Le Kremlin-Bicêtre: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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Le Kremlin-Bicêtre: Guide
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre is a commune in France|commune in the southern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 4.5 km. (2.8 miles) from the Kilometre Zero|center of Paris. It is one of the most densely populated municipalities in Europe.
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre is most famous as the location of the Bicêtre Hospital, where Superintendent Philippe Pinel is credited as being the first to introduce humane methods into the treatment of the mentally ill, in 1793. Its most notorious guest was the Marquis de Sade.
Name
The origin of the name is quite curious, having roots both in England and Russia. Le Kremlin-Bicêtre was originally a hamlet called simply Bicêtre and located within the commune of Gentilly, Val-de-Marne|Gentilly. The name Bicêtre comes from the manor built there by John of Pontoise, Bishop of Winchester (England), in the end of the 13th century. The name of this Manor of Winchester was corrupted into Vinchestre, then Bichestre, and eventually Bicêtre. The Bicêtre Hospital was built several centuries later on the ruins of the manor.
In 1813 the Bicêtre Hospital acted as a major reception point for evacuated casualties of the Grand Armée from Napoleon's Invasion of Russia. Veterans of the invasion of Russia used to gather in a tavern located near the hospital. This tavern was soon renamed Au sergent du Kremlin ("At the sergeant of the Kremlin") in reference to the Moscow Kremlin where the veterans had camped.
Gradually the name Kremlin was used for the whole neighborhood around the Bicêtre Hospital, and appeared for the first time officially in an ordnance map of 1832. Later the names Kremlin and Bicêtre were joined together and became the official name of the area.
History
The commune of Le Kremlin-Bicêtre was created on 13 December, 1896 by detaching its territory from the commune of Gentilly, Val-de-Marne|Gentilly.
Transport
Le Kremlin-Bicêtre is served by Le Kremlin-Bicêtre (Paris Metro)|Le Kremlin-Bicêtre station on Paris Metro Line 7|Paris Metro line 7.
Notable people
French intellectual Jean-François Revel lived in this town in the latter part of his life, and died here in April 2006.
External links
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikipedia article "Le Kremlin-Bicêtre". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License.