Twin town Brunoy

Brunoy, our twin town in France, is located 22 km to the south of the country's capital Paris in the département of Essonne. The present population total 25,000, a hundred years earlier it was just 1,700. This fact most clearly characterises the rapid development from an idyllic village on the north bank of the small river Yerres to become today's town. To the south of Brunoy is the 30 square kilometre expanse of the forest of Senart. Stone tools have been found in the area surrounding Brunoy, giving evidence of a settlement as early as the Stone Age.
In 638 Brunayo was mentioned in an official deed for the first time, namely in the last will of the Merovingian King Dagobert I. In the Middle Ages a castle was built by the then proprietors, the Brunoy family, the small town was fortified with walls and the construction of a church, St. Medard, began, which still exists today. In the 18th century, the church was renovated by Josef Paris de Montmartel and the interior redesigned.
As treasurer to Louis XV, he had a large palace built in Brunoy with unique water-works. The entire structure was destroyed at the time of the Revolution with the exception of the church and some outbuildings. The later owner was Louis XVIII.
In the following century, Brunoy became a favoured place for wealthy families and artists to live. The spaciously built houses stood in imposing, park-like grounds which were, however, in the course of Brunoy's rapid development at the beginning of the last century, used more and more as building land for normal dwelling houses, because Brunoy's population has increased 14-fold from 1906 until the present day! The reasons for this development lie in the town's location in the immediate vicinity of Paris.
In earlier times, Brunoy with its densely forested surroundings was a preferred location for mansions with luxurious interiors for the few who could afford it. By contrast, today it is a popular place of residence for ordinary citizens who work in Paris during the day and are glad to get out of the town after work, because Brunoy has not become a suburb of Paris, but has maintained its independence, something which was certainly not always easy.

Brunoy does not have any industry worth mentioning and even less urban life than, e.g. Wittlich.
The city of Paris with its almost unlimited cultural, artistic, gastronomic and last, but not least, leisure facilities can be reached easily by train (70 trains a day) or car (N6) within a short time without any difficulties. On the other hand, this is what makes Brunoy so appealing – you (almost) feel as though you are in Paris yet you are in a small town with a medieval centre, pleasant surroundings and a reasonably small structure and size. The development of the town's infrastructure has kept pace with the number of inhabitants. Brunoy has all the facilities which a town of this size needs. The relatively large number of schools should be mentioned in this connection, not least one reason for the excellent schools exchange between Brunoy and Wittlich that has existed for many years now.

You will find further information on the Brunoy's home page at www.ville-brunoy.fr.