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Melun

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Title: Melun  
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Melun

Melun
Town Hall
Town Hall
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Coordinates:
Country France
Region Île-de-France
Department Seine-et-Marne
Arrondissement Melun
Canton Melun-Nord and Melun-Sud
Intercommunality Melun – Val de Seine
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) Gérard Millet (UMP)
Area1 8.04 km2 (3.10 sq mi)
Population (2007)2 37,835
 • Density 4,700/km2 (12,000/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 77288 / 77000
Elevation 37–102 m (121–335 ft)
(avg. 54 m or 177 ft)

1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Melun (French pronunciation: ​, local pronunciation: ) is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a south-eastern suburb of Paris, located 41.4 km (25.7 miles) from the center of Paris. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of an arrondissement. Its inhabitants are called Melunais.

History

Meledunum began as a Gaulish town; Caesar noted Melun as "a town of the Senones, situated on an island in the Seine"; at the island there was a wooden bridge, which his men repaired.[1] Roman Meledunum was a mutatio where fresh horses were kept available for official couriers on the Roman road south-southeast of Paris, where it forded the Seine.[2]

The Normans sacked it in 845. The castle of Melun became a royal residence of the Capetian kings. Hugh Capet (See also: House of Capet) gave Melun to Bouchard, his favorite. In the reign of Hugh's son, Robert II of France, Eudes, the count of Champagne, bought the city, and the king took it back for the viscount in 999. Le Chatelain and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged. Robert died there in July 1031.

Counts of Melun

Viscounts of Melun

The early viscounts of Melun were listed by 17th and 18th century genealogists, notably Père Anselme. Based on closer reading of the original documents, Adolphe Duchalais constructed this list of viscounts in 1844:[3]

  • Salo (c. 993; possibly legendary)
  • Joscelin I (c. 998)
  • William (possibly c. 1000)
  • Ursio (c. 1067–1085)
  • William the Carpenter (c. 1094)
  • Hilduin, Garin, Ursio II, Jean (unknown dates, possibly not viscounts)
  • Adam (c. 1138–1141; married Mahaut, daughter of his predecessor)
  • Joscelin II (c. 1156)

The title eventually became an honorary peerage. Such viscounts include Honoré Armand de Villars and Claude Louis Hector de Villars.

Melun water-color postcard showing Melun in the 1920s and circa 1095.

Climate

Climate data for Melun
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Average high °C (°F) 6.4
(43.5) 		7.8
(46) 		12.0
(53.6) 		15.3
(59.5) 		19.3
(66.7) 		22.5
(72.5) 		25.2
(77.4) 		25.0
(77) 		21.1
(70) 		16.2
(61.2) 		10.3
(50.5) 		6.8
(44.2) 		15.66
(60.18)
Average low °C (°F) 1.0
(33.8) 		1.0
(33.8) 		3.1
(37.6) 		5.0
(41) 		8.8
(47.8) 		11.6
(52.9) 		13.5
(56.3) 		13.2
(55.8) 		10.4
(50.7) 		7.8
(46) 		3.9
(39) 		1.8
(35.2) 		6.76
(44.16)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 55.1
(2.169) 		47.6
(1.874) 		51.0
(2.008) 		53.7
(2.114) 		64.6
(2.543) 		53.9
(2.122) 		61.3
(2.413) 		53.4
(2.102) 		56.1
(2.209) 		63.6
(2.504) 		55.2
(2.173) 		61.4
(2.417) 		676.9
(26.648)
Mean monthly sunshine hours 62.6 79.6 136.5 178.3 211.7 226.5 229.3 221.7 174.8 118.0 65.4 48.2 1,752.6
Source: Météo-France

Transport

Melun Shield dating from the 15th century – "Melun (Seine-et-Marne): Azure on a semy-de-lys or a castle with three towers argent. Melun was one of the original strongholds of the royal domain. Motto: fida muris usque ad mures, recalling the siege of 1420 when inhabitants had to eat rats." http://www.heraldica.org/topics/france/frcitdep.htm

Melun is served by the Gare de Melun, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line D, on the Transilien R suburban rail line, and on several national rail lines.

Main sights

The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun was the original home of the Melun Diptych.

The nearby château of Vaux-le-Vicomte is considered a smaller predecessor of Palace of Versailles.

The officers' school of the French Gendarmerie is located in Melun.

People

Melun was the birthplace of:

Education

A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation university) is located in Melun.

Twin towns – sister cities

Melun is twinned with:

See also

References

  1. ^ Gallic War vii. 58, 60.
  2. ^ Meledunum appears in the Antonine Itinerary almost halfway between Lutetia (Paris) and Condate (Rennes) ('Meledunum").
  3. ^ Adolphe Duchalais, "Charte inedité de l’an 1138, relative à l’histoire des viscomtes de Melun" (Bibliothèque de l’école des chartes vol. 6 no. 6, 1845).

Sources

  • INSEE
  • Initial text from the "Carpenters' Encyclopedia of Carpenters 2001" Compiled by John R. Carpenter.
  • The Viscounts and Counts of Melun are listed in Detlev Schwennicke, Europäische Stammtafeln, Neue Folge, Volume VII, Tafels 55 & 56.

External links

  • Official website (French)
  • Tourist office website (French)
  • 1999 Land Use, from IAURIF (Institute for Urban Planning and Development of the Paris-Île-de-France région) (English)
  • French Ministry of Culture list for Melun (French)
  • Map of Melun on Michelin (English)
Population over 2 million
Population over 100,000
Population over 75,000
Population over 50,000
Population over 25,000
Population under 25,000
  • 1,669 other communes
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