Chelles is a commune in the eastern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located in the Seine-et-Marne department in the Île-de-France region 18 km from the center of Paris.

History

Paleolithic artifacts were discovered by chance at Chelles by the pioneering nineteenth-century anthropologist Louis Laurent Gabriel de Mortillet (1821–1898); he named the corresponding cultural stage of the Paleolithic after the commune: «Chellean» or «Chellian», nowadays known as «Oldowan». At the Merovingian villa of Calae the abbey of Notre-Dame-des-Chelles was founded by Balthild, a seventh-century queen of the Franks. It was largely demolished at the time of the French Revolution.

Geography

There are two main streets in Chelles, Avenue Foch and Avenue de la Résistance.

Demographics

The inhabitants are called Chellois.

Transport

Chelles is served by Chelles–Gournay station on Paris RER line and on the Transilien Paris-Est suburban rail line.

Education

the commune has 13,000 students in 46 public and private schools. The commune includes 19 public preschools and 16 public elementary schools. There are also: Chelles includes a library, Bibliothèque Olympe de Gouges, and a media centre, Médiathèque Jean-Pierre Vernant.

Culture and recreation

The commune includes the Musée Alfred-Bonno. There is also a public swimming pool, and a public skate park which opened in 1999. Chelles is twinned with the city of Lindau, Germany.

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