Saint-Cyr-l'École is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 21.4 km from the centre of Paris. It used to host the training school for officers of the French army, the École spéciale militaire de Saint-Cyr (ESM), which was relocated to Coëtquidan in 1945. The old buildings of the ESM are now used by the lycée militaire de Saint-Cyr (military high school of Saint-Cyr). Inhabitants are called Saint-Cyriens (uppercase, with students or graduates from the school called saint-cyriens with lowercase).

Geography

Saint-Cyr lies in the arrondissement of Versailles, west of the Park of Versailles. It is named after St. Cyricus. Saint-Cyr-l'École is served by Saint-Cyr station, which is an interchange station on Paris RER line C, on the Transilien Line U suburban rail line, and on the Transilien Line N suburban rail line. Saint-Cyr-l'Ecole airfield is long established and lies on the edge of the commune. It is used by light aircraft flown by private pilot owners and by members of aero clubs. It is operated for public use by Aéroports de Paris.

History

King Louis XIV of France, at the request of Madame de Maintenon, founded Maison royale de Saint-Louis, an institute for poor young ladies. It later became a military hospital. Napoleon founded the military academy for infantry and cavalry officers in 1808. The tomb of Madame de Maintenon lies in the Chapel.

Population

Education

Schools in the city include: Preschools: Elementary schools: There is one junior high school, Collège Jean Racine. Senior high schools/sixth form colleges: Bibliothèque Albert Camus, which opened on 14 November 2013, is the community library. The town also has the Institut aérotechnique, a research Institute in aerodynamics created in 1911.

Parks and recreation

The Centre aquatique de St-Cyr has the swimming facilities in the town.

Twin towns — sister cities

Personalities