Mantes-la-Jolie
Mantes-la-Jolie | |
|---|---|
 The Collegiate Church of Our Lady, in Mantes | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
Location of Mantes-la-Jolie  | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Yvelines |
| Arrondissement | Mantes-la-Jolie |
| Canton | Mantes-la-Jolie |
| Intercommunality | Mantes-en-Yvelines |
| Government | |
| • Mayor (2014–2020) | Michel Vialay |
| Area 1 | 9.38 km2 (3.62 sq mi) |
| Population (2006) | 42,365 |
| • Density | 4,500/km2 (12,000/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 78361 /78200 |
| Elevation | 17–41 m (56–135 ft) (avg. 34 m or 112 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Mantes-la-Jolie (French pronunciation: [mɑ̃t.la.ʒɔ.li], often informally called Mantes) is a commune based in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the western suburbs of Paris, 48.4 km (30.1 mi) from the center of Paris. Mantes-la-Jolie is a subprefecture of the department.
History
Mantes was half way between the centres of power of the dukes of Normandy at Rouen and the Kings of France at Paris. Along with most of northern France, it changed hands frequently in the Hundred Years' War. Philip Augustus died at Mantes, 14 July 1223.
Louis XIV instituted the manufacture of musical instruments in Mantes, and it was chosen as the centre of brass and woodwind instrument manufacture. In the 19th century, painters were attracted to the town, particularly Corot, whose paintings of the bridge and the cathedral are celebrated. Prokofiev spent the summer of 1920 there orchestrating the ballet Chout.
Originally officially called Mantes-sur-Seine (meaning "Mantes upon Seine"), Mantes merged with the commune of Gassicourt in 1930 and the commune born of the merger was called Mantes-Gassicourt.
Mantes was the location of the first allied bridgehead across the Seine on 19 August 1944, by General Patton's 3rd Army. Major rebuilding was needed after the war.
On 7 May 1953, the commune of Mantes-Gassicourt was officially renamed Mantes-la-Jolie (meaning "Mantes the pretty"), allegedly in reference to a letter of King Henry IV addressed to his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées who resided in Mantes: "I am on my way to Mantes, my pretty".
Population
Inhabitants are called Mantais.
Le Val-Fourré, the largest housing project in the district, is extremely ghettoized, and is dominated by immigrants from the Maghreb, the majority of whom are Moroccan, and sub-Saharan immigrants, mostly from Senegal. It is the newest district of Mantes-la-Jolie, built in the sixties and seventies, home to 28,000 of the city's total 45,000 inhabitants.
Sights
The main monument in Mantes is the church of Notre-Dame dating back to 12th century. A previous church was burnt down by William the Conqueror together with the rest of the town, at the capture of which he lost his life in 1087. Modern bridges link Mantes with the town of Limay on the other side of the river.
Economy
Mantes is home to small businesses working on concrete and chemical processing, but is inevitably drawn into the economic area of nearby Paris.
It is historically and at present a center of musical instrument manufacturing. The well known Buffet-Crampon woodwind factory is located in the neighbourhood city of Mantes-la-Ville.
Transportation
Mantes-la-Jolie is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare and Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail lines: Mantes-Station and Mantes-la-Jolie. The Gare de Mantes-la-Jolie is also served by TGV trains towards Le Havre, Cherbourg, Strasbourg and Marseille.
Education
The municipality has nineteen public preschools,[1] sixteen public elementary schools,[2] six public junior high schools, two public senior high schools/sixth form colleges, and a private secondary school.[3]
Public junior high schools:
- Collège André Chénier
- Collège Paul Cézanne
- Collège Jules Ferry
- Collège Louis Pasteur
- Collège de Gassicourt
- Collège Georges Clemenceau
Public senior high schools:
Private secondary schools:
Colleges and universities:
- University Institute of Technology of Mantes en Yvelines
- Versailles Saint-Quentin-en-Yvelines University
International relations
Mantes-la-Jolie is twinned with:
Maia, Portugal
Hillingdon, Greater London, England, United Kingdom
Notable people
- Haoua Kessely (*1988) athlete
- Omar Kossoko (*1988), footballer
- Kama Massampu (*1991), footballer
- Claudine Mendy (*1990), handball player
- Jean-Paul Mendy (*1973), boxer
- Oumar N'Diaye (*1985), footballer
- Opa Nguette (*1994), footballer
- Moussa Sow (*1986), footballer
- Hamady Tamboura (*1989), footballer
See also
References
- ^ "Écoles maternelles à Mantes-la-Jolie." Mantes-la-Jolie. Retrieved on September 2, 2016.
- ^ "Les écoles élémentaires à Mantes-la-Jolie." Mantes-la-Jolie. Retrieved on September 2, 2016.
- ^ "Collèges et lycées à Mantes-la-Jolie." Mantes-la-Jolie. Retrieved on September 2, 2016.
External links
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| National | |
| Geographic | |
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