Melun

Melun is a commune in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France. It is located in the southeastern suburbs of Paris about 41 km (25.7 miles) from the centre of Paris. Melun is the prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne, and the seat of an arrondissement. Its inhabitants are called Melunais.

Government
Country	France
Region	Île-de-France
Department	Seine-et-Marne
Canton	Melun
Mayor (2020–2026)	Louis Vogel (Agir)
Area¹	8.04 km² (3.10 sq mi)
Population (2017-01-01)	40,032
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)

Town planning

Typology

According to the terminology defined by INSEE and the zoning published in 2020, Melun is an urban municipality. It actually belongs to the urban unit of Paris , an inter-departmental agglomeration grouping 411 municipalities.

In addition, the municipality is part of the attraction area of Paris, of which it is a municipality with a secondary pole.

Urban morphology

The city is made up of three parts:

the Ile Saint-Etienne , on the Seine;
the south bank , convex, made up of the Saint-Ambroise district and the plain of the Varenne , which rises gently towards the forest of Fontainebleau;
the north bank , concave, which sees a small tributary, the Almont , junction with the Seine , and which, on each side of the Almont valley, rises to attack the Brie plateau: to the west this are the Saint-Aspais and Saint-Barthélemy districts , to the east it is the Saint-Liesne district .

Economy

The town produces Brie de Melun , a cheese similar to Brie de Meaux but smaller and more full-bodied.

The National Gendarmerie Officers School has been located in Melun since 1945. The National Gendarmerie Museum , completely refurbished, was inaugurated in 2015.

The Panthéon-Assas University has, on the island of Saint-Étienne , a branch preparing students for the first cycles of law, economics and AES.

The city has a site of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Seine-et-Marne .

At the eastern end of Île Saint-Étienne, Melun houses a prison for long sentences (the “ central ”) which has become a detention center and a remand center .

The “Cooper” (French Pharmaceutical Co) firm supply of pharmacies in France, appealed to the inmates of the ” Central Prison ” for the manufacture of medical thermometers during the xx ^th century. Filling the capillaries with mercury, a highly toxic substance, was dangerous. Only the prisoners accepted this work, for a meager remuneration.

Transport

Melun Shield dating from the 15th century – “Melun (Seine-et-Marne): Azure on a semy-de-lys or a castle with three towers argent.

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.

Education

The town has sixteen nursery schools, fifteen elementary schools, six colleges including two private, four high schools including one private, an institute of law and economics, and finally four university branches. The city is also home to a branch of the National School of Civil Aviation .

Public high schools:

Leonardo da Vinci High School
Jacques-Amyot High School

Private high school:

Saint Aspais High School

Local Culture and Heritage

Neighborhoods, monuments and tourist places

Saint-Étienne Island

Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame de Melun : Place Notre-Dame. Founded in the xi ^th century.
Melun detention center : built on the site of the former Hôtel-Dieu Saint-Nicolas, it occupies the upstream point of the island and surrounds the Notre-Dame collegiate church.
Priory of Saint-Sauveur : rue Saint-Étienne. Founded in the xi ^th century.
Gallo-Roman oven: square Notre-Dame.
Botanical garden: located on the western tip of Île Saint-Étienne. Donated by pharmacist and doctor Alexandre-Victor Roussel.
Former post: Place Praslin.
The municipal museum in the hotel of the Vicomte , historic monument for its skylights of the xvi ^th century, former home of Nicolas Fouquet before he inhabits the Vaux-le-Vicomte.
L’Astrolabe, media library and archives: rue du Château.
Saint-Sauveur postern: rue Saint-Sauveur.
Remains of the old fortifications, on the south shore of the island, between the Notre-Dame collegiate church and the Maréchal-Leclerc bridge.

Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame de Melun

Saint-Aspais district

It is the district of the current city center of Melun where the town hall is located, many shops and a few pedestrian streets.

Saint-Aspais church : Saint-Aspais stone street. Built in the first half of the xvi ^th century in the Gothic style according to the plans of the Parisian architect Jehan de Feline.
Porches: rue du Presbytère . In stone. This street has old houses.
House dating from the Middle Ages : rue du Presbytère and rue au Lin. Stone houses located in what was the poorest district of the town.
Corner Musard: Saint-Aspais and Paul-Doumer streets. Concrete.
Remains of the Saint-Jean gate: place Saint-Jean. In stone.
Fontaine Saint-Jean: Place Saint-Jean. Cast. Dated 1864, this work is by the sculptor Jean-Baptiste-Jules Klagmann . It has two superimposed basins, separated by three statues symbolizing the Seine , the Marne and the Yonne which are the most important rivers of Seine-et-Marne
Town hall: rue Paul-Doumer. In stone and brick. The site was occupied by the Hôtel des Cens, inhabited by the Benedictines of Trainel from 1629 to 1652. Construction of the town hall from 1847 to 1848.
Statue of Jacques Amyot : in the courtyard of the town hall. Inaugurated onMay 20, 1860.
Monument to Gabriel Leroy.
Savings bank: rue du Miroir. In stone, built in 1889 by architects Haran and Prony, on the site of the former Hôtel du Chapeau Rouge.
Former sub-prefecture: Place de la Porte-de-Paris.
Legrand & fils printing: rue Bancel.
Aspais. The bronze commemorative plaque is embedded in the wall on November 22, 1913.

Saint-Liesne district

Former Récollets convent: rue Fréteau de Peny, the Récollets obtained the right to settle on land donated by the Marquis de Rostaing in 1606.
Pont Saint-Liesne: on the Almont . In stone. This bridge was rebuilt in 1841.
Laundry of the Saint-Liesne fountain: rue de la fontaine Saint-Liesne. In stone and cement.

Saint-Ambroise district

Administrative city: boulevard Chamblain.
Railway bridge.
Station : Place Gallieni.
Monument to the fallen of 1870.
Statue of Joan of Arc: Place Chapu. Made of marble.
Tribunal de Grande Instance.
The Caf de Seine-et-Marne is located in the city.

Saint-Barthélemy district

Bell tower of Saint-Barthélemy : place de la Préfecture. In stone and 35 meters high.
This area houses the Seine-et-Marne Prefecture and the Hotel Department, all made of old parts with gardens of the former abbey Holy Father and most modern parts dating back to the xx ^th century.
The Saint-Barthélemy chapel of the Saint-Aspais Institute: rue de Président Despatys.

Schuman district

This district is located northwest of Melun. It borders the municipalities of Mée-sur-Seine and Cesson . It was formerly called “Marché-Marais”, both terms referring to the presence of marshes on the Fairgrounds in medieval and modern times.

Sports

The city has important sports infrastructures. The sports complex, located in the Saint Ambroise district, includes a swimming pool, the municipal stadium, and the premises of the nautical circle. There are also two other stadiums, P.-Fisher and Robert-Schuman. Seven gymnasiums are spread across the city. Many sports are practiced: soccer , handball , rugby , tennis , volleyball , basketball and many combat sports such as French boxing , the boxing , the fight free, etc.

USM Boxe Pieds / Poings, boxing club of Melun, also participates in the influence of the city in the world of boxing by having trained several champions, such as Danish Sylvio or Danish Herbert.