Villebon-sur-Yvette (, literally ''Villebon on Yvette'') 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

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 in

Île-de-France The Île-de-France (, ; literally "Isle of France") is the most populous of the eighteen regions of France. Centred on the capital Paris, it is located in the north-central part of the country and often called the ''Région parisienne'' (; en, Pa ...

in northern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, about 20 kilometers south of Paris. Thanks to the presence of the business centers of Courtaboeuf and Grand Dôme as well as the commercial center of Villebon 2, it has become one of the richest communes in the department.

Geography

Villebon-sur-Yvette is located in the

Hurepoix Hurepoix () is an area of the Île-de-France, to the southwest of Paris, situated between the departments of Yvelines, Hauts-de-Seine and Essonne. It was an old province of the French Kingdom and the main city was Dourdan. Geography This area i ...

area on the river '' Yvette'', in the valley of the same name (also called

Vallée de Chevreuse Vallée de Chevreuse (Chevreuse Valley) is the valley of the Yvette River in the Yvelines and Essonne departments. It encompasses the communes around Chevreuse ( Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse, Choisel, Dampierre, etc.) within the Parc naturel r ...

) on ground that is composed of milled stone, sand and clay. It covers an area of 743 ha between the Courtabœuf industrial park and the river, divided into sections of 426 ha of residential construction, 165 ha of forest and 152 ha of agricultural land, protected by the air lane of

Orly Airport Paris Orly Airport (french: Aéroport de Paris-Orly), commonly referred to as Orly , is one of two international airports serving the French capital, Paris, the other one being Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG). It is located partially in Orly ...

. Villebon-sur-Yvette is located approximately from Massy and

Gif-sur-Yvette Gif-sur-Yvette (, literally ''Gif on Yvette'') is a commune in south-western Ile de France, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Geography The town is crossed by and named after the river Yvette. The total area is and is green s ...

, from

Longjumeau Longjumeau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the center of Paris. Inhabitants of Longjumeau are known as ''Longjumellois'' (). History Longjumeau Party School In 1911, Lenin founded the Longjumeau ...

, from

Montlhéry Montlhéry () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located from Paris. History Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to Orléans. Under the Merovingians, it was owned by the ...

and to the south-west of ''

Notre Dame de Paris Notre-Dame de Paris (; meaning "Our Lady of Paris"), referred to simply as Notre-Dame, is a medieval Catholic cathedral on the Île de la Cité (an island in the Seine River), in the 4th arrondissement of Paris. The cathedral, dedicated to the ...

''. Adjacent communes are

Palaiseau Palaiseau () is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Palaiseau is a sub-prefecture of the Essonne department and the seat of the Arrondissement of Palaiseau. Inhabitants of Palaiseau ar ...

, Champlan,

Saulx-les-Chartreux Saulx-les-Chartreux () is a commune in the Essonne department in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 20 kilometres from the center of Paris. History The name of the city come from a tree: ''Saule'' (willow tree in French). Mon ...

, Villejust,

Les Ulis Les Ulis () is a commune in the Essonne department located in the southwestern suburbs (banlieue) of Paris, France. It is from the centre of Paris. Location Les Ulis is a new town located in the Île-de-France, in the south-west of the P ...

and

Orsay Orsay () is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, from the centre of Paris. A fortified location of the Chevreuse valley since the 8th centur ...

Transportation

* By the

RER B RER B is one of the five lines in the Réseau Express Régional (English: Regional Express Network), a hybrid commuter rail and rapid transit system serving Paris, France and its Île-de-France suburbs. The RER B line crosses the region from no ...

, ''Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse'' direction, stations '' Palaiseau-Villebon'' and ''

Lozère Lozère (; oc, Losera ) is a landlocked department in the region of Occitanie in Southern France, located near the Massif Central, bounded to the northeast by Haute-Loire, to the east by Ardèche, to the south by Gard, to the west by Aveyron, ...

''. * By the

Noctilien Noctilien is the night bus service in Paris and its agglomeration. It is managed by the Île-de-France Mobilités (formerly the STIF), the Île-de-France regional public transit authority, and operated by RATP (with 32 lines) and Transilien SNC ...

N122, station "''Les Suisses-Lozère''" between 0h30am and 5h30am. * By the A6 ''Autoroute'', exit 3 "Massy, Palaiseau, Villebon-sur-Yvette". * By the RN 118, exit "''Orsay Centre''".

Communication

At Villebon-sur-Yvette, there is an AM broadcasting station working on 864 kHz. It is one of the few stations in Europe using AM Stereo.

History

Until 1056, the history of Villebon-sur-Yvette is related to that of

. On this date, ''Fromand de Paris'' became the first lord of Villebon. Under the reign of his son, Aszo, the name Villabona was adopted in 1092. He built a farm on the current site of the castle. In 1196, Gautier of Villebon became

Grand Chamberman of France The Great Officers of the Crown of France (french: Grands officiers de la couronne de France) were the most important officers of state in the French royal court during the ''Ancien Régime'' and Bourbon Restoration. They were appointed by the ...

. He was followed by Peter of Nemours, Bishop of Paris from 1208 to 1219. Lambert of Villebon left to follow the

Eighth Crusade The Eighth Crusade was the second Crusade launched by Louis IX of France, this one against the Hafsid dynasty in Tunisia in 1270. It is also known as the Crusade of Louis IX against Tunis or the Second Crusade of Louis. The Crusade did not see any ...

to Tunisia in 1270 with King

Louis IX Louis IX (25 April 1214 – 25 August 1270), commonly known as Saint Louis or Louis the Saint, was King of France from 1226 to 1270, and the most illustrious of the Direct Capetians. He was crowned in Reims at the age of 12, following the d ...

. In 1474, the area of Villebon became the property of the ''De Thou'' family. In 1512, Augustin of Thou had built in place of the existing residence a small

Renaissance The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...

-style castle, today known as

Henri IV Henry IV (french: Henri IV; 13 December 1553 – 14 May 1610), also known by the epithets Good King Henry or Henry the Great, was King of Navarre (as Henry III) from 1572 and King of France from 1589 to 1610. He was the first monarc ...

House. In 1563

Nicolas de Thou Nicolas de Thou (1528 – 5 November 1598) was a French prelate of the Catholic Church. He was a cleric, Bishop of Chartres, and, in politics, a figure instrumental in the coronation of Henry IV of France, the first monarch of the Bourbon dynast ...

, lord of Villebon and

bishop of Chartres The oldest known list of bishops of Chartres is found in an 11th-century manuscript of Trinity Abbey, Vendôme. It includes 57 names from Adventus (Saint Aventin) to Aguiertus (Agobert) who died in 1060. The most well-known list is included in the ...

, obtained permission from King Charles IX to establish a weekly market, held every Thursday, and two fairs, on 27 September and 12 November, for which Villebon gained a certain amount of recognition. In 1587, it made build a vault with Villebon under the invocation of Saints Cosmas and Damian. In 1793, the

Court of Appeal of Paris The Court of Appeal of Paris (french: Cour d'appel de Paris) is the largest appeals court in France in terms of the number of cases brought before it. Its jurisdiction covers the departments of Paris, Essonne, Yonne, Seine-et-Marne, Seine-Saint- ...

decided to separate Yvette from the two communities of Villebon and Palaiseau. The introduction of a rail-link to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

at the beginning of the 20th century allowed Villebon, like its neighbors, to develop its industry and reputation as a tourist destination for Parisians. On 23 June 1920, the real estate company the ''School of Île-de-France'', represented by Mr. Hawkins, a former pupil of the

University of Cambridge The University of Cambridge is a public collegiate research university in Cambridge, England. Founded in 1209 and granted a royal charter by Henry III in 1231, Cambridge is the world's third oldest surviving university and one of its most pr ...

acquired the castle, its dependences and the surrounding 100 hectares of forest and meadows for one million francs. In 1922, in order to avoid confusion with the commune of Villebon in the '' ''département'''' of

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.twinned with: *

Liederbach am Taunus Liederbach am Taunus is a town in Hesse, Germany with 8500 inhabitants. It is situated west of downtown Frankfurt am Main. Twin towns Liederbach is twinned to the following towns: *

, Germany *

Las Rozas de Madrid Las Rozas de Madrid (or simply, Las Rozas; ) is one of the largest townships and municipalities in the autonomous community of Madrid, Spain, with an area of 59 km² (22¾ sq. mi.). It is located 20 km (12 miles) northwest of the city o ...

, Spain *

Saldus Saldus (; german: Frauenburg) is a Latvian town located in Courland ( lv, Kurzeme) and is the main town, and the central location in Saldus Municipality. The name Saldus has been noted in historical sources as far back as the mid-13th century, but ...

, Latvia *

Whitnash Whitnash is a town and civil parish located southeast of, and contiguous with Leamington Spa and Warwick in Warwickshire, England. In 2001, it had a population of 7,629 which increased to 9,129 in the 2011 census. History Whitnash was mentioned ...

, England, United Kingdom

References

External links

Official website

Mayors of Essonne Association
{{DEFAULTSORT:Villebonsuryvette Communes of Essonne Whitnash