So now let me tackle another nostalgic spot for me and my family in our belle France. Nothing fancy not a tourist destination but oh so dear to us. Part of living the good life in the countryside of the Yvelines. This town was on our road to my boys middle school and my Dad/Mon the paternal grandparents used to take them most of the time, Therefore, let me tell you a bit on this is Vernouillet !!! Hope you enjoy the post as I.
The town of Vernouillet is located in the Yvelines department 78, in the Île-de-France region of my belle France. The town is located on the banks of the Seine river, on the left bank of the river. The town borders Verneuil-sur-Seine, Chapet, Morainvilliers, Médan, and Triel-sur-Seine. It is 13 km from Saint-Germain-en-Laye , 13 km from Cergy, 25 km from Mantes la Jolie, 28 km from Versailles, and 520 km from my current home, The entrances to the A13 and A14 autoroutes or highways are located 7 km from Vernouillet by Orgeval (see post). I happened to have taken the train here as Vernouillet is served by the Paris-Saint-Lazare-Mantes-la-Jolie railway line via Poissy at the Vernouillet-Verneuil station. By road I came on the D186 dir Saint Germain en Laye to exit/sortie 6 of the A13 autoroute de Normandie dir Rouen got off at exit/sortie 7 to get on the D113 dir Orgeval and just after shopping center turn right on the D154 dir Vernouillet.
The Church Saint-Étienne (St Stephens) is a 12-13C church that was restored in the 19C. The church was built over two periods, in two different styles: Romanesque in the early or mid-12C, with the nave, the south transept, and the first floor of the bell tower. Gothic in the late 12C or early 13C, with the nave vault, the choir, the north transept, and the bell tower spire. It could have been built at the initiative of the Benedictines of Saint-Magloire, who exercised rights over the village in the 10C. The base of the bell tower, the remains of the original nave, and the south transept date back to the 12C and are Romanesque in style, but precede the Gothic style. The choir, the chevet and the spire were restored in the 19C under the direction of Viollet-le-Duc.
I did passed in front of the City hall or Mairie of Vernouillet at 16 Rue Paul Doumer, now the mission locale, this is off the D154 road.
Other things to see here are the château de Vernouillet, a classical-style castle built in the 18C. A simple hunting lodge in the 17C, it was rebuilt and embellished to become this stately home at the end of the 18C, with a beautiful classical façade reminiscent of the Petit Trianon. The castle grounds once extended to the railway line. In 1955, the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations (Deposit and Consignment Fund) established a retirement home there, and 813 housing units were built in the park: the Cité du Parc was inaugurated in 1959. The Maison des Buissons and its park. Justin de Saint-Léger inherited the family land in 1852, which at the time consisted only of meadows. As Mayor of Vernouillet, he had a large villa built there and surrounded it with a park. After Justin de Saint-Léger’s death in 1896, the property and park were sold and acquired in 1903 by the famous chocolatier Menier, on behalf of Geneviève Pichard, a dancer at the Paris Opera. It was under her leadership that the house was transformed to give it its current character. Menier was, in fact, very attached to the Norman style. The Maison des Buissons has a valuable park comprising nearly thirty species of trees. In 2012, the Maison des Buissons underwent an interior renovation to house the Maison des Associations.
A bit of history tell us that the name of the town comes from two Gaulish words: “verno” and “ialos” which together meant “the small clearing of alders”, in other words alders. This comes from the fact that Vernouillet was once a town planted with alders. In the Middle Ages, the territory was occupied by seven intermingled fiefs: the lands of Marsinval (LeBuisson, La Queue, La Fleur de Lys) and the domains of the abbeys of Saint Denis and Saint Magloire. It was probably on September 25, 1870 that the Ville de Florence, one of the first mounted balloons used to leave Paris despite the encirclement, carrying the aeronaut Gabriel Mangin and his passenger, a certain de Lutz, government commissioner, bound for Tours, took off from the Champ de la Glacière, Boulevard d’Italie in Paris then besieged by the Prussians. After traveling 30 km and due to Prussian gunfire, the balloon had to descend into the park of the Château de Vernouillet, where locals helped Mangin hide his folded balloon. The aeronaut then managed to reach Tours.
The town of Vernouillet on its heritage : https://www.mairie-vernouillet.fr/ma-mairie/ville-de-vernouillet/
The parish of Verneuil-Vernouillet on the church : https://www.paroissevnv.fr/bienvenue/nos-eglises/
The Yvelines dept 78 tourist office on the Church Saint Etienne : https://www.destination-yvelines.fr/visites-et-decouvertes/eglise-saint-etienne-2/
There you go folks, another soft spot in my dear former Yvelines for me . Even if at the time not much into pictures nor blogging glad found a couple to put Vernouillet in my history map. Again, hope you enjoy this is Vernouillet !!! as I.
And remember, happy travels, good health, and many cheers to all !!!
Paris1972-Versailles2003 