Raray

Raray
Raray
	Location of Raray
Country	France
Region	Hauts-de-France
Department	Oise
Arrondissement	Senlis
Canton	Pont-Sainte-Maxence
Intercommunality	Pays de Senlis
Government
• Mayor (2001–2008)	Jean-Marc De la Bedoyère
Area 1	6.72 km2 (2.59 sq mi)
Population (1999)	144
• Density	21/km2 (55/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	60525 /60810
Elevation	85–115 m (279–377 ft) ; (avg. 104 m or 341 ft)
	1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Raray is a commune in the Oise department in the Hauts-de-France region of northern France. Raray is located in the agricultural plain of the Valois, 11km northeast of Senlis and 13 km west of Crépy-en-Valois. The city of Raray consists of the village that gave it its name and the hamlet of La Borde, located at the northeastern end of the municipal territory. This hamlet is reduced to a farm and a few houses.

History

In 2010, the municipality had 159 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known throughout the population censuses conducted in the town since 1793.^[1]

Raray has six monuments within its territory, including the Château Raray, its balustrades, and two other related architectural complexes.

Château

Château Raray is a castle whose initial construction dates back to 1522, though little of the original building remains. It was inhabited from 1610 to 1620 by Nicolas de Lancy, advisor to Louis XIII of France and chamberlain of the Duke of Orleans, and later, from 1766 to 1781, by Lord Antoine-Claude Henry and his eldest son Henry Francis. It was modernized between 1890 and 1914 by Henri de La Bédoyère.

In 1945, Château Castle served as the location of some scenes from the movie Beauty and the Beast by Jean Cocteau. In 1988, a golf course was developed in the park.