Everything about Montlh Ry totally explained
|région=
Île-de-France
|département=
Essonne
|arrondissement=Palaiseau
|canton=
Montlhéry (chief town)
|intercomm=
CC Cœur du Hurepoix
|maire=Claude Pons
|mandat=2008-2014
|insee=91425
|cp=91310
|alt moy=
|alt mini=64 m
|alt maxi=151 m
|km²=3.28
|sans=5,676
|date-sans=1999
|dens=1,730
|date-dens=1999
|}}
Montlhéry is a
commune of the
Essonne département, in
France. It is located from
Paris.
History
Montlhéry lay on the strategically important road from Paris to
Orléans. It was an old
Gaulish site, called Mons Aetricus by the
Romans. Under the
Merovingians it was owned by the church in
Reims, and in
768 it was given to the abbey of St. Denis in Paris. It was the site of a number of battles between the lords of Montlhéry and the early
Capetian monarchy.
The Montlhéry noble house was related to the
Montmorency family; Thibaud, the founder of the Montlhéry dynasty, was the brother of Bouchard II, the progenitor of the Montmorency house. Thibaud ruled from
970 to
1031 and was succeeded by his son Guy I, who ruled until
1095. Guy I's children married into other local noble families: his daughter Melisende married Hugh,
count of Rethel, and another daughter Elizabeth married Joscelin of Courtenay. Through these marriages and subsequent Montlhéry participation on the
First Crusade, Guy I was the ancestor of the ruling dynasties of the crusader
Kingdom of Jerusalem and the
County of Edessa. Another daughter, Alice, married into the
Le Puiset family, and a son, Guy, became count of
Rochefort. Guy I was succeeded by Milo I, followed by Milo's sons Guy II and Milo II. In
1118, after many disputes with the rebellious lords,
Louis VI of France ordered the castle to be dismantled, and turned the town into a royal residence. Louis VI had himself been married to a granddaughter of Guy I, Lucienne of Rochefort, from
1104 to
1107.
After being absorbed into the royal domain, Montlhéry became part of the territory governed by the viscount of Paris. In the early 13th century, the French king
Philip II (Augustus) completely rebuilt the castle in the contemporary style, at a new site high above the town.
During the
Hundred Years' War, the town and the castle frequently passed between
English and French forces. On
July 16,
1465,
Charles the Bold defeated
Louis XI of France at the
Battle of Montlhéry. The town was left in ruins by the
Wars of Religion, but it was rebuilt in
1591 under
Henry IV.
In the
19th century the tower was used for scientific experiments. In
1822,
François Arago calculated the
speed of sound there; a
cannonball shot at the tower was observed from the Observatory of
Villejuif. In
1823,
Claude Chappe installed a relay for the Paris-
Bayonne telegraph line. On
June 5,
1874,
Alfred Cornu tried to calculate the
speed of light between the tower and the Observatory in Paris.
During the
Franco-Prussian War, the town was occupied and pillaged by the
Prussians. It was occupied again by
Germany in
1940 during the
Second World War.
Today Montlhéry is a
twin city with
Stetten am kalten Markt. The current
mayor is Lucien Pornin.
Château de Montlhéry
The present 13th century castle, with its prominent
donjon, succeeded a castle built in the
11th century, and an earlier foundation, built from
991 to
1015. The castle is a rectilinear
pentagonal plan, with five surviving towers, one of which is much larger than the rest and serves as the donjon, forming the point of the pentagon, at the end of the ridge. A gate tower protected the entrance on the opposite site. Recent evidence suggests that there may have a second court or
bailey extending in front of the present gate, as well as a substantial chapel inside the presumed lower court.
List of lords of Montlhéry
Demographics
At the 1999
census, the population was .
Inhabitants of Montlhéry are known as
Montlhériens.
Economy
South of Montlhéry (on the communes of
Linas and
Bruyères-le-Châtel) is the site of an
automobile race track, the
Autodrome de Montlhéry, established by Alexandre Lamblin in
1924. It is sometimes referred to as the 'French
Indianapolis', because it's laid out as a high speed
oval. Many speed records were set there within months of its opening, although today the racetrack has fallen into disuse and is also used for other purposes.
Montlhéry was also a
market town, which is remembered today in the Tomato Festival. The medieval tower is also a popular tourist attraction, which recently re-opened in 2005 after being closed for repairs.
Famous residents
Paul Fort, nicknamed
Le Prince des Poètes lived there from
1921 until his death in
1960.
Further Information
Get more info on 'Montlh Ry'.
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