Orsay

Orsay (pronounced [ɔʁ.sɛ]) is a commune in the Essonne department in Île-de-France in northern France. It is located in the southwestern suburbs of Paris, France, 20.7 km (12.9 mi) from the centre of Paris.

This article is about the commune in France. For other places with the same name, see Orsay (disambiguation).
Orsay
Commune
Town hall
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location of Orsay
Orsay
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Orsay
Orsay (Île-de-France (region))
Coordinates: 48°41′57″N 2°11′15″E
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentEssonne
ArrondissementPalaiseau
CantonPalaiseau
IntercommunalityCA Paris-Saclay
Government
 • Mayor (2014–2020) David Ros
Area
1
7.97 km2 (3.08 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
16,421
 • Density2,100/km2 (5,300/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
91471 /91400
Elevation51–160 m (167–525 ft)
(avg. 90 m or 300 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Inhabitants of Orsay are known as Orcéens.

History

There has been a village called Orsay on this site since 999, and the first church there was built in 1157. From the sixteenth century, the town and surrounding area were owned by the Boucher family, and it was in honour of this family that Louis XIV gave the quai d'Orsay its name. This is the reason that the Musée d'Orsay is not in Orsay. In the eighteenth century, the family of Grimod du Fort bought the land and received the title of comte d'Orsay. In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, Orsay was occupied by the Prussian army. 88 young "Orcéens" were killed in the First World War.

In 1957, largely due to the influence of Frédéric and Irène Joliot-Curie, the Institut de physique nucléaire (nuclear physics institute) was opened in the Chevreuse valley, and the region, especially Orsay, became an important scientific centre. Another development was the creation of the Université de Paris-Sud, whose most important faculty is the faculty of science.

On 19 February 1977, a part of the territory of Orsay was detached and merged with a part of the territory of Bures-sur-Yvette to create the commune of Les Ulis.

Transport

Orsay is served by two stations on Paris RER line B: Le Guichet and Orsay-Ville.

Neighbourhoods of Orsay
  • Le Guichet
  • Mondétour
  • Le Petit Madagascar
  • Corbeville

Nearby towns

Places of worship

Orsay has one Catholic church: Saint-Martin – Saint-Laurent, opposite the town hall. It also has an International Evangelical Church called Église Évangélique Vie et Paix at 14 Rue Charles de Gaulle.

Civil heritage

Forested areas

Architecture
  • la Grande Bouvêche
  • la Pacaterie
  • le Temple de la Gloire
  • le château de Corbeville

Notable residents
  • Sir Oswald Mosley, Bt., leader of the British Union of Fascists
  • Lady Diana Mosley, one of the Mitford sisters and wife of Sir Oswald Mosley
  • Edward VIII of the United Kingdom, later Duke of Windsor after abdicating the throne and marrying American divorcee Wallis Simpson
  • Wallis, Duchess of Windsor, American wife of Edward VIII of the United Kingdom
  • Moussa Badiane, basketball player
  • Sega Keita, footballer
  • Guy Demel, footballer
  • Mickael Antoine-Curier, footballer
  • Angelique Spincer, handball player
  • Teddy Venel, athlete
  • Dina Dabjan-Bailly
  • Kal Dupchen (Artist) USA
  • Adam Allouche, swimmer

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.