Melun

Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is a south-eastern suburb of Paris, located 41.4 km (25.7 miles) from the center of Paris. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of an arrondissement. Its inhabitants are called Melunais.

History
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. 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.

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, and the king took it back for the viscount in 999. Le Chatelain and his wife, who had sold the city, were hanged. Robert died there in July 1031.

Counts of Melun

 * Donatus (?-834)
 * Bouchard I (956/967–1005), also Count of Vendôme and Count of Paris

Viscounts of Melun
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:


 * Salo (c. 993; possibly legendary)
 * Joscelin I (c. 998)
 * William (possibly c. 1000)
 * Ursio (c. 1067–1085)
 * William the Carpenter (c. 1094)
 * Hilduin, Garin, Ursio II, Jean (unknown dates, possibly not viscounts)
 * Adam (c. 1138–1141; married Mahaut, daughter of his predecessor)
 * Joscelin II (c. 1156)

The title eventually became an honorary peerage. Such viscounts include Honoré-Armand de Villars and Claude Louis Hector de Villars.

Transport
Melun is served by Melun station, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line D, on the Transilien R suburban rail line, and on several national rail lines.

Main sights
The Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame, Melun was the original home of the Melun Diptych.

The nearby chateau of Vaux-le-Vicomte is considered a smaller predecessor of Palace of Versailles.

The officers' school of the French Gendarmerie is located in Melun.

People
Melun was the birthplace of:
 * Jérémie Bela, footballer
 * Willy Boly, footballer
 * Pierre Certon (c.1510-1520-1572), composer of the Renaissance (probably born in Melun)
 * Jacques Amyot (1513–1593), writer
 * Chimène Badi (1982–), singer
 * Samir Beloufa (1979–), professional footballer
 * Raphael Desroses, basketball player
 * Stephane Dondon, basketball player
 * Yvan Kibundu, footballer
 * Steven Mouyokolo, footballer
 * Granddi Ngoyi, footballer
 * Yretha Silete, figure skater
 * Bertrand Grospellier (1981–), poker player

Education
A campus of the École nationale de l'aviation civile (French civil aviation university) is located in Melun.

Twin towns – sister cities
Melun is twinned with:
 * 🇧🇯 Ouidah, Benin
 * Spelthorne, United Kingdom
 * 🇮🇹 Crema, Italy
 * 🇩🇪 Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany