Rambouillet (, , ) is a

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Counties of Albania, Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several Districts of Albania, district ...

of the

Yvelines Yvelines () is a department in the western part of the Île-de-France region in Northern France. In 2019, it had a population of 1,448,207.department in the

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 ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...

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 beyond the outskirts 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 ...

, southwest of its

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

. In 2018, the

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 ...

had a population of 26,933. Rambouillet lies on the edge of the vast Forest of Rambouillet (''Forêt de Rambouillet'' or ''Forêt de l'Yveline''); it is famous for its historical castle, the

Château de Rambouillet The Château de Rambouillet (), known in English as the Castle of Rambouillet, is a château in the town of Rambouillet, Yvelines department, in the Île-de-France region in northern France, southwest of Paris. It was the summer residence of t ...

, which hosted several international summits. Due to its proximity to Paris and

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

, Rambouillet has long been an occasional seat of government.

Population

Transport

Rambouillet is served by the

SNCF The Société nationale des chemins de fer français (; abbreviated as SNCF ; French for "National society of French railroads") is France's national state-owned railway company. Founded in 1938, it operates the country's national rail traffi ...

Rambouillet railway station on the

Transilien Line N Transilien Line N is a railway line of the Paris Transilien suburban rail network operated by the SNCF. The trains on this line travel between Gare Montparnasse in Paris and the west of Île-de-France region, with termini in Rambouillet, Dreux ...

suburban rail line, and on the regional line to

Chartres Chartres () is the prefecture of the Eure-et-Loir department in the Centre-Val de Loire region in France. It is located about southwest of Paris. At the 2019 census, there were 170,763 inhabitants in the metropolitan area of Chartres (as d ...

and

Le Mans Le Mans (, ) is a city in northwestern France on the Sarthe River where it meets the Huisne. Traditionally the capital of the province of Maine, it is now the capital of the Sarthe department and the seat of the Roman Catholic diocese of Le Man ...

Features

*The

, a former medieval fortress, was acquired by

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was e ...

in 1783 as a private residence because of its ideal situation in the game-rich forest of Rambouillet. It became a '' bien national'' 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 considere ...

of 1789, and one of the imperial residences of

Napoléon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

during the

First French Empire The First French Empire, officially the French Republic, then the French Empire (; Latin: ) after 1809, also known as Napoleonic France, was the empire ruled by Napoleon Bonaparte, who established French hegemony over much of continental Eu ...

. At the time of the Bourbon Restoration, the castle became royal residence, and it is there that

Charles X Charles X (born Charles Philippe, Count of Artois; 9 October 1757 – 6 November 1836) was King of France from 16 September 1824 until 2 August 1830. An uncle of the uncrowned Louis XVII and younger brother to reigning kings Louis XVI and Lou ...

signed his abdication on 2 August 1830. Sometimes neglected at times of political unrest, the château de Rambouillet became the official summer residence of the French President of the Republic after President

Félix Faure Félix François Faure (; 30 January 1841 – 16 February 1899) was the President of France from 1895 until his death in 1899. A native of Paris, he worked as a tanner in his younger years. Faure became a member of the Chamber of Deputies for ...

chose it as summer residence for himself and his family in 1896; Rambouillet thus became the official summer residence of the Presidents of the Third Republic and has retained its position ever since. *The Palais du Roi de Rome. In 1784, on a parcel adjacent to the gardens of the castle, Louis XVI had ordered the construction of the ''Hôtel du Gouvernement'', which was restored during the reign of Napoléon I, and renamed ''Palais du Roi de Rome'' as the official Rambouillet residence of Napoleon's infant son. Its entrance is situated in the rue Charles de Gaulle, Rambouillet's main street. *The Hôtel de Ville, the former ''Bailliage'' (Bailiwicks building) was built in 1786 at the request of Louis XVI by the architect Jacques-Jean Thévenin. It was given by Napoléon I to the inhabitants of Rambouillet to serve as their City Hall. The inscription over the doors of the City Hall reads "Donated to the inhabitants of Rambouillet by Napoleon the Great, n theYear 1809". *The new Saint-Lubin church was built between 1868 and 1871. Its architect was

Anatole de Baudot Joseph-Eugène-Anatole de Baudot (14 October 1834 – 28 February 1915) was a French architect and a pioneer of reinforced-concrete construction. He was a prolific author, architect for diocesan buildings, architect for historical monuments, a ...

, a student of

Eugène Viollet-le-Duc Eugène Emmanuel Viollet-le-Duc (; 27 January 181417 September 1879) was a French architect and author who restored many prominent medieval landmarks in France, including those which had been damaged or abandoned during the French Revolution. H ...

. *The Bergerie nationale was built on the grounds of the Domain of Rambouillet at the request of Louis XVI, and is the home of the Rambouillet Merino sheep since 1786. *The Laiterie de la Reine, the ''Queen's Dairy'' also built on the grounds of the Domain of Rambouillet, is adjacent to the Bergerie. It was built in 1787 at the request of Louis XVI for his wife

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

and designed by the architect Jean-Jacques Thévenin. *The Chaumière des coquillages, a thatched-roof cottage with its marble interior decorated with shells and mother of pearl, was built in 1779–1780 in the English garden of the Domain of Rambouillet by Claude-Martin Goupy, the architect of the '' duc de Penthièvre'', for the ''

princesse de Lamballe Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to: *"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti * Princesse (Nekfeu song) * La Princesse 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Machine. See also * P ...

'', Penthièvre's widowed daughter-in-law. *The Musée Rambolitrain, situated across from the Saint-Lubin church, is a museum featuring miniature trains. We find a faithful reconstruction of a Parisian toy store of the 1930s. *The Monument Américain (''The American Eagle Monument''), is situated at the south entrance of the town on the D 906 road to Chartres, at the site of two ambushes in which seven American soldiers were killed, on 16 August 1944. The monument was erected in 1947. It bears the inscription: ''"À la mémoire des soldats américains tombés pour la libération de notre région en août 1944"'', "In memory of the American soldiers fallen for the liberation of our region in August 1944". The names of nine American soldiers are inscribed on a plaque on the monument. Commemorative ceremonies are held at the monument every 19 August. Rambouillet - Église01

Notable people

;who were born in Rambouillet: * Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, ''duc de Penthièvre'', grandson of

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 ...

Ulysse Chevalier Ulysse Chevalier (24 February 1841 – 27 October 1923) was a French bibliographer and historian. Born in Rambouillet, he published many works on the history of Dauphiné, e.g. the cartulary, cartularies of the church and the town of Die (Fran ...

(1841–1923),

bibliographer Bibliography (from and ), as a discipline, is traditionally the academic study of books as physical, cultural objects; in this sense, it is also known as bibliology (from ). English author and bibliographer John Carter describes ''bibliography ...

and

historian A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the stu ...

Robert Benoist Robert Marcel Charles Benoist (20 March 1895 – 14 September 1944) was a French Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero. Early life Born near Rambouillet, Île-de-France, France, Robert Benoist was the son of Baron Henri de Rothschild' ...

(1895–1944),

Grand Prix motor racing Grand Prix motor racing, a form of motorsport competition, has its roots in organised automobile racing that began in France as early as 1894. It quickly evolved from simple road races from one town to the next, to endurance tests for car an ...

driver and war hero * Jérémie Aliadière, former

Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostly ...

football player, now with

FC Lorient Football Club Lorient Bretagne Sud (; commonly referred to FC Lorient or simply Lorient) is a French association football club based in Lorient, Brittany. The club was founded in 1926 and currently competes in Ligue 1, the top flight of French ...

;who lived in Rambouillet: * François Ier, king of France, died at the castle, supposedly in the tower *

Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier Charles de Sainte-Maure, duc de Montausier (6 October 161017 November 1690), was a French soldier and, from 1668 to 1680, the governor of the dauphin, the eldest son and heir of Louis XIV, King of France. Biography Charles was born on 6 October ...

and his wife Julie d'Angennes, the daughter of Charles d'Angennes and Catherine de Vivonne *

Louis-Alexandre de Bourbon, comte de Toulouse Louis Alexandre de Bourbon (6 June 1678 – 1 December 1737), a legitimated prince of the blood royal, was the son of Louis XIV and of his mistress Françoise-Athénaïs, marquise de Montespan. At the age of five, he became grand admiral of ...

, legitimated son of

and the Marquise de Montespan, and father of the ''duc de Penthièvre'' * Louis Jean Marie de Bourbon, ''duc de Penthièvre'', grandson of Louis XIV, and son of the ''comte de Toulouse'' *

Maria Teresa d'Este Maria Teresa Felicitas (; 6 October 1726 – 30 April 1754) was a Princess of Modena by birth and Duchess of Penthièvre by marriage. She was the mother-in-law of Philippe Égalité and thus grandmother to the future Louis-Philippe of France. Y ...

, wife of the ''duc de Penthièvre'', died in childbirth *

Princesse de Lamballe Princesse (French 'princess') may refer to: *"Princesse", single hit for Julie Zenatti * Princesse (Nekfeu song) * La Princesse 15-metre (50-foot) mechanical spider designed and operated by French performance art company La Machine. See also * P ...

, duc de Penthièvre's daughter-in-law, killed in the

September massacres The September Massacres were a series of killings of prisoners in Paris that occurred in 1792, from Sunday, 2 September until Thursday, 6 September, during the French Revolution. Between 1,176 and 1,614 people were killed by ''fédérés'', gua ...

of 1792 during the

Napoleon Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

, Emperor of the French *

, king of France, who signed his 1830 abdication in the castle * G. Lenotre, French author and historian *

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fic ...

, American writer and journalist, lived a few days in Rambouillet in August 1944 *

Charles de Gaulle Charles André Joseph Marie de Gaulle (; ; (commonly abbreviated as CDG) 22 November 18909 November 1970) was a French army officer and statesman who led Free France against Nazi Germany in World War II and chaired the Provisional Government ...

Sébastien Faure Sébastien Faure (6 January 1858 – 14 July 1942) was a French anarchist, freethought and secularist activist and a principal proponent of synthesis anarchism. Biography Before becoming a free-thinker, Faure was a seminarist. He engage ...

, Anarchist activist and pedagogue, who set up La Ruche ("The Beehive") free school near Rambouillet in 1904 *

Didier Pironi Didier Joseph Louis Pironi (26 March 1952 – 23 August 1987) was a French racing driver. During his career, he competed in 72 Formula One World Championship Grands Prix, driving for Tyrrell (1978–1979), Ligier (1980) and Ferrari (1981 ...

, Professional racing driver *

Gérard Larcher Gérard Philippe René André Larcher (born 14 September 1949) is a French politician serving as President of the Senate since 2014, previously holding the office from 2008 to 2011. A member of The Republicans, he has been a Senator for the Yveli ...

, former Mayor of Rambouillet, Senator of the Yvelines, President of the Senate (reelected in October 2017), and several times minister *

Jacqueline Thome-Patenôtre Jacqueline Thome-Patenôtre (February 3, 1906 – June 2, 1995) was a French politician. She served as a member of the National Assembly from 1958 to 1973, representing first Seine-et-Oise and later Yvelines Yvelines () is a Departments of Fr ...

, Politician, member of the

National Assembly In politics, a national assembly is either a unicameral legislature, the lower house of a bicameral legislature, or both houses of a bicameral legislature together. In the English language it generally means "an assembly composed of the repre ...

for Seine-et-Oise and later Yvelines from 1958 to 1973. She was also Mayor of Rambouillet from 1947 to 1983. * Vincent Maes actual student in bascan ;who died in Rambouillet: * François Ier, king of France, died in castle in 1547 *

, son of Louis XIV and father of the ''duc de Penthièvre'', died in castle in 1737 *

, wife of the ''duc de Penthièvre'', died in childbirth in castle in 1754 * Germaine Coty, ''née'' Corblet, wife of French president

René Coty Jules Gustave René Coty (; 20 March 188222 November 1962) was President of France from 1954 to 1959. He was the second and last president of the Fourth French Republic. Early life and politics René Coty was born in Le Havre and studied at th ...

, died at the ''château de Rambouillet'' on 12 November 1955 *

Georges Wilson Georges Wilson (16 October 1921 – 3 February 2010) was a French film and television actor. He was the father of French actor Lambert Wilson. Biography Wilson was born in Champigny-sur-Marne, Seine (now Val-de-Marne) as the illegitimate s ...

, French film and television actor and director, died at the Rambouillet hospital on 3 February 2010.

Education

Schools in the commune include: * Eight pre-schools (''écoles maternelles''): Arbouville, Bel-Air, Clairbois, du Centre, Les Jardins, la Gommerie, de La Louvière, and La Ruche * Seven elementary schools: Arbouville, Clairbois, Gambetta, La Louvière, La Prairie, Saint Hubert, and Vieil Orme * Three junior high schools: Collège Catherine de Vivonne, Collège Le Racinay, and Collège Le RondeauLes Collèges à Rambouillet
" Rambouillet. Retrieved on September 4, 2016. * Lycée Louis Bascan, a public senior high school/sixth-form collegeLes Lycées à Rambouillet
" Rambouillet. Retrieved on September 4, 2016. Private schools include: * Institution Sainte Thérèse, which includes pre-school, elementary,Les écoles privées
" Rambouillet. Retrieved on September 4, 2016. junior high, and high school * École Jacinthe et François (private elementary school) * Collège Saint Jean Bosco (private junior high school) Universities: * University Institute of Technology of Vélizy *

Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University University of Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines (, ''UVSQ'') is a French public university created in 1991, located in the department of Yvelines and, since 2002, in Hauts-de-Seine. It is a constituent university of the federal Paris-Saclay Un ...

International relations

Rambouillet is twinned with: *

Great Yarmouth Great Yarmouth (), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside town and unparished area in, and the main administrative centre of, the Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. A pop ...

, England, United Kingdom (1956) *

Kirchheim unter Teck Kirchheim unter Teck (Swabian: ''Kircha'') is a town in Baden-Württemberg, Germany, in the district of Esslingen. It is located on the small river Lauter, a tributary of the Neckar. It is 10 km (6 miles) near the Teck castle, approximately ...

, Germany *

Torres Novas Torres Novas () is a Portuguese municipality in the district of Santarém, in the Médio Tejo of the Centro region. The population of the municipality was approximately 36,717 (from the 2011 census), with the city of Torres Novas (seat of the mu ...

, Portugal * Waterloo, Belgium *

Zafra Zafra () is a town situated in the Province of Badajoz (Extremadura, Spain), and the capital of the comarca of Zafra - Río Bodión. It has a population of 16,677, according to the 2011 census. Zafra is the hometown of Fray Ruy Lopez, author ...

, Spain

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control Communes of Yvelines