Montfort-l'Amaury

Montfort-l'Amaury
Montfort-l'Amaury
	Commune
	Town hall
	Coat of arms
	Location of Montfort-l'Amaury
	Montfort-l'Amaury Montfort-l'Amaury
	Coordinates: 48°46′40″N 1°48′36″E
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Yvelines
Arrondissement	Rambouillet
Canton	Aubergenville
Government
• Mayor (2008–14)	Hervé Planchenault
Area 1	5.71 km2 (2.20 sq mi)
Population (2017-01-01)[1]	2,940
• Density	510/km2 (1,300/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	78420 /78490
Elevation	98–183 m (322–600 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Montfort-l'Amaury is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located 20 km (12 mi) north of Rambouillet. The name comes from Amaury I de Montfort, the first count of Montfort.

Geography

Montfort-l'Amaury lies north of the Rambouillet Forest. It is located at the foot of low hills, at about 130 m above sea level.

History

King Robert II built a castle in 996 in the hills of Montfort. Montfort-l'Amaury was the stronghold of the Montfort family from the start of the 11th century. Amaury I built the ramparts.

The Comté de Montfort was related to the Duchy of Brittany following the marriage of Yolande de Dreux-Montfort with Arthur of Brittany in 1294. It returned to the crown of France when Brittany became a part of France under Francis I. The castle was destroyed by the English during the Hundred Years' War.

Sites of interest

The ruins of the donjon, above the house of Maurice Ravel

Maurice Ravel's house in Montfort-l'Amaury, where the composer lived from 1921 until his death

Ruins of the castle 48°46′36″N 1°48′16″E
Maison de Maurice Ravel, which is now a museum . Maurice Ravel lived here from 1921 until his death.
Château de Groussay, built in the 19th century

People

Jean Anouilh, dramatist
Colette Darfeuil, actress
Henri George Doll, scientist
Jean Monnet, architect of European Unity
Simon de Montfort, 6th Earl of Leicester (born in the castle, 1208)
Maurice Ravel, composer
Charles Aznavour, singer
Ambroise Roux (1921-1999), CEO of Compagnie générale d'électricité (later known as Alcatel) from 1970 to 1981, lived and died in Montfort-l'Amaury.[2]

Twin towns

Nickenich, Germany

References

INSEE

"Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
"Obituary: Ambroise Roux". The Independent. 9 April 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2017.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.

[1] "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.

[theindependentobituaryambroiseroux-2] "Obituary: Ambroise Roux". The Independent. 9 April 1999. Retrieved 16 April 2017.