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Orsay | |
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 Town hall | |
.svg) Coat of arms | |
 Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs | |
 Location of Orsay | |
  Orsay  Orsay | |
| Coordinates:48°41′57″N2°11′15″E / 48.6993°N 2.1875°E /48.6993; 2.1875 | |
| Country | France |
| Region | Île-de-France |
| Department | Essonne |
| Arrondissement | Palaiseau |
| Canton | Palaiseau |
| Intercommunality | CA Paris-Saclay |
| Government | |
| • Mayor(2024–2026) | Rémi Darmon[1] |
Area 1 | 7.97 km2 (3.08 sq mi) |
| Population (2022)[2] | 16,655 |
| • Density | 2,090/km2 (5,410/sq mi) |
| Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 91471 /91400 |
| Elevation | 51–160 m (167–525 ft) (avg. 90 m or 300 ft) |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
Orsay (French pronunciation:[ɔʁsɛ]ⓘ) is acommune in theEssonnedepartment inÎle-de-France in northernFrance. It is located in the southwestern suburbs ofParis,France, 20.7 km (12.9 mi) from thecentre of Paris.
A fortified location of theChevreuse valley since the 8th century and agricultural domain of wealthy and influential people, the development of Orsay is marked by the introduction of arailroad in the second half of the 18th century (today theRER B of which two stations are located in Orsay) and donations which allow the construction of a hospital still active to this day.
Orsay is the main home to theParis-Saclay University. The university significantly shapes Orsay's economy as it employs about 10,000 academic workers. The city's economy is also centered on high technology, with several companies drawn to the area by theParis-Saclay's research and development infrastructure.
Seat of the Orsay campus of Paris-Saclay University, crossed by the 118 national road, Orsay has become a residential city of theParis metropolitan area and theChevreuse valley, easily accessible and with a preservedenvironment at the heart of theParis-Saclay scientific cluster with laboratories of theCNRS and theCurie Institute on its territory.
There has been a village called Orsay on this site since 999, and the first church there was built in 1157. From the sixteenth century, the town and surrounding area were owned by the Boucher family, and it was in honor of the family that Louis XIV gave thequai d'Orsay its name. This is the reason that theMusée d'Orsay is not in Orsay. In the eighteenth century, the family of Grimod du Fort bought the land and received the title of Comte d'Orsay.In 1870, during the Franco-Prussian war, Orsay was occupied by the Prussian army.88 young "Orcéens" were killed in the First World War.
In 1957, largely due to the influence ofFrédéric andIrène Joliot-Curie, theInstitut de physique nucléaire (nuclear physics institute) was opened in theChevreuse valley, and the region, especially Orsay, became an important scientific centre. Another development was the creation of theUniversity of Paris-Sud, whose most important faculty is the faculty of science.
On 19 February 1977, a part of the territory of Orsay was detached and merged with a part of the territory ofBures-sur-Yvette to create the commune ofLes Ulis.
Inhabitants of Orsay are known asOrcéens.
| Year | Pop. | ±% p.a. |
|---|---|---|
| 1968 | 12,087 | — |
| 1975 | 13,530 | +1.62% |
| 1982 | 14,057 | +0.55% |
| 1990 | 14,849 | +0.69% |
| 1999 | 16,236 | +1.00% |
| 2007 | 16,411 | +0.13% |
| 2012 | 15,880 | −0.66% |
| 2017 | 16,421 | +0.67% |
| Source: INSEE[3] | ||
TheParis-Saclay University, formerUniversity of Paris in Orsay, dominates the city of Orsay, providing the city with its distinctivecollege-town character. University buildings are located in the north of the city and the campus is divided between several other cities such asGif-sur-Yvette,Bures-sur-Yvette andPalaiseau.
Colleges that are part of theParis-Saclay University in Orsay:
Orsay is served by two stations on ParisRER line B:Le Guichet andOrsay-Ville.
The territory of the city is divided in twocatholicparishes which depend on thediocese ofÉvry–Corbeil-Essonnes and thedeanery of Yvette-Gif-Orsay. The parish of Ulis-Montdétour-Montjay serves the neighborhood of Montdétour, bois du Roi and bois Persan, while the parish of Orsay serves the rest of the city. These parishes have the mainchurch of Saint-Martin-Saint-Laurent, thechapel of la Clarté-Dieu and the chapel of Notre-Dame-de-la-Plaine at Mondétour.Additionally, the city has aPortugueseevangelical parish and an international evangelical church: the église évangélique vie et paix.ABuddhist Khuông Viêtpagoda is also located in the city.
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