The history of Suresnes (Hauts-de-Seine), a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, is closely linked to its unique geographical position between the Seine and Mont Valérien, one of the highest points in the Paris conurbation. Its economic activities have historically developed in line with this environment, from fishing on the river to vine-growing on the hillsides, the automotive and aeronautics industries along the Seine, and, since the creation of the La Défense business center in the neighboring towns of Courbevoie and Puteaux, the headquarters of major corporations.
A simple Carolingian villa first mentioned in the 9th century, Suresnes remained a small outlying village until the 19th century. Not connected to the main roads leading to the capital, it was almost self-sufficient, even though it suffered several periods of destruction during the Middle Ages and Modern Era. However, as the hillsides became covered with vineyards, the town's reputation grew, and writers celebrated the wine of Suresnes. Establishing a religious pilgrimage to Mont Valérien in the 16th century also contributed to the development of the town's economy, as devotees had to walk the village paths to the Calvary, and cabarets were set up in Suresnes to entertain them. In the 17th and 18th centuries, numerous bourgeois and aristocratic residences with vast gardens grew up around the historic center, where wealthy Parisians came to relax. In 1593, one of them even made his property available to host negotiation conferences between Catholics and Protestants, which helped end the Wars of Religion.
From the mid-19th century onwards, the face of Suresnes changed radically, with the arrival of the train, tramway, and navigation services on the Seine: the town was now within easy reach of Parisians, who flocked to the guinguettes lining its quays, often after attending the races at the nearby Longchamp racecourse. The development of industry from the 1890s onwards led to the establishment of numerous factories, gradually eradicating the Ancien Régime's properties: Suresnes was now an industrial town with a rapidly growing working-class population. The election of Henri Sellier as mayor of Suresnes in 1919 led to considerable urban change: a promoter of workers' housing and driven by hygienic ideas, the mayor increased the number of public services (schools, medical dispensaries, etc.) and housing projects, with his garden city considered a model of its kind. However, he was dismissed by Vichy in 1941. During the Occupation, a thousand resistance fighters were executed by the Nazis in Fort Mont-Valérien, a military building that had replaced the Calvary in the mid-19th century. The second half of the 20th century saw a new urban metamorphosis, as factories disappeared and were gradually replaced by residential buildings and service and high-tech companies.
Geology Suresnes historian René Sordes describes the town as situated “on a small alluvial plateau, sheltered from flooding, at the foot of Mont Valérien, on the banks of the tranquil Seine, opposite the beautiful Rouvray forest, of which all that remains today is our Bois de Boulogne.”
Suresnes is located on the “Gennevilliers peninsula,” a meander of the Seine 15 km long and 5 km wide. Until the 19th century, this meant that Suresnes and the surrounding towns were geographically isolated. Bordered by the hills of Montretout, Garches, and La Celle-Saint-Cloud, the commune is dominated by Mont Valérien, a 162-metre high butte that bears witness to major deposits eroded during the Quaternary period. The mountain is located on the last spur of the Beauce plateau, on its northeastern edge. The Lutetian period also saw the formation of coarse-grained limestone in the region, which was used in the construction of Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral, the Louvre, and some of the houses in Suresnes. During the same period, when many lagoons were spreading out, seawater evaporated, forming gypsum, giving Suresnes large gypsum quarries. Toponymy has preserved this memory, as evidenced by the presence of a "rue des Carrières". Until the 19th century, plaster furnaces were located in the "Fécheray" area,Formerly "Feucheret", derived from the word "fern". which is said to have been used in the construction of the Château de Versailles and the Château de Bagatelle. During the Sannois period, the sea covered these lagoons, and green clays (marls) were deposited: they were later used to make roof tiles, as evidenced by the surviving "rue de la Tuilerie". In the 16th century, sculptor Girolamo della Robbia used these clays to create artistic coverings for the Château de Madrid, built in the Bois de Boulogne.
Prehistory and Antiquity There is evidence of human presence on the Gennevilliers peninsula during the Neolithic period. Archaeological remains dating from this period have been found in Suresnes, including a carved and polished axe at the Croix-du-Roy crossroads, blades at the foot of the American cemetery, and a deer horn used as a pick at Fécheray.
During Protohistory, the Mont Valérien site was considered important by the Gallic Parisii people, with the Gennevilliers peninsula forming part of their domain. Gallic druids may have worshipped here. After the Roman conquest, the mountain undoubtedly became imperial property. The creation of a land register under Emperor Diocletian, and the absence of any new names or divisions of the estate, suggest that during the Gallo-Roman period, and indeed until the 6th century, this territory remained unchanged. Proof that Gallo-Romans once resided within the perimeter of present-day Suresnes is provided by the exhumation of a tomb on what is now Place Henri-IV, containing a classical-type lamp. Pieces of pottery and glass, as well as two coins (representing Hadrian), were also unearthed by diggers in a garden on rue Pierre-Dupont, while a coin representing Faustina Augusta was found during work on rue des Carrières. However, until the end of Antiquity, this area was of minor importance, and it was the site of the neighboring town of Nanterre, which was considered the spiritual center of the peninsula.
The name Mont Valérien (Mons Valerianus or Mons Valeriani in the earliest mentions) is said to derive from Valerian, a Roman emperor who had a villa there. However, there is no certainty as to the origin of this term, which may also have a military origin.
Early and Middle Middle Ages
First mention of Suresnes
In October 1885, during the construction of a section of the railway line from Moulineaux to Suresnes, earth workers unearthed fifteen plaster coffins with funerary furnishings, part of an ancient Frankish-Pagan cemetery. Around 1900, at the same time as the above-mentioned find in rue Pierre-Dupont, two coffins were discovered, probably dating from the end of the 5th century. According to René Sordes, it is therefore possible that Mont Valérien was once occupied by a Frankish military post designed to keep watch over the Seine valley.
To appease them, King Clovis and his successors tended to give the other Frankish chieftains estates far from the capital, reserving those around Paris for the less turbulent ecclesiastics who restored a certain temporal order. The estate of Rueil-Malmaison and its outbuildings (on which Clovis had had a church built at Saint Geneviève's request, and where she was initially buried), on which the Gennevilliers peninsula certainly depended, was thus donated on March 27, 875 by King Charles II the Bald to the Abbey of Saint-Denis. However, the troubles caused by Norman incursions and the weakness of the abbots in the 9th and 10th centuries undermined the religious institution's authority over these lands, leading to usurpations. In the 10th century, what remained of the estate was given to the powerful abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. The territory on which Suresnes is located was therefore subject to the great Parisian abbeys even before its birth. Each of the villages in the western part of Paris, however, had a modest and essentially rural dimension, with Nanterre retaining only relative supremacy over them.
For René Sordes, it was at the turn of the 9th and 10th centuries that Suresnes “entered the history books.” Indeed, in 884, Carloman donated vast estates to the abbey of Saint-Leufroy (Normandy), which his grandfather, Charles le Chauve, had already promised them. This donation includes "Surisna [Suresnes] in its entirety", the first historical mention of the village. However, continued Viking invasions at the end of the century led the monks to flee to the Parisian abbey of Saint-Germain-des-Prés. After being admitted to their community, the abbey of Saint-Leufroy de facto disappeared, rendering Carloman's donation moot. Robert, the brother of Count Eudes of Paris, then obtained from King Charles III the Simple (who owed him his crown) the charter of May 14, 918, which, repeating the terms of Carloman's donation, formalized the transfer of the estate to Saint-Germain-des-Prés.
Sources de Suresnes
According to local historians, the word "Surisnas, Surisnae, or Surisna" is of Celtic hydronym origin, i.e., derived from the word "source". Indeed, numerous springs were gushing out of Mont Valérien, both on the Suresnes side and on the Nanterre side. As the Gauls worshipped the forces of nature, associated with deities, it's conceivable that they worshipped the goddess Surisna here. As Christianization did not completely eradicate Gallic saints from the countryside, substitutions were often made, with the Christian saint taking the place of the Gallic god, as probably happened to Surisna.
At the end of the 19th century, there were still several springs in Suresnes, the best-known of which was the Fontaine du Tertre, which was destroyed in 1907. The nearby Avenue de la Fontaine-du-Tertre is a reminder of this fountain. The fountain was said to have curative powers for the eyes, in connection with a legend according to which Saint Geneviève came to Mont Valérien to give her sheep a drink and restored her mother's sight thanks to the water from the well serving the family home.A well recalling this story still exists today, but is located in Nanterre, on the other side of Mont Valérien. Much later, in 1131, when Parisians were suffering from "mal des ardents", an inflammation of the skin, only the procession of the saint's shrine could cure the sick. Pilgrims would later flock to the Tertre fountain to have their eyes cured, and still do several centuries later.
Domaine de Suresnes In Gaulish times, only loggers would have frequented the marshy banks of this area, which gradually dried out. The Romans may then have cleared the land and planted vines. The higher parts of Mont Valérien were used for livestock farming. Soldiers and settlers must have moved in later, and a small hamlet developed between the 7th and 10th centuries. By that time, its boundaries were probably similar to those drawn up in the 17th century: to the north, towards Puteaux, the rue des Bas-Rogers separated the Saint-Germain-des-Prés estate from that of Saint-Denis; to the west, several paths (des Chênes, des Traineaux and the sente des Bartoux) delimited the territory, passing over the grounds of the American cemetery, the sentier de la Motte, the boulevard du Maréchal-de-Lattre-de-Tassigny, the rue des Bons-Raisins and the Chemin du Syndicat-des-Cultivateurs, the sente du Val d'Or marking the boundary of the Saint-Germain-des-Prés estate, and to the south the Chemin du Val d'Or separating Suresnes from Saint-Cloud. However, there is little information on the evolution of the estate. The terms Val d'Or, Vaux d'Or, or sometimes Veaux d'Or are commonly used, meaning a rich, fertile valley.