The common Vésinet occupies a small part of the Yvelines forest that covered in ancient times all around Paris.
In the year 704, the Merovingian king Childebert third made this the land of Aupec (Pecq) and its sub fief Visiniolum (Le Vésinet) to the famous Norman Abbey of Fontenelle near Rouen, better known under the name of Saint-Wandrille since the 12th century.
In front of the castle of Saint-Germain, in the forest of Vésinet become part of the domain of the Crown as royal hunting, Henri 4th was drilled wide avenues starting from the Etoile Royale, at the location of the roundabout and the current Place de la République: routes to Chatou Croissy Montesson Cormeilles and La Borde (road Sartrouville).
The names of the new avenues, Pages, the Pack, the Greyhound, the Pheasant ... evoke the royal hunts. We hunted both deer, wild boar, all species of birds and hares and rabbits swarmed.
Louis XIII, the continued improvements and in 1627 built the first wooden bridge on the Seine. It ended right bank, near a venerable elm tree said Sully.
From Louis XIV was born in Saint-Germain, in the present Pavillon Henri IV, kings will ignore the castle, overtaken by Versailles. La Garenne Vésinet for 150 years will be more than a wooden frame. It was unwise to the late 18th century to venture. Until 1856 it remained almost deserted.
Yet in 1837 the railroad crossing. The Paris-Le Pecq lasted half an hour, four to five times less than diligence.
The Second Empire, industrial, Alphonse Pallu, had the idea to take advantage of the service by rail to create in the forest Vésinet a resort for Parisians, it was said at the time "a colony". Through the Duke of half-brother of Napoleon III Morny he acquired for this purpose, in 1856, 436 hectares of forest. He then appealed to the trace of a city park map, a renowned landscape architect, Count Choulot to keep this place a rustic character.
Thus you will discover during your walks, thirty acres of cast traced through the forests, discovering the slopes of Louveciennes and Saint-Germain, the five hectares of five joined by four kilometers of rivers cascading artificial lakes rocks. From 26 to 46 meters, the road crosses the 70 km Vésinet.
Alphonse Pallu and Count Choulot drafted in 1858 to ensure the preservation of their work, a regulation requiring owners perpetuity. This specification has been confirmed and developed by planning rules for 75 years.
31 May 1875 Le Vésinet was erected in common by the law of the 3rd Republic. There were 463 voters while 875 owners because Parisians acquired the land to build their second home. So that the streets are not sad we had to have a glimpse of the beautiful gardens prohibiting opaque walls ...
Many famous people have lived or stayed:
Painters: Maurice de Vlaminck, Maurice Utrillo ...
Musicians: Gabriel Faure Georges Bizet, Gabriel Dupont Cécile Chaminade ...
Men of letters: the philosopher Alain lived there for over thirty years. The poet and esthete Robert de Montesquiou lived for ten years at the Rose Palace. Julien Green, Guillaume Apollinaire, Auguste Lebreton and many more ...
Lyrical artists or variety: Josephine Baker, Luis Mariano, Jeanne Aubert, Barbara ...
Theater people and film: Jean-Louis Barrault, Julien Carette, Jean Marais ...
Athletes, Olympic champions: Jean Rigoulot, Virginie Heriot, Brice Guyart.
Diverse personalities popularized by television Pierre-Jean Vaillard, Alain Decaux, Philippe Bouvard ...
