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, ...
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 ...
, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the
, which crosses the region after having started in Belgium and flowed through Northeastern France. Val-d'Oise is ÃŽle-de-France's northernmost department.
, France's main international airport, is partially located in
Roissy-en-France
Roissy-en-France (, literally ''Roissy in France''; colloquially simply called Roissy) is a commune in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, France, in the Val-d'Oise department. It is located from the centre of Paris. In 2017, it had a population ...
, a commune of Val-d'Oise.
Its INSEE and postcode number is 95.
History
The original departments of France were established in 1790 when the French National Assembly split the country into 83 departments of roughly the same size and population. They were designed as sets of communes, and when better maps became available, certain revisions had to be made.
After defeat by the Prussians in 1871, certain territories were ceded to them and some rearrangements made. In 1955 and 1957, some departments changed their names. In 1964, it was determined to divide up the departments of
Seine-et-Oise
Seine-et-Oise () was the former department of France encompassing the western, northern and southern parts of the metropolitan area of Paris.ÃŽle-de-France
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, bla ...
. To the south of the department lies the department of
Seine-et-Marne
Seine-et-Marne () is a Departments of France, department in the ÃŽle-de-France Regions of France, region in Northern France. Named after the rivers Seine and Marne (river), Marne, it is the region's largest department with an area of 5,915 square ...
and to the southeast lies
Seine-Saint-Denis
() is a department of France located in the Grand Paris metropolis in the region. In French, it is often referred to colloquially as ' or ' ("ninety-three" or "nine three"), after its official administrative number, 93. Its prefecture is Bobigny ...
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 ...
Cergy
Cergy () is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in northwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central and most populated ...
. The
River Oise
The Oise ( ; ) is a river of Belgium and France, flowing for from its source in the Belgian province of Hainaut, south of Chimay. It crosses the border with France after about . It flows into the Seine at Conflans-Sainte-Honorine, a north-wester ...
is a right tributary of the
River Seine
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, and flows through the province from northeast to southwest.
The eastern part of the department is part of the
Pays de France
The Pays de France (, literally ''Land of France''), also called the Parisis () or Plaine de France (), is a natural region located in the ÃŽle-de-France administrative region to the north of Paris, France. It is essentially a silt plain devoted ...
, an area of fertile plain traditionally used for agriculture (particularly cereals and sugar beet) based on its fine silty soils. This part is progressively diminishing in size as Paris expands. Part of
falls in this eastern region, while other parts are in the departments of Seine-et-Marne and Seine-Saint-Denis. The southernmost region of the department forms part of the
Seine Valley
)
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, progression =
, river_system = Seine basin
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, tributaries ...
Rouen
Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine in northern France. It is the prefecture of the Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one of ...
, passes through the latter. The central and southwestern parts of the department are also largely urbanised and part of the greater Paris sprawl. The western part of the department forms part of the historic county of
Vexin français
Vexin () is an historical county of northwestern France. It covers a verdant plateau on the right bank (north) of the Seine running roughly east to west between Pontoise and Romilly-sur-Andelle (about 20 km from Rouen), and north to south ...
, a verdant, largely agricultural plateau. Its capital was
on the eastern extremity of the county. This commune is now combining with the neighbouring commune of
Cergy
Cergy () is a commune in the French department of Val-d'Oise, in northwestern suburbs of Paris. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the " new town" of Cergy-Pontoise, created in the 1960s, of which it is the central and most populated ...
to form the new town of
Cergy-Pontoise
Cergy-Pontoise () is a New town#France, new town and an Agglomeration communities in France, agglomeration community in France, in the Val-d'Oise and Yvelines departments of France, departments, northwest of Paris on the river Oise (river), Oise. I ...
. The Vexin area remains largely rural, and across the whole department, one fifth is covered with trees.
Principal towns
The most populous commune is
Argenteuil
Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...
is the sixth-most populous. As of 2019, the 10 most populous communes are:
Economy
The economy of Val-d'Oise relies on two different themes. The northern, eastern and western parts are fertile areas of agricultural land producing large quantities of corn, sugar beet, and other crops. The urban parts to the south are dormitory towns, used by people working in the greater metropolitan area of Paris. The presence of Charles de Gaulle Airport and its associated
TGV
The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...
station provides access by rail to all parts of France. The department has nine business zones designated for high-tech industries.
Demographics
Population development since 1876:
Place of birth of residents
Politics
The president of the Departmental Council is Marie-Christine Cavecchi, elected in 2017.
Presidential elections 2nd round
Current National Assembly Representatives
Tourism
The department has a rich archaeological and historical heritage, but is not a region visited much by tourists, perhaps being overshadowed by the French capital. Places of interest include the following sites;
La Roche-Guyon
La Roche-Guyon () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in ÃŽle-de-France in northern France. It is located in the .
The commune grew around the Château de La Roche-Guyon, upon which historically it depended for its existence. The commun ...
with a castle on top of a rocky hill and a twelfth century château; L'Isle-Adam, a historic small town on the bank of the River Oise;
Auvers-sur-Oise
Auvers-sur-Oise (, literally ''Auvers on Oise'') is a commune in the department of Val-d'Oise, on the northwestern outskirts of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. It is associated with several famous artists, the most promine ...
, which owes its international fame to its landscapes and the impressionist painters such as
Charles-François Daubigny
Charles-François Daubigny ( , , ; 15 February 181719 February 1878) was a French painter, one of the members of the Barbizon school, and is considered an important precursor of impressionism.
He was also a prolific printmaker, mostly in etchin ...
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot
Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot ( , , ; July 16, 1796 – February 22, 1875), or simply Camille Corot, is a French landscape and portrait painter as well as a printmaker in etching. He is a pivotal figure in landscape painting and his vast ...
,
Camille Pissarro
Jacob Abraham Camille Pissarro ( , ; 10 July 1830 – 13 November 1903) was a Danish-French Impressionist and Neo-Impressionist painter born on the island of Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, St Thomas (now in the US Virgin Islands, but t ...
and
Vincent van Gogh
Vincent Willem van Gogh (; 30 March 185329 July 1890) was a Dutch Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter who posthumously became one of the most famous and influential figures in Western art history. In a decade, he created about 2 ...
, a spa resort with a hot, sulphurous spring, on the site of what was originally Lake Enghien;
Écouen
Écouen () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-d'Oise department, in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. The 19th-century poet and playwright Pierre-Joseph Charrin (1784–1863) d ...
, where as well as a fine château, there is the historic church of Notre-Dame, and the twelfth or thirteenth century Croix de l'Ormeteau-Marie.
Royaumont Abbey
Royaumont Abbey is a former Cistercian abbey, located near Asnières-sur-Oise in Val-d'Oise, approximately 30 km north of Paris, France.
History
It was built between 1228 and 1235 with the support of Louis IX. Several members of the Frenc ...
Argenteuil
Argenteuil () is a Communes of France, commune in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the Kilometre Zero, center of Paris. Argenteuil is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, ...
is a sub-prefecture and is the second most populous of Paris' suburbs. It is in a scenic location by the River Seine and has been much-painted by
Claude Monet
Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...
,
Eugène Delacroix
Ferdinand Victor Eugène Delacroix ( , ; 26 April 1798 – 13 August 1863) was a French Romantic artist regarded from the outset of his career as the leader of the French Romantic school.Noon, Patrick, et al., ''Crossing the Channel: Britis ...
,
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir (; 25 February 1841 – 3 December 1919) was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "R ...
,
Gustave Caillebotte
Gustave Caillebotte (; 19 August 1848 – 21 February 1894) was a French painter who was a member and patron of the Impressionists, although he painted in a more realistic manner than many others in the group. Caillebotte was known for his early ...
,
Alfred Sisley
Alfred Sisley (; ; 30 October 1839 – 29 January 1899) was an Impressionist landscape painter who was born and spent most of his life in France, but retained British citizenship. He was the most consistent of the Impressionists in his dedicatio ...
and
Georges Braque
Georges Braque ( , ; 13 May 1882 – 31 August 1963) was a major 20th-century List of French artists, French painter, Collage, collagist, Drawing, draughtsman, printmaker and sculpture, sculptor. His most notable contributions were in his all ...
. It has several historic buildings and a local museum.
File:Chateau-decouen.jpg,
Cantons of the Val-d'Oise department The following is a list of the 21 cantons of the Val-d'Oise department, in France, following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:
* Argenteuil-1
* Argenteuil-2
* Argenteuil-3
* Cergy-1
* Cergy-2
* Deuil-la-Bar ...
*
Communes of the Val-d'Oise department
The following is a list of the 184 communes of the Val-d'Oise department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2020):Arrondissements of the Val-d'Oise department
An arrondissement (, , ) is any of various administrative divisions of France, Belgium, Haiti, certain other Francophone countries, as well as the Netherlands.
Europe
France
The 101 French departments are divided into 342 ''arrondissements'', ...