| Melun | |
| Commune Status: | Prefecture and commune |
| Map Size: | 270px |
| Adjustable Map: | Melun_map.png |
| Map Caption: | Location (in red) within Paris inner and outer suburbs |
| Coordinates: | 48.5406°N 2.66°W |
| Arrondissement: | Melun |
| Canton: | Melun |
| Insee: | 77288 |
| Image Coat Of Arms: | Blason ville fr Melun (SeineMarne).png |
| Postal Code: | 77000 |
| Party: | Horizons |
| Mayor: | Kadir Mebarek[1] |
| Term: | 2023 - 2026 |
| Intercommunality: | CA Melun Val de Seine |
| Elevation M: | 54 |
| Elevation Min M: | 37 |
| Elevation Max M: | 102 |
| Area Km2: | 8.04 |
Melun (pronounced as /fr/) is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region, north-central France. It is located on the southeastern outskirts of Paris, about 41frac=2NaNfrac=2 from the centre of the capital. Melun is the prefecture of Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of one of its arrondissements. Its inhabitants are called Melunais.
Meledunum began as a Gaulish town; Caesar noted Melun as "a town of the Senones, situated on an island in the Seine"; at the island there was a wooden bridge, which his men repaired.[2] Roman Meledunum was a mutatio where fresh horses were kept available for official couriers on the Roman road south-southeast of Paris, where it forded the Seine.[3] Around 500 A.D, Clovis I granted Melun to a Gallo-Roman magnate, Aurelianus, who had fought for Clovis several times and apparently influenced his conversion to Christianity.[4]
The Normans sacked it in 845. The castle of Melun became a royal residence of the Capetian kings. Hugh Capet (See also: House of Capet) gave Melun to Bouchard, his favorite. In the reign of Hugh's son, Robert II of France, Eudes, the count of Champagne, bought the city, but the king took it back for Bouchard in 999. The chatelain Gautier and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged; Eudes escaped. Robert died there in July 1031.
Robert of Melun (c. 1100 – 27 February 1167) was an English scholastic Christian theologian who taught in France, and later became Bishop of Hereford in England. He studied under Peter Abelard in Paris before teaching there and at Melun, which gave him his surname.
In July 1415, Melun was besieged by King Henry V of England, who had recently signed the Treaty of Troyes with King Charles VI of France. The town was in the hands of the Dauphin, later Charles VII of France, who had been dispossessed by the treaty. The defenders were led by Arnaud Guillaume, seigneur de Barbazan, and fought off the besiegers for fourteen weeks before capitulating.[5] The town was liberated by Joan of Arc on 17 April 1430.
The early viscounts of Melun were listed by 17th and 18th century genealogists, notably Père Anselme. Based on closer reading of the original documents, Adolphe Duchalais constructed this list of viscounts in 1844:[6]
The title eventually became an honorary peerage. Such viscounts include Honoré Armand de Villars and Claude Louis Hector de Villars.
Melun is served by the Gare de Melun, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line D, on the Transilien R suburban rail line, and on several national rail lines.
The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun was the original home of the Melun Diptych.
The nearby château of Vaux-le-Vicomte is considered a smaller predecessor of Palace of Versailles.
The officers' school of the French Gendarmerie is located in Melun.
Melun is the birthplace of:
A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation university) is located in Melun.
Public high schools/sixth form colleges:[7]
There is one private high school/sixth form college:[7]
See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France. Melun is twinned with:[8]
Crema, Italy