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Horndean Parish Twinning Association (established 1990)

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Our Twin Town - Aubergenville, France

Geographical Location

The town of Aubergenville is situated where two valleys meet: the valley of the Mauldre and the valley of the Seine 45 Kms from Paris on the A13 motorway, Aubergenville is situated 9 Kms from Mantes and 16 Kms from Poissy the two most important towns on this stretch of the Seine. Aubergenville is within a very important regional network of communications :

• The Al3 motorway, the RD113
• The mainline railway Paris / Le Havre left bank
• Near the TGV at Mantes on the Lyon / Rouen line
• Near the RER at Poissy
• Being sited at a crossing point of roads and railways it commands an important position on the banks of the Seine.

Click here for a link to show where in France Aubergenville is.

The Town Logo

The town logo was created in 1990 - the same time as the Renault CLIO was launched!

The blue line represents the Seine and its dynamism
The green circular line expresses the will to maintain the greenery in the city and to create other parks.
The red circular line represents the will to make a true city in the countryside.
The small dots represent the desire to create and develop a thriving economic community.

Town Characteristics

The town covers an area of 883 hectares, extends 6 Kms from North to South and about 2 Kms East to West.

There are 4 areas of relief:

• The alluvial plain from the Seine to the RD113
• The hillsides rising gently at first towards the Maudre Valley
• The plateau of Montgarde
• The small valley of the Vaux les Huguenots

Population (last census 1999)
Total number of inhabitants - 11,667
Active population 5,921 ~ Comprising 3,115 male & 2806 female

The banks of the Seine and the Garene farm
The river banks are about one metre above the Seine, On top there is a lane (inaccessible to the public) which runs alongside the river bordered almost all along by willows and poplars. Three buildings are discernible, the swimming pool hotel, the swimming pool and the 'Paris beach' now abandoned but which tell of leisure activities long past linked to the presence of the water and the Garenne Farm (the only part of the Garennes chateau that remains visible).

The Renault Factories
Part of the Garenne lands (110 hectares) has been occupied since 1950 by the Renault Factories which use the river as a means of transport.

The Garden City of Elisabethville
The reason for its creation was the proximity of the railway station which was built in 1899. The residential housing development of Elisabethville extends across about 100 hectares. This development is the district of the town with the most character. The church of St. Theresa, built in 1927 and whose facade was sculpted from fresh concrete, is a local landmark. It is listed in the supplement of historical monuments.

The area near the Station
This district is bordered by the railway and the Avenue Charles de Gaulle. Since 1900 the town has undertaken a restructuring of this district: housing and a regional car park for 324 vehicles.

The old Sand Pits
In Aubergenville there are two old sand pits 2 Kms from the Seine. The larger one stretches over the site of the Chevries to the East of the Avenue Charles de Gaulle, the second is to the NW between the railway and the outskirts of Epone.
The Chevries Zone has become a zone of industrial activity bordering on Clos-Reine.

Clos-Reine
Between the Avenue Charles de Gaulle, the motorway and Epone, it is bordered on the NW by the old sand pits. It is an area of enormous warehouses, craft industries, a professional training centre and with housing near the Avenue Charles de Gaulle.

The Market Gardens
This area occupies about 60 hectares of irrigated agricultural land. It is worked by ten market gardeners.

The Hillsides
The old town grew up on the side of the hill. It has been extended to the West by the new residential area of La Croix Gatee (349 houses) and various town buildings (theatre/ function hall, clinic, retirement home), The wooded hillsides of the Montgarde Plateau and the Vivier Park make a framework of greenery crossed by footpaths that link the different quarters of the town and the plateau.
Beyond this crown of woodland stretches the eastern slope of the Mauldre Valley. The old village, the historical heart of the town, comprises buildings which line the streets and which give way to gardens. One can see farm buildings and rural activities in the enclosures.
Over the years there have developed from the old centre several small residential areas consisting of flats and individual private houses.
The woodland on the edge of the southern end of the plateau (plateau de Montgarde) gave way during the 60s to the expansion of the town. The operation 'Land and Families' was built in the wooded park of the old Chateau d' Acosta. This development of 1,849 flats, built of brick and half hidden by the trees, has brought about the construction of schools and sports facilities on the Plateau.

The Plateau
Beyond the plain and the wooded hillsides there extends a vast agricultural plateau. The Montgarde Plateau forms the northern limit of the plain of Versailles which stretches parallel to the valley of the Seine on a NW /SE axis.

If you would like to know in more detail about becoming a member of the
Horndean Parish Twinning Association then please contact us
by sending an email to: twinning@horndean.net

Click here to visit the Aubergenville website