Val-d'Oise (, "Vale of the Oise") is a

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, ...

in the Île-de-France region, Northern France. It was created in 1968 following the split of the Seine-et-Oise department. In 2019, Val-d'Oise had a population of 1,249,674.Populations légales 2019: 95 Val-d'Oise
INSEE It is named after the river Oise, a major tributary of the

Seine ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributarie ...

, which crosses the region after having started in Belgium and flowed through Northeastern France. Val-d'Oise is Île-de-France's northernmost department. Charles de Gaulle Airport, France's main international airport, is partially located in Roissy-en-France, 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

and Seine-et-Oise. Val-d'Oise was one of the new departments so formed, and was created entirely from the previous department of Seine-et-Oise.

Geography

Val-d'Oise is a department in north central France and is part of the region of Île-de-France. To the south of the department lies the department of

Hauts-de-Seine Hauts-de-Seine (; ) is a Departments of France, département in the Île-de-France Regions of France, region, Northern France. It covers Paris's western inner Banlieue, suburbs. It is bordered by Paris, Seine-Saint-Denis and Val-de-Marne to the e ...

, to the southwest lies Yvelines, to the west lies

Eure Eure () is a department in Normandy in Northwestern France, named after the river Eure. Its prefecture is Évreux. In 2019, Eure had a population of 599,507.Oise, to the east lies Seine-et-Marne and to the southeast lies Seine-Saint-Denis. The official ''préfecture'' (capital) of the department is the commune of Pontoise, situated in the suburbs of Paris some northwest of the centre of the city, but the ''préfecture'' building and administrative offices are in the neighbouring commune of Cergy. The River Oise is a right tributary of the River Seine, and flows through the province from northeast to southwest. The eastern part of the department is part of the Pays de France, 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 Charles de Gaulle Airport 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 ) , mouth_location = Le Havre/Honfleur , mouth_coordinates = , mouth_elevation = , progression = , river_system = Seine basin , basin_size = , tributaries_left = Yonne, Loing, Eure, Risle , tributaries ...

and occupies the whole of the small Vallée de Montmorency. These parts are heavily urbanised, but the ancient Roman road, the

Chaussée Jules César Chaussée Jules César was a Roman road linking Lutetia (Paris) and Rotamagus (Rouen). The road's construction was initiated by the Roman governor Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa. Linking two important cities of Roman Empire in Gaul, the road possessed inn ...

, which linked Paris and

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, a verdant, largely agricultural plateau. Its capital was Pontoise on the eastern extremity of the county. This commune is now combining with the neighbouring commune of Cergy to form the new town of Cergy-Pontoise. 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, ...

; the prefecture Pontoise 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 Île-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 ...

Paul Cézanne Paul Cézanne ( , , ; ; 19 January 1839 – 22 October 1906) was a French artist and Post-Impressionism, Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th-century conception of artistic endeavour to a ...

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 who immortalised them;

Enghien-les-Bains Enghien-les-Bains () is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris, in the département of Val-d'Oise. Enghien-les-Bains is famous as a spa resort and a well-to-do suburb of Paris, developed in ...

, a spa resort with a hot, sulphurous spring, on the site of what was originally Lake Enghien; Écouen with a fine château which houses the Museum of the Renaissance; Cergy-Pontoise, the new administrative capital which has been created out of thirteen communes and has quadrupled in population since the 1960s. There is a branch of the Académie de Versailles in the city which provides tertiary education;

Théméricourt Théméricourt () is a Communes of France, commune in the Val-d'Oise Departments of France, department in Île-de-France in northern France. 4 movie scenes in 4 films Théméricourt place Saint–Lô See also *Communes of the Val-d'Oise departme ...

, 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 ...

, founded by St. Louis in the thirteenth century, is another important site. There are two protected nature areas in the department: the Parc naturel régional du Vexin français and the Parc naturel régional Oise-Pays de 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, Eugène Delacroix,

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 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, Château d'Écouen File:Château de La Roche-Guyon.jpg,

La Roche Guyon La Roche-Guyon () is a commune in the Val-d'Oise department in Île-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 commu ...

File:P1030360 chateau.JPG, Château de

References

External links

*
Website of the Departmental council
*
Prefecture website
*

*
Committee of Tourism and Leisure in Val d'Oise
{{Authority control 1968 establishments in France Departments of Île-de-France States and territories established in 1968