Rambouillet

French commune|nomcommune=Rambouillet| région=Île-de-France
département=Yvelines ("sous-préfecture")| arrondissement=Rambouillet
canton=Rambouillet
insee=78517
cp=78120
maire=Gérard Larcher
mandat=2007-2008
intercomm=Communauté
de communes
Plaines et
Forêts d'Yveline
longitude=01.830833
latitude=48.644444
alt moy= 142 m
alt mini= 142 m
alt maxi= 177 m
km²= 35.19
sans=
24,900
24,758
date-sans=Jan. 1, 2005 estimate)
(March 8, 1999 census
dens=708|date-dens=2005

Rambouillet is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located convert|44.3|km|abbr=on southwest from the center of Paris (as the crow flies). Rambouillet is a "sous-préfecture" of the Yvelines "département", being the seat of the arrondissement of Rambouillet.

Rambouillet is famous for the vast forest of the same name, as well as for the Château de Rambouillet which hosted several international summits. Due to its proximity to Paris and Versailles, Rambouillet has long been an occasional seat of government.

History

Rambouillet was in the spotlight during the Kosovo Crisis, where parties to this conflict met in February/March 1999 under the auspices of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation. The meeting was meant to end the crisis there, with calls for restoration of Kosovo's autonomy, ceasefire by Yugoslavian paramilitary forces and allow NATO peacekeeping forces in Kosovo. Yugoslavian authorities refused to sign the Rambouillet Agreement, claiming a deferred independence to Kosovo. This started the Kosovo War: NATO's reaction to the refusal to sign the agreement was an air strike on Yugoslavia carried out between March and June 1999.

Transport

Rambouillet is served by the Rambouillet station on the Transilien Paris – Montparnasse suburban rail line.

Features

The old fortified Château de Rambouillet was acquired by Louis XVI of France in 1783 as a private residence; it is still the official summer residence of French presidents. In 1784 Louis XVI had a range built as a meeting for the government (the palace was subsequently rebuilt and occupied as the "Palais du Roi de Rome" by Napoleon Bonaparte's son).It was largely ignored until February 1896, when Rambouillet was visited by President Félix Faure, with a view to spending the summer months there. Rambouillet thus became the official summer residence of the Presidents of the Fourth Republic and has retained its position.

Many other buildings owned by substantial political figures are to be found in the town and nearby area.

Notable people

Rambouillet was the birthplace of:
* Ulysse Chevalier (1841-1923), bibliographer and historian
* Robert Benoist (1895-1944), Grand Prix motor racing driver and war hero
* Jérémie Aliadière, former Arsenal football player, now with Middlesbrough FC

Twinning

Rambouillet is twinned with:
*flagicon|UK Great Yarmouth, United Kingdom
*flagicon|Germany Kirchheim unter Teck, Germany
*flagicon|Belgium Waterloo, Belgium
*flagicon|Spain Zafra, Spain

External links

* [http://www.rambouillet.fr/ Official website] fr icon