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The city is covered by the Meudon Domanial Forest that accounts for half of its surface, a rarity in the close suburbs of Paris. Also, the city presents many significantgrades and happens to be the geographic high point of the "small crown" of the Paris suburbs.
The town of Meudon is built on the hills and valleys of theSeine, in the south-west of theHauts-de-Seinedepartment. The forest of Meudon lies for the most part to the west of the town.
The north-west part of Meudon, overlooking the Seine, is known asBellevue ("beautiful view").
The city covers 990 hectares, or 9.9 km2 (3.8 mi2), from the Seine river up to the neigboring heights.
As such, it has significant elevation changes along its territory and hard slopes. Altitude varies from 28m (92 ft) next to the river to 179m (587 ft) on the valley heights.
The Meudon Forest occupies the city heights, while the urban part is built on the sloped grounds next to the forest. The Bas-Meudon district, next to the Seine, displays the first slopes, the Bellevue district and downtown Meudon are at middle elevation. The Meudon-la-Forêt district is isolated from the rest of city, and rests on top of the Vélizy-Villacoublay plateau, at a height comprised between 168m (551 ft) and 174m (570 ft).
At Meudon, theargile plastiqueclay was extensively mined in the 19th century. The firstfossil of the EuropeandiatrymaGastornis parisiensis was discovered in these deposits byGaston Planté.
Archelogical sites found at Meudon show that it may have been populated since theNeolithic times.Gauls named the siteMole-Dum (sand dune), and theRomans Latinized the name asMoldunum.
The oldest known Lord of Meudon is the knight Erkenbold, in 1180.
During theMiddle Ages, the history of Meudon is linked to the Meudon Family, an old family of the Frenchnobility.
TheSaint-Germainabbey held aseigneurerie at Meudon since the 12th century, despite that monastery having no official title granting such rights over the city before the 13th century.
In 1235, Simon, the Saint-Germain abbot, buys back thewheat andwinetithes from Etienne de Meudon. The abbot then continued to buy land in Meudon.
The oldcastle of Meudon was rebuilt in Renaissance style in the mid-sixteenth century. It was bought byLouis XIV as a residence for his sonLouis, the Dauphin under whom Meudon became a center of aristocratic life.
After the death of the Dauphin in 1711, the château was neglected, emptied in theRevolutionary sales, and finally burned in 1871 at the close of theFranco-Prussian War, while it was occupied by Prussian soldiers.
The handsome Galliera Institutions, on the hill of Fleury, were founded by the duchess of Galliera for the care of aged persons and orphans. The buildings were completed in 1885.
TheHôtel de Ville was commissioned as a private house and was completed in 1888.[3]
The airshipLa France, designed by Renard andArthur Krebs, was built in Hangar Y in 1884 and was the first airship which was controllable during flight and which could return to its starting point.[4]
The 1884 Krebs & Renard first fully controllable free-flights with the LA FRANCE electric dirigible in Meudon near Paris (Krebs arch.)
Although a choice residential district, access to the railway (RER) and the Seine river have made Meudon a manufacturing center since the 1840s.
Metal products and military explosives have been continuously produced there since then.
In recent times, the town's economy has shifted toward services from its manufacturing origins.Thales Group,HP,Vallourec andSodexo have offices in the Meudon Campus business district at Meudon-sur-Seine.
In addition to the Observatory, what is todayONERA, a national aerospace research institute andwind tunnel has been present since the military opened its aerostatic (lighter-than-air) field in the Chalais park in 1877. From 1921 to 1981 the Air Museum was located here until it moved toLe Bourget Airport.
Meudon is served along the Seine by two stations on the T2 tramway line: Meudon-sur-Seine and Brimborion. This line links thePorte de Versailles in the south to the Pont de Bezons in the north, serving theLa Défense business district.
The T6 tramway line runs fromChâtillon toViroflay. Meudon is served by Georges Millandy and Meudon la Forêt stations.
The Imperial Cedar (Cèdre Impérial), attracted the attention ofEmpress Eugénie andQueen Victoria.[12] As of March 2021, the tree is in good condition, but it is threatened by real estate speculation. Another real estate project is planned for the historic park of the Napoleon III villa built byCharles Schacher. Both projects are controversial and have aroused local opposition.
Marcel Dupré, perhaps the most famous French organist of the 20th century, lived and worked in Meudon. He transformed his home into a small concert hall; the current owners of the home still hold public concerts there.[13]
Welsh painterGwen John lived in Meudon from 1911 until just before her death in 1939.
Argeline Buise, the model for Gwen John's paintingThe Pilgrim (1920) was a resident of Meudon. Gwen painted her "again and again"[14]
Former French prime ministerLionel Jospin was born in Meudon.
Joseph P. Kennedy Jr, the son of the U.S. Ambassador in London, came to Meudon in 1939. During his short stay, he fell in Love withAimée de Heeren, a Brazilian Secret Service agent who had secret documents from Germany. De Heeren loved the "Cedre Imperial Meudon" - a centuries old cedar tree full of legends - and showed it to Kennedy. Their love story in Meudon had an impact on World War II, as Kennedy helped Aimée to influence PresidentFranklin D. Roosevelt, who initially wanted to stay out of the conflict.[15]
ArtistJean Metzinger lived and worked in Meudon from around 1911, during some of the crucial years ofCubism.
George Simeon Papadopoulos, OBE, Professor of History, Dep. Director of Education Department of OECD (1925–2012)
French actress and modelClémence Poésy attended the bilingual alternative schoolLa Source, Meudon, and is best known for her portrayal of Fleur Delacour in theHarry Potter films.
The town has a monument toRabelais, who died here ascanon of Meudon, where he held the benefice from 1551 to 1552.
Art historian and curatorJean Robiquet was born in Meudon on 6 July 1874.
SculptorAuguste Rodin's villa "des Brillants", now a museum of his art, is located here, as is his grave.
Jean-Paul Sartre grew up at his maternal grandfather's house in Meudon, as recounted in his memoirThe Words.
A statue of François Rabelais byGeorges Saupique stands in front of the Meudon town hall. François Rabelais was the parish priest of Meudon from 1551 to 1553
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