Saint-Cloud
Description
Saint-Cloud is a commune in the western suburbs of Paris, France. It is located 9.6km from the centre of Paris. Like other communes of the Hauts-de-Seine such as Marnes-la-Coquette, Neuilly-sur-Seine or Vaucresson, Saint-Cloud is one of the wealthiest cities in France, ranked 2nd in average household income among communities with 10- to 50-thousand tax households.HistoryThe town is named after Clodoald, grandson of Clovis, who is supposed to have sought refuge in a hamlet on the Seine near Paris, then named Novigentum, like many other newly founded mercantile settlements outside the traditional towns. Canonized after his death, the village where his tomb was located took the name of Sanctus Clodoaldus.A park contains the ruins of the Château de Saint-Cloud, built in 1572 and destroyed by fire in 1870, during the Franco-Prussian War. The château was the residence of several French rulers and served as the main country residence of the cadet Orléans line prior to the French Revolution. The palace was also the site of the coup d'état led by Napoleon Bonaparte that overthrew the French Directory in 1799.