Editing Saint-Germain-en-Laye (section)

==History==
{{See also|Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye}}

[[File:Saint-Germain-en-Laye - Église Saint-Germain001.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|A view of the Saint-Germain church in Saint-Germin-en-Laye, taken from the castle]]
Saint-Germain-en-Laye was founded in 1020 when King [[Robert the Pious]] (ruled 996–1031) founded a [[convent]] on the site of the present Church of [[Germain of Paris|Saint-Germain]].{{citation needed|date=November 2023}}

In 1688, [[James II of England]] exiled himself to the city after being deposed from the throne in what has become known as the [[Glorious Revolution]]. He spent the remainder of his days there, and died on 16 September 1701.<ref>{{cite web |title= James II (1633–1701) |url= http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/james_ii.shtml |work= BBC History |publisher= BBC |access-date= 16 May 2020 }}</ref>

Prior to the [[French Revolution]] in 1789, it had been a royal town and the [[Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye|Château de Saint-Germain]] the residence of numerous French monarchs. The old [[château]] was constructed in 1348 by [[Charles V of France|King Charles V]] on the foundations of an old [[castle]] (''château-fort'') dating from 1238 in the time of [[Louis IX of France|Saint Louis]].  [[Francis I of France|Francis I]] was responsible for its subsequent restoration.  In 1862<!--or 1867-->, [[Napoleon III]] set up the ''[[Musée des Antiquités Nationales]]'' in the erstwhile royal château. This museum has exhibits ranging from Paleolithic to Celtic times.  The "[[Venus of Brassempouy|Dame de Brassempouy]]" sculpted on a mammoth's ivory tusk around 23,000 years ago is the most famous exhibit in the museum.

Kings [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] and [[Louis XIII of France|Louis XIII]] left their mark on the town. [[Louis XIV of France|Louis XIV]] was born in the château (the city's [[coat of arms]] consequently shows a cradle and the date of his birth), and established Saint-Germain-en-Laye as his principal residence from 1661 to 1681. Louis XIV turned over the château to [[James II of England|James VII & II of Scotland and England]] after his exile from Britain after the [[Glorious Revolution]] in 1688. James lived in the Château for 13 years, and his daughter [[Louisa Maria Teresa Stuart|Louisa Maria Stuart]] was born in exile here in 1692. James II is buried in the parish church.

Saint-Germain-en-Laye is famous for its {{convert|2.4|km|adj=on}} long stone terrace built by [[André Le Nôtre]] from 1669 to 1673.  The terrace provides a view over the valley of the [[Seine]] and, in the distance, Paris. During the [[French Revolution]], the name was changed along with many other places whose names held connotations of religion or royalty. Temporarily, Saint-Germain-en-Laye became '''Montagne-du-Bon-Air'''. During his [[First French Empire|reign]], [[Napoleon I]] established his cavalry officers training school in the Château-Vieux.

[[File:Bunker-St-germain-en-laye-009.jpg|upright=1.2|thumb|One of the German bunkers built in 1942]]

The [[Treaty of Saint-Germain-en-Laye (1919)|Treaty of Saint-Germain]] was signed in 1919 and was applied on 16 July 1920. The treaty officially registered the breakup of the [[Habsburg monarchy|Habsburg empire]], which recognized the independence of Czechoslovakia, Poland, Hungary, and the Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes (Yugoslavia).<ref>Encyclopædia Britannica "Treaty of Saint-Germain", retrieved from [http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/517198/Treaty-of-Saint-Germain Britannica.com].</ref>

During the occupation from 1940 to 1944, the town was the headquarters of the [[Oberbefehlshaber West]], the commander of the German armed forces on the Western Front.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Keegan |first1=John |title=Six Armies In Normandy |date=30 September 2011 |publisher=Random House |isbn=9781446498132 |page=145}}</ref> It has been called "the most occupied city in France."<ref>{{cite news |last1=Birden |first1=Sébastien |title=Saint-Germain-en-Laye : la ville la plus occupée de France a gardé ses bunkers |url=https://www.leparisien.fr/yvelines-78/saint-germain-en-laye-la-ville-la-plus-occupee-de-france-garde-ses-vestiges-22-08-2018-7861002.php |access-date=28 May 2024 |work=[[Le Parisien]] |date=22 August 2018}}</ref>

On 1 January 2019, the former commune [[Fourqueux]] was merged into Saint-Germain-en-Laye.<ref>[https://www.legifrance.gouv.fr/eli/arrete/2018/12/19/TERB1905205A/jo/texte Arrêté préfectoral] 19 December 2018 {{in lang|fr}}</ref>

===Saint-Germain parish church===
[[File:Église Saint-Germain 120401.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|The Church of [[Germain of Paris|Saint-Germain]]]]
The parish church, which is dedicated to [[Germain of Paris]], was originally constructed in the eleventh century, and the present building (the fourth on the site) was built in the 1820s in a [[Neoclassical architecture|Neoclassical style]], with six [[Tuscan column]]s supporting a [[pediment]] on the main façade. The church houses the mausoleum of [[James II of England]] and was visited by [[Queen Victoria]] in 1855.<ref>[https://frenchmoments.eu/church-of-saint-germain-en-laye/ French Monuments, Discover the church of Saint-Germain-en-Laye]. Retrieved 17 June 2022.</ref>

The organ, originally installed in 1698, was rebuilt by [[Aristide Cavaillé-Coll]] in the nineteenth century and refurbished in 1903. The church's organists have included [[Albert Renaud (organist)|Albert Renaud]] (1891–1924), [[Albert Alain]] (1924–1971) and [[Marie-Claire Alain]] (1971–2010).