Leuville-sur-Orge

French commune
nomcommune=Leuville-sur-Orge
région=Île-de-France
département=Essonne
arrondissement=Palaiseau
canton=Arpajon
gentilé= Leuvillois, Leuvilloises
insee=91333
cp=91310
maire=Daniel Esprin
mandat=2008-2014
intercomm=CA du Val d'Orge
longitude=2.26583
latitude=48.6175
alt moy=35 m
alt mini=42 m
alt maxi=92 m
km²=2.49
sans=3,761
date-sans=1999
dens=1,510|

Leuville-sur-Orge is a small French town, 25km south of Paris, France. It is situated in the Essonne department of the Île-de-France region.

Geography

Situated 25km south of Paris. Neighbouring towns: Linas, Longpont-sur-Orge, Brétigny-sur-Orge, and Saint-Germain-lès-Arpajon. It is served by the RN20 and A104 motorways.

History

In the middle ages, Leuville-sur-Orge belonged to the fiefdom of Montlhéry. The Leuvillois took part in feudal wars on behalf of the fiefdom of Montlhéry and the abbey of Longpont. During the famous battle of Montlhéry (July 13, 1465) between Louis XI and Charles le Téméraire, the population of Leuville (approximately 50) was halved.

During the 16th century the village belonged to the Olivier de Leuville family who built a castle. The castle now no longer exists nor do any remains. The castle (that can be seen today) of Leuville dates back to the 18th century.

During the French revolution (1789–1799), Leuville served as a refuge for Lacépède, protegé of Buffon and a knowledgeable botanist, whilst fleeing the reign of terror in Paris.

More recently in 1922, it was a refuge of the then exiled Georgian prime minister Noe Zhordania and his government-in-exile who settled there. [ [http://www.caucaz.com/home_eng/breve_contenu.php?id=97 "Leuville-sur-Orge: a little Georgia 25 kilometers away southward from Paris"] , by Eva Csergo (Translated by Marie Anderson). CAUCAZ.COM - Article published in 27/12/2004 Issue.]

Leuville used to be a farming community which supplied Paris with agricultural produce. This was helped by it’s location on the «Voie Royale», a major road connecting Orléans and Paris which gave easy access to the nation’s capital. Produce was originally transported by foot, then by cart, and eventually by train, thanks to the famous Arpajonnais railroad. The main agricultural produce of the town were potatoes, pumpkins and wine.

Demographics

At the 1999 census, the population was formatnum:3761. The estimate for 2005 was formatnum:4140.

Inhabitants of Leuville-sur-Orge are known as "Leuvillois" and "Leuvilloises".

Twin towns

*, 2001

See also

*Leuville Cemetery
*Communes of the Essonne department

References

* [http://www.ign.fr/affiche_rubrique.asp?rbr_id=1087&CommuneId=81053 Leuville-sur-Orge on the Institut Géographique National website (French)]
* [http://www.recensement.insee.fr/RP99/rp99/co_navigation.co_page?nivgeo=C&codgeo=91333&theme=ALL&typeprod=ALL&lang=FR&quelcas=LISTE Leuville-sur-Orge on the Insee website (French)]

Notes

External links

* [http://www.leuville.fr/ Official town website] fr icon
* [http://www.quid.fr/communes.html?mode=query&req=Leuville-sur-Orge Leuville-sur-Orge on Quid.fr, a French encyclopedia (French)]
* [http://www.lion1906.com/Pages/ResultatLocalisation.php?InseeVille=910333 Location of Leuville-sur-Orge on a map of France (French)]
* [http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/merimee_fr?ACTION=CHERCHER&FIELD_98=INSEE&VALUE_98=91333 Mérimée database - Cultural heritage] fr icon
* [http://www.iaurif.org/en/gis/fichescom/mos99/ficmos/mos91333.html Land use (IAURIF)] en icon