Maintenon (Eure-et-Loir)

Geography

Located within a fertile valley at the confluence of the the Eure and Voices, Maintenon is in the natural area of the Paris basin in extreme cases extreme of the north of the Beauce, being next to the Thymerais. The basement is composed of various geological layers. One finds:

of old cretaceous of the end of the secondary era during which the chalk was formed;

of sand the formed average tertiary sector of Fontainebleau to the Park, or clay, flint or of limestone of Beauce;

of the formed higher lower sand tertiary sector, silt of the plates;

of torrential grounds (sand and gravel) in valley of the Eure and in Maingournois;

of the modern alluvia in boggy valley of Voices

The average altitude of Maintenon is of 101 meters. The place highest being of 152 meters to the Park.

The city is sprinkled by many rivers: the Eure, Voices it, Marolle, Guéreau and the channel Louis XIV.

History

Maintenon with the wire of times

One discovers for the first time the name of Mestenon in a document of the 11th century. An etymological study makes it possible to determine the ground of Maintenon right from the start feudal. This name is resulting from the contraction and phonetics from a Latin expression, messum tenemum, pertaining to the feudal language. The messum term meant the manse, i.e. the rural residence with a quantity of grounds, the other term, tenemum, applied to a feudal property.

The legal status of this ground evolved/moved and was transformed at the 10th century into manse seigneuriale.

administrative Status

Before 1789 - Of a surface of 1 hectare, Maintenon corresponded to two parishes and a collection, tax district basic of the perception of the size. Depending on the town of Orleans for the government and the intendance, it was attached and dépendée of Chartres on the level of the election (regrouping of collections), of the subdelegation, for the attic with salt, the habit, the bailliage like for the diocese.

Attached to the deanery of Épernon, Maintenon had as parishes; Saint Nicolas's Day (the lord of the place, Louis, duke of Noailles, par and Marshal of France) and Saint-Pierre (for the large archdeacon.

Chaired by Louis Henry Houy (lawyer at the Parliament), the preparation of the General states took place on March 1st. The deputies were Louis Richer, tax prosecutor, Louis Henry Houy, Pierre Morice, merchant and Mathurin Lavigne, vine grower. Unfortunately, the register of grievances is lost.

After the Revolution - the canton of Maintenon belongs to the district of the town of Chartres. In year IX, in accordance with the transformation by the Constituent Assembly of old divisions of monarchical France into departments, the canton of Maintenon belongs to the district of Chartres, in the department of Eure-et-Loir. There like elsewhere, the civil statue passes from the responsibility for the clergy to the administration.

One also assists, on February 26th, 1792, with the sale of national goods having belonged to the clergy, within the framework of the spoliation of the goods of Church.

Another sale contract of the 22 floréal year III concerning the succession of Noailles clarifies the situation of a whole nobility driven back at the time emigrating. The very precise description of the farm which is made on this occasion gives very an good idea of its importance. In addition, it was raised in extracts of deliberations of the municipal council of year 1792 that the succession of Noailles fell to the profit from the Republic the 26 frimaire year II, as well as the decision to melt the bells.

We also attend the deposit at the common house of the registers of baptism, marriages and burials held up to that point by “the two” priests of the parish and with the nomination of an affected public officer with their behavior.

The manifestations of the Republic multiply: bonfire to celebrate the success of the French Army, song of the Marseillaise, decision of the destruction of the old armorial bearings and purchase of a bonnet of freedom.

The reading of some instruments, such that having milked with laicization, makes it possible to better determine this period of great upheavals.

Today - Maintenon is the chief town of its canton. This city belongs to the district of the prefecture of the department, Chartres, and at the department of Eure-et-Loir, in Center area.

Within the framework of a policy supporting the intercommunality, it took part in the creation of the Community of Communes being entitled the Terraces and Valleys of Maintenon which gathers 10 communes today: Bouglainval, Chartainvilliers, Houx, Maintenon, Mévoisins, Stones, Saint-Piat, Soulaires, Villiers Morhier and Yermenonville.

The intercommunality is already a reality for Maintenon and Pierre, which carried out successfully joint projects allowing the realization of sociocultural and sporting equipment like supporting the implementation of work in the course of completion, such those of the interconnection of the drinking water networks.

The last census going back to March 1990 reveals a population of 4.440 inhabitants (2 177 men and 2.263 women). Since 1990, the common one gained 279 inhabitants. In twenty-four years, it gained 1.127 of them.

365 inhabitants 75 year old and more account for 8,2% of the population, whereas 1.137 young people account for 25,6% of them.

2.110 people are active, among whom 180 seek work. 142 exert a work on their account or help a spouse. 1.547 people will work with the outside. Those which exert in the commune are thus a small minority. 29,9% work in the department, 50,4% out of the department

Administration

Demography

Places and monuments

the castle of Maintenon

To speak about the history of the castle of Maintenon, it is to speak about the town of Maintenon, because one and the other were during centuries and are still closely dependant.

In 1105 for the first time a lord with Maintenon appears. The square Tower of XIIIe century, is used as keep. Reassuring by its presence, it protects the inhabitants from this rural region, at the northern border of the “attic of France”, by its large sandstone walls.

In 1200, the lord of Maintenon Amaury, made donation of the Sainte-Marie church to the monks of the monastery of Saint Martin's day de Marmoutiers, located in the enclosure of the castle, with the grounds which depend on it. A room including/understanding a vault beside the church Nicolas saint could be a vestige of this church.

From 1200 to 1509, the lords ensure the private life of the field and the public life of their stronghold. (one and the other being confused). Profiteurs, extravagant, fatal, retributive and protective, they symbolize the balance and the paradox of medieval France. From 1509 to 1530, feudality declines and the company evolves/moves. In the capacity as creditor of the former lords, Jean Cottereau (who served four kings Louis XI, Charles VIII, Louis XII and François 1ier) devenient the owner of the ground and the walls of Maintenon. He deals of the enlarging and the embellishment of his residence. He builds the wings is and northern which are delimited with the angles by three grosses towers rondesconserve and preserves the enclosing walls of the south and the west. The entry of the castle is done by a drawbridge in north. “The castle, as Mrs Raindre will like to say it, enters the history on one level, thanks to the marchioness of Maintenon and with her royal husband, characters indissociable of the life of Maintenon. ” Madam de Maintenon describes it in these terms with her brother, Charles d' Aubigné: “It is a large castle at the end of the end of a large borough, a situation according to my taste, of the meadows around and the river which passes in the ditches. ”. Indeed, the castle is surrounded by all shares by water of the Eure.

The contract of acquisition of the seigniory and the ground of Maintenon, including that of the Park, consisted of: “Castle, principal manor, ditches at bottom of cellar, course, gardens, enclosed, a farmyard with several buildings, the closed whole of walls and by the river of the Eure and of a capacity of approximately 25 arpents. ” Madam de Maintenon was to add to it the seigniories of Stones, Théneuse and Boisricheux acquired at the price of 34.000 books, by act of January 25th, 1679, like that of Grogneul, whose contract was ratified by Louvois in the name of the king on July 31st, 1687.

The castle was, before the time of the king Louis XIV, of form square with four turns with the angles and surrounded by ditches where the Eure ran. The square tower, isolated, was connected to the one of the pinions of the castle west coast by a wall in machicolation that Madam de Maintenon made demolish to build the wing of her apartments. It was connected, east coast, by a crenelated wall closing the court which was also destroyed. The wing, is built by Cottereau, Minister for Finance of François First and sheltered the stables and the handing-over. Madam de Maintenon made them transport under the gallery, built on the first floor to connect the castle to the Saint Nicolas's Day church, where a platform had been arranged to make it possible to the king to attend the offices.

At the time of the construction of the aqueduct, Maintenon became a momentary residence of the court. Louis XIV wanted to bring embellishments to him. He made draw by Ours the park and the floor, dig the large Channel which passes under the aqueduct and plant two beautiful alleys on his banks. In 1683, at the request of Louis XIV and under his monitoring, Vauban and Hire undertook the construction of the monumental aqueduct. Diverted, the river was to feed the dancing waters of Versailles. Given up to the third of its realization, the work was given to Madam de Maintenon of compensation for worries which it had been able to cause to him. With this occasion, Madam de Maintenon made cut down the southern wall.

From 1674 to 1698, the presence of Madam de Maintenon in these places, was less important than it considered it at the beginning because of her functions of controlling illegitimate children of the king, then as a secret wife of the king. Louis XIV and the princes of the royal family made frequent visits there and often resided at it. Madam de Montespan put there at the world Miss de Blois. Root wrote there its tragedies Esther and Athalie for the young ladies of Saint-Cyr military school.

The castle and the aqueduct

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