of Essonne 10th-century establishments in France Essonne communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia