Viry-Châtillon

Viry-Châtillon (pronounced [viʁi ʃat̪ijɔ̃]) is a French commune located twenty-one kilometres south of Paris in the Essonne department in the Île-de-France region.

Shared estates passed down between illustrious families, Viry-sur-Orge, the agricultural town situated on the road from Paris to Fontainebleau, and Châtillon-sur-Seine, a village on the riverbank, merged in 1790. In the 19th century, with the establishment of Viry-Châtillon station on the new Villeneuve-Saint-Georges to Montargis line, the commune hosted the world's first organised aerodrome in 1909. Although it did not last beyond the First World War, it brought fame to the commune, which also experienced significant demographic development from the 1920s with the subdivision of the alluvial plain, driven by the major axis that was National Road 7. This development continued in the 1960s with the construction of the large housing estates of La Grande Borne, Les Coteaux de l’Orge, and La Cilof on the edge of the recent A6 motorway. The commune is now known for hosting the engine department of the Renault F1 Team motor racing stable, which became Alpine F1 Team in 2021.

Its inhabitants are called the Castelvirois.