ARGENTEUIL

'Argenteuil' is a commune of the Val-d'Oise, in the northwestern suburbs of Paris, France. This ''Francilienne'' town is located 12.3 km. (7.6 miles) from the center of Paris. Argenteuil is a ''sous-préfecture'' of the Val-d'Oise ''département'', being the seat of the Arrondissement of Argenteuil. It is the second-largest suburb of Paris (after Boulogne-Billancourt) and by far the largest commune in the Val-d'Oise, although it is not its ''préfecture'' (capital), which is shared between the communes of Cergy and Pontoise.

Contents

Name

History

Famous people born in Argenteuil

Transport

Demographics

Immigration

Gallery

External links

Name

The name Argenteuil is found recorded for the first time in a royal charter of 697 as ''Argentoialum'', from a Latin/Gaulish radical ''argento'' meaning "silver", "silvery", "shiny", perhaps in reference to the gleaming surface of the river Seine, on the banks of which Argenteuil is located, and from a Celtic suffix ''-ialo'' meaning "clearing, glade", "place of".

History

Argenteuil was founded as a convent in the 7th century (→ Pierre Abélard, Convent of Argenteuil). The monastery that arose from the convent was destroyed during the French Revolution.
Argenteuil was known for the white asparagus and grapes grown there. The word Argenteuil is synonymous with white asparagus on menus. Once a rural escape for Parisians, it is now a suburb of Paris. Painters made Argenteuil famous, including Claude Monet, Jean-Étienne Delacroix, Pierre-Auguste Renoir and Georges Braque.

Famous people born in Argenteuil

★ Georges Braque, May 3 1882, Co-founder of cubism and sculptor.

★ Ingrid Chauvin, (b. October 3 1973), French actress.

★ Chevalier d'Argenteuil, (fl. in Newfoundland, Canada 1709-13), French Soldier; he captured Fort William at St. John's Newfoundland in 1709

Transport

Argenteuil is served by two stations on the Transilien Paris – Saint-Lazare suburban rail line: Argenteuil and Val d'Argenteuil.

Demographics

Immigration

Gallery

External links

★ Official website