SAINT-MAUR-DES-FOSSéS

'Saint-Maur-des-Fossés' is a commune of the Val-de-Marne, located in the southeastern suburbs of Paris, France. This ''Francilienne'' town is located 11.7 km. (7.3 miles) from the center of Paris.

Contents

Name

Geography

History and famous residents

Demographics

Immigration

Transport

External links

Name

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés owes its name to an abbey founded in 638 by Queen Nanthild, regent for her son Clovis II, at a place called ''Fossati'' in Medieval Latin (''Les Fossés'' in modern French), meaning "the moats". This place, located at the narrow entrance of a loop of the Marne River, was probably named after the moats of an ancient Celtic oppidum and later a Roman castrum whose existence was revealed by archeologists.
The abbey, dedicated to Saint Peter and Saint Mary, was called ''Sanctus Petrus Fossatensis'' in Medieval Latin (''Saint Pierre des Fossés'' in French), meaning "Saint Peter of the Moats". In 868, King Charles the Bald invited the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Maur de Glanfeuil (in Le Thoureil, Maine-et-Loire, western France), who had fled their abbey due to Viking invasion, to relocate to ''Saint Pierre des Fossés'' with their precious relics of Saint Maurus.
Later in the Middle Ages, the relics of Saint Maurus became very famous as they were supposed to heal gout and epilepsy, and ''Saint Pierre des Fossés'' became one of the most famous pilgrimage centers of medieval France. Eventually, in the 13th century the relics were so popular that the abbey was renamed Saint-Maur-des-Fossés ("Saint Maurus of the Moats").
The little settlement that grew around the abbey was henceforth known as Saint-Maur-des-Fossés.
During the French Revolution, Saint-Maur-des-Fossés was temporarily renamed ''Vivant-sur-Marne'' (meaning "Lively upon Marne") in a gesture of rejection of religion.
After the French Revolution, the official name of the commune was only Saint-Maur (apparently "des-Fossés" was dropped), and it is only in 1897 that "des-Fossés" was re-added to the name, probably to conform to the historical name and also to distinguish Saint-Maur-des-Fossés from other communes of France also called Saint-Maur.

Geography

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is almost entirely surrounded by a loop of the Marne River.

History and famous residents

It was made up initially of two distinct villages, Saint-Maur itself and La Varenne-Saint-Hilaire, including the game preserve Saint-Hilaire.
In 1791, part of the territory of Saint-Maur-des-Fossés was detached and became the commune of ''La Branche-du-Pont-de-Saint-Maur'', later renamed Joinville-le-Pont.
Catherine de' Medici was a frequent visitor, preferring it to the château de Vincennes. In 1563 she acquired the château du Bellay, added to it substantially – although it would eventually be demolished during the French Revolution. On September 23, 1568, her teenage son, King Charles IX, issued the Edict of Saint-Maur, which prohibited all religions but Catholicism. It prompted fierce religious intolerance in Paris and eventually led to the 1572, St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre.
Among the writers who lived in Saint-Maur are: Rabelais, La Rochefoucauld, Boileau, Madame de Sévigné, Madame de La Fayette, Victor Hugo, Alexandre Dumas, père and ‘Quo Vadis’ author Henryk Sienkiewicz.
The first president of Senegal after independence, Léopold Sédar Senghor, taught at Saint-Maur’s lycée Marcellin Berthelot.
Crooner Charles Trenet, whose ‘La Mer’ has been recorded 400 times (notably as ‘Beyond The Sea’ by Bobby Darin), was a longtime resident: the bronze hat at the foot of the lovers statue on the Quai Winston Churchill is dedicated to him. Other French stars who have lived in Saint-Maur include Vanessa Paradis, Françoise Hardy, Raymond Devos, Michel Jonasz, Eddy Mitchell, Khaled, Natalie Dessay, and Marthe Mercadier.
However, it is Jacques Tati for whom Saint-Mauriens hold the strongest affection. The quirky moviemaker filmed much of his 1958 "My Uncle" ("Mon Oncle"), in Saint-Maur, using many of the locals as extras. It went on to win the best foreign language film Oscar. The Place de la Pelouse includes a bronze statue of Tati as Monsieur Hulot, talking to a boy, in a pose echoing the movie’s poster.

Demographics

Immigration

Transport

Saint-Maur-des-Fossés is served by four stations on Paris RER line A: Saint-Maur – Créteil, Le Parc de Saint-Maur, Champigny, and La Varenne – Chennevières.

External links

★ Saint-Maur Blog

★ City Website