Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine
Encyclopedia
Sceaux is a commune
in the southern suburbs of Paris
, France
. It is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the center of Paris
.
, measuring 2 km² (0.77220431718507 sq mi). The original château, demolished during the Revolution
, was built by Jean-Baptiste Colbert
, the minister of finance to Louis XIV
and purchased by Louis' illegitimate son, the duke of Maine in 1699. His duchesse held court in a glittering salon
at Sceaux in the first decades of the eighteenth century.
The present château, rebuilt 1856-62 in a Louis XIII style
, is now the museum of Île-de-France
open for visits.
Sceaux is a very pretty city, especially downtown with its main pedestrian street full of nice shops such as bakeries, bookstores and chocolate sellers. This street is rue Houdan.
Housing costs are extremely high, higher than in many districts of Paris, especially with streets facing the Parc de Sceaux, in the Quartier des musiciens, in dire opposition to the subsidised housing found in the poorer Quartier des Blagis.
Sceaux is listed as the 44th richest city of France.
: Sceaux, Robinson
, and Parc de Sceaux
(this last station is located at the border between the commune of Sceaux and the commune of Antony
, on the Antony side of the border).It is also close to Paris-Orly Airport.
Sceaux is connected to the A86
motorway that circles around Paris. The commune also offers a developed network of buses which are often used by the Scéens (name given to the people who live in Sceaux).
(enrollment 3,000). The lycée Lakanal was named after a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France, Joseph Lakanal
and has remained one of the most prestigious and hardest schools of Île-de-France. The school also offers a middle school
and highly ranked "classes préparatoires" undergraduate training. Famous French scientists and writers have graduated from lycée Lakanal
, such as the Nobel Prize
Maurice Allais
, Jean Giraudoux
, Alain-Fournier
and Frédéric Joliot-Curie
. The Faculté Jean Monnet, the college of Law and Management of University of Paris-XI (Orsay), and the Institut Universitaire de Technologie of this university are also located in Sceaux.
The boarding academy Kadic Junior High School on Code Lyoko
based on the lycée Lakanal.
. Its main event is the Spring dance festival with an international program of the highest quality.
The commune also has a small movie theater, the Trianon, where international movies are released in their respective language and subtitled in French. The theater is also famous for showing independent films and hosting special events. In 2006, a debate revolving around ecology
was organized and Al Gore
's An Inconvenient Truth
was shown.
Various music events take place at Sceaux. The classical Music Festival established by Alfred Loewenguth
in 1969 (in 2010 entering its 41st season), takes place in the Orangery
built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart for the Marquis de Seignelay in 1686, in the Park at Sceaux. The Park also houses an open air opera every summer at the end of June.
The Parc de Sceaux was the location of Madonna
's Parisian first visit with her Who's That Girl World Tour
August 29, 1987, breaking the record of 131.000 people.
Communes of France
The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. French communes are roughly equivalent to incorporated municipalities or villages in the United States or Gemeinden in Germany...
in the southern suburbs of Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It is located 9.7 km (6 mi) from the center of Paris
Kilometre Zero
In many countries, Kilometre Zero or similar terms in other languages, is a particular location , from which distances are traditionally measured...
.
Wealth
Sceaux is famous for the Château of Sceaux, set in its large park (Parc départemental de Sceaux), designed by André Le NôtreAndré Le Nôtre
André Le Nôtre was a French landscape architect and the principal gardener of King Louis XIV of France...
, measuring 2 km² (0.77220431718507 sq mi). The original château, demolished during the Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, was built by Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert
Jean-Baptiste Colbert was a French politician who served as the Minister of Finances of France from 1665 to 1683 under the rule of King Louis XIV. His relentless hard work and thrift made him an esteemed minister. He achieved a reputation for his work of improving the state of French manufacturing...
, the minister of finance to Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France
Louis XIV , known as Louis the Great or the Sun King , was a Bourbon monarch who ruled as King of France and Navarre. His reign, from 1643 to his death in 1715, began at the age of four and lasted seventy-two years, three months, and eighteen days...
and purchased by Louis' illegitimate son, the duke of Maine in 1699. His duchesse held court in a glittering salon
Salon (gathering)
A salon is a gathering of people under the roof of an inspiring host, held partly to amuse one another and partly to refine taste and increase their knowledge of the participants through conversation. These gatherings often consciously followed Horace's definition of the aims of poetry, "either to...
at Sceaux in the first decades of the eighteenth century.
The present château, rebuilt 1856-62 in a Louis XIII style
Louis XIII style
The Louis XIII style or Louis Treize was a fashion in French art and architecture, especially effecting the visual and decorative arts. Its distinctness as a period in the history of French art has much to do with the regency under which Louis XIII began his reign...
, is now the museum of Île-de-France
Île-de-France (région)
Île-de-France is the wealthiest and most populated of the twenty-two administrative regions of France, composed mostly of the Paris metropolitan area....
open for visits.
Sceaux is a very pretty city, especially downtown with its main pedestrian street full of nice shops such as bakeries, bookstores and chocolate sellers. This street is rue Houdan.
Housing costs are extremely high, higher than in many districts of Paris, especially with streets facing the Parc de Sceaux, in the Quartier des musiciens, in dire opposition to the subsidised housing found in the poorer Quartier des Blagis.
Sceaux is listed as the 44th richest city of France.
Transport
Sceaux is served by three stations on Paris RER line BRER B
The RER B is one of the five lines in the RER rapid transit system serving :Paris, France.The line runs from the northern termini Aéroport Charles de Gaulle and Mitry-Claye to the southern termini Robinson and Saint-Rémy-lès-Chevreuse ....
: Sceaux, Robinson
Robinson (Paris RER)
Robinson is a railway station serving Sceaux, Hauts-de-Seine, a southern suburb of Paris, France. It is one of the terminuses of the RER B trains. The station is named after the nearby commune Le Plessis-Robinson....
, and Parc de Sceaux
Parc de Sceaux (Paris RER)
Parc de Sceaux is one of the Paris RER B stations, located in the city of Sceaux. This is also the name of a park and castle from Jean-Baptiste Colbert....
(this last station is located at the border between the commune of Sceaux and the commune of Antony
Antony, Hauts-de-Seine
-Personalities:Antony was the birthplace of:* Nicola Sirkis singer with the French band Indochine* Agnès Jaoui screenwriter, film director and actress* Laurent Lafforgue , mathematician-International relations:...
, on the Antony side of the border).It is also close to Paris-Orly Airport.
Sceaux is connected to the A86
A86 autoroute
A86 is the second ring road around Paris. A86 follows an irregular path around Paris with the distance from the city centre varying from...
motorway that circles around Paris. The commune also offers a developed network of buses which are often used by the Scéens (name given to the people who live in Sceaux).
Education
Sceaux hosts two public high schools, the lycée Marie Curie (enrollment 2,000) and the lycée LakanalLycée Lakanal
Lycée Lakanal is a secondary public school in Sceaux, France. It was named after Joseph Lakanal, a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France. The school also offers a middle school and highly ranked "classes préparatoires" undergraduate training...
(enrollment 3,000). The lycée Lakanal was named after a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France, Joseph Lakanal
Joseph Lakanal
Joseph Lakanal was a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France.-Early career:...
and has remained one of the most prestigious and hardest schools of Île-de-France. The school also offers a middle school
Middle school
Middle School and Junior High School are levels of schooling between elementary and high schools. Most school systems use one term or the other, not both. The terms are not interchangeable...
and highly ranked "classes préparatoires" undergraduate training. Famous French scientists and writers have graduated from lycée Lakanal
Lycée Lakanal
Lycée Lakanal is a secondary public school in Sceaux, France. It was named after Joseph Lakanal, a French politician, and an original member of the Institut de France. The school also offers a middle school and highly ranked "classes préparatoires" undergraduate training...
, such as the Nobel Prize
Nobel Prize
The Nobel Prizes are annual international awards bestowed by Scandinavian committees in recognition of cultural and scientific advances. The will of the Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, established the prizes in 1895...
Maurice Allais
Maurice Allais
Maurice Félix Charles Allais was a French economist, and was the 1988 winner of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economics "for his pioneering contributions to the theory of markets and efficient utilization of resources."...
, Jean Giraudoux
Jean Giraudoux
Hippolyte Jean Giraudoux was a French novelist, essayist, diplomat and playwright. He is considered among the most important French dramatists of the period between World War I and World War II. His work is noted for its stylistic elegance and poetic fantasy...
, Alain-Fournier
Alain-Fournier
Alain-Fournier was the pseudonym of Henri Alban-Fournier , a French author and soldier. He was the author of a single novel, Le Grand Meaulnes , which has been twice filmed and is considered a classic of French literature.-Biography:Alain-Fournier was born in La Chapelle-d'Angillon, in the Cher...
and Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Frédéric Joliot-Curie
Jean Frédéric Joliot-Curie , born Jean Frédéric Joliot, was a French physicist and Nobel laureate.-Early years:...
. The Faculté Jean Monnet, the college of Law and Management of University of Paris-XI (Orsay), and the Institut Universitaire de Technologie of this university are also located in Sceaux.
The boarding academy Kadic Junior High School on Code Lyoko
Code Lyoko
Code Lyoko is a French animated television series created by Thomas Romain and Tania Palumbo. The series centers on boarding school students Jeremie, Ulrich, Yumi, and Odd who travel to the virtual world of Lyoko to fight against multi-agent computer program XANA with Aelita, a being originally...
based on the lycée Lakanal.
Cultural life
Sceaux is home to one highly active national theater, the théâtre des Gémeaux, located in the quartier des Blagis which is part of the "Scène Nationale" network of the major theaters in France. The théâtre des Gémeaux attracts viewers from all over Île-de-France and ParisParis
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
. Its main event is the Spring dance festival with an international program of the highest quality.
The commune also has a small movie theater, the Trianon, where international movies are released in their respective language and subtitled in French. The theater is also famous for showing independent films and hosting special events. In 2006, a debate revolving around ecology
Ecology
Ecology is the scientific study of the relations that living organisms have with respect to each other and their natural environment. Variables of interest to ecologists include the composition, distribution, amount , number, and changing states of organisms within and among ecosystems...
was organized and Al Gore
Al Gore
Albert Arnold "Al" Gore, Jr. served as the 45th Vice President of the United States , under President Bill Clinton. He was the Democratic Party's nominee for President in the 2000 U.S. presidential election....
's An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth is a 2006 documentary film directed by Davis Guggenheim about former United States Vice President Al Gore's campaign to educate citizens about global warming via a comprehensive slide show that, by his own estimate, he has given more than a thousand times.Premiering at the...
was shown.
Various music events take place at Sceaux. The classical Music Festival established by Alfred Loewenguth
Loewenguth Quartet
The Loewenguth Quartet was a string quartet musical ensemble led by the French violinist Alfred Loewenguth. It was particularly famous for performances of classical repertoire such as Beethoven, Mozart and Haydn quartets, and was active from the 1930s to the 1970s.-Personnel:The founding line-up of...
in 1969 (in 2010 entering its 41st season), takes place in the Orangery
Orangery
An orangery was a building in the grounds of fashionable residences from the 17th to the 19th centuries and given a classicising architectural form. The orangery was similar to a greenhouse or conservatory...
built by Jules Hardouin-Mansart for the Marquis de Seignelay in 1686, in the Park at Sceaux. The Park also houses an open air opera every summer at the end of June.
The Parc de Sceaux was the location of Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...
's Parisian first visit with her Who's That Girl World Tour
Who's That Girl World Tour
The Who's That Girl World Tour is the second concert tour by American singer-songwriter Madonna. The tour supported her third studio album, True Blue , as well as the soundtrack Who's That Girl . It was Madonna's first world tour, reaching Asia, North America and Europe...
August 29, 1987, breaking the record of 131.000 people.
Twin towns
- Royal Leamington Spa (United KingdomUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
) - BrühlBrühl, North Rhine-WestphaliaBrühl is a town in the Rhineland of Germany. It is located in Rhein-Erft-Kreis, 20 km south of Cologne city center and at the edge of Naturpark Kottenforst-Ville Nature Reserve.-History:...
(GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
)
External links
- Sceaux official website (in French)