Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, Essonne

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (often abbreviated to SGdB[2]) is a commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 23.5 km (14.6 miles) from the center of Paris, in the arrondissement of Palaiseau, in the Essonne department, in the Île-de-France region.

For other places with the same name, see Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (disambiguation).
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois
Commune
Town Hall
Coat of arms
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Location of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois
Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois
Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois (Île-de-France (region))
Coordinates: 48°38′13″N 2°20′25″E
CountryFrance
RegionÎle-de-France
DepartmentEssonne
ArrondissementPalaiseau
CantonSainte-Geneviève-des-Bois
IntercommunalityCA Cœur d'Essonne
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Frederic Petitta
Area
1
9.27 km2 (3.58 sq mi)
Population
 (2017-01-01)[1]
36,207
 • Density3,900/km2 (10,000/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
91549 /91700
Elevation37–90 m (121–295 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

History

Inhabitants of Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois are known as Génovéfains. There has been a settlement in what is now Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois since Roman times. In 1800 it was still a small settlement with around 100 inhabitants. After the armistice in 1918 the population was counted at less than 800. The boom started in the 1920s when inhabitants of Paris wanted affordable housing. This boom was in part because the railway station of Perray was built, connecting the town to Paris. The population at the moment is over 30.000 inhabitants, making it one of the larger settlements in the Essonne departement.

In 1926 the Château de la Cossonnerie[3] was converted to a retirement home for White émigrés. It is locally known as the Maison Russe. It is still a retirement home but also a centre for Russian Culture.

Notable events

In 1963 Carrefour opened its first hypermarket in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois, at more than 2 500 square meters the largest in France at the time.[4] This store is still active.

Ilan Halimi, the young French Jew, who was kidnapped and tortured (leading to his eventual death) in 2006 by a group called the Gang of Barbarians, was found in Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois.[5]

Tourism

Saint-Geneviève-des-Bois does not have an Office du Tourisme nor does the Mairie have tourist facilities. The town has set out a walking tour of the town taking in most of the important places in the town, taking in both the old and the new. Saint-Geneviève-des-Bois has a strong link with the Russian community living in France. The walk passes the Russian Necropolis, considered by some as the most important necropolis of Russian emigrants in the world.

The town offers limited cycling, horse-riding and walking facilities. There is a campsite in neighbouring Villiers-sur-Orge.

Sights

Attractions include the Donjon, a park with animals, the town greenhouse, a grotto, and a Russian Necropolis. There are two main green spaces, the Bois des Trous and a parkland which borders on the river Orge (a tributary of the Seine). There are also some small parks.

Location

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois is one of the southern suburbs (banlieue) of Paris, France. It is located 23.5 km (14.6 mi) from the center of Paris and lies just north of junction 42 on the orbital Francilienne autoroute.

Transport

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois has an eponymous railway station located on the Paris–Bordeaux railway and the Transilien which in part serves RER line C to Paris.

From the railway station a number of bus lines connect the town to the region: lines CEAT (101, 102, 103, 104 and 105), Daniel Meyer (DM6A and DM17A)

Sport

See Sainte-Geneviève Sports

  • Church and square
  • Public market
  • Château and Donjon
  • The first Carrefour hypermarket

Twin towns - sister cities

Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois is twinned with:[6]

See also

References
  1. "Populations légales 2017". INSEE. Retrieved 6 January 2020.
  2. SGdB in the French Wikipedia
  3. The history of la Cossonnerie in the Magazine Municipal Sainte-Geneviëve-des-Bois, No 239, 2007 Archived 2015-09-24 at the Wayback Machine
  4. (in French) Carrefour in SGdB
  5. Tale of Torture and Murder Horrifies the Whole of France, Michel Gurfinkiel, The New York Sun, February 22, 2006
  6. "Le jumelage". sgdb91.com (in French). Sainte-Geneviève-des-Bois. Retrieved 2019-11-18.
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