Rueil-Malmaison
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Commune of Rueil-Malmaison Château de Malmaison |
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| Location | |
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| Paris and inner ring départements | |
| Coordinates | |
| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Hauts-de-Seine |
| Arrondissement | Nanterre |
| Intercommunality | none as of 2005 |
| Mayor | Patrick Ollier |
| Statistics | |
| Land area¹ | 14.7 km² |
| Population² (Jan. 1, 2005 estimate) (March 8, 1999 census) |
76,700 73,469 |
| - Density (2005) | 5,218/km² |
| Miscellaneous | |
| Postal code | 92500 |
| ¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| ² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel). | |
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Rueil-Malmaison (pronounced /ʀɥœj malmɛzɔ̃/ or /ʀɥɛj malmɛzɔ̃/) is a commune (city) in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 12.6 km. (7.8 miles) from the center of Paris.
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[edit] Name
Rueil-Malmaison was originally called simply Rueil. In Medieval times the name Rueil was spelled either Roialum, Riogilum, Rotoialum, Ruolium, or Ruellium. This name is made of the Celtic word ialo (meaning "clearing, glade", "place of") suffixed to a radical meaning "brook, stream" (Latin rivus, Old French rû), or maybe to a radical meaning "ford" (Celtic ritu).
In 1928 the name of the commune officially became Rueil-Malmaison in reference to its most famous tourist attraction, the Chateau de Malmaison, home of Napoléon's first wife Joséphine de Beauharnais.
The name Malmaison comes from Medieval Latin mala mansio, meaning "ill-fated domain", "estate of ill luck". In the Early Middle Ages Malmaison was the site of a royal residence which was destroyed by the Vikings in 846, hence the name.
[edit] History
Rueil is famous for the Chateau de Malmaison where Napoleon and his first wife Josephine de Beauharnais lived. Upon her death in 1814 she was buried at the nearby St. Pierre and St. Paul church, which lies at the centre of the city.
The Rueil barracks of the Swiss Guard was constructed in 1756 under Louis XV by the architect Axel Guillaumot, and has been a listed Historic Monument since 1973. The Guard was formed by Louis XIII in 1616 and massacred at the Tuileries on 10 August 1792.
During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870, Rueil was located on the front line.
At the end of the 19th century famous painters like Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet and Claude Monet came to paint the Seine which crosses the city.
[edit] Demographics
[edit] Immigration
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[edit] Miscellaneous
The main campus of the French Institute of Petroleum is in Rueil. The city has also become home to many large companies moving outward from La Défense, a trend first established by the move of Esso headquarters to Rueil.
Rueil Malmaison is twin towns with the borough of Elmbridge, Surrey, UK
[edit] Transport
Rueil-Malmaison is served by Rueil-Malmaison station on Paris RER line A.
[edit] Twin towns
- Fribourg, Switzerland
- Lynchburg, Virginia, USA (Sister City)
[edit] External links
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