Chantilly

Town in the Oise département, northern France, situated beside the forest of Chantilly on the River Nonette, 40 km/25 mi north of Paris; population (1999 est) 35,100. It is the centre of French horse racing. The racing industry is a large source of local employment, and helps to attract over 350,000 tourists a year to the town. Chantilly formerly produced lace and a type of whipped cream, giving its name to both. It also manufactured porcelain. Many of its residents commute to work in Paris.

Features Chantilly's racetrack dates from 1834, and hosts international horse races such as the Ambassadors Cup and the European Championships. The 18th-century Condé stables house Le Musée Vivant du Cheval (the Living Museum of the Horse), which contains over 30 visual and cultural exhibitions.

The moated Grand Château is a 19th-century reconstruction by Henri, duc d'Aumale, of a 14th-century structure that was destroyed during the French Revolution. In 1886 the duke presented it and its invaluable art and manuscript collections to the Institut de France. The Condé museum has a large art collection that includes works by such artists as Poussin, Delacroix, Ingres, Van Dyck, and Raphael.

Chantilly was the headquarters of the French military chief Joseph Joffre from 1914 to 1917

Chantilly

Community in Fairfax County, northern Virginia, USA, 32 km/20 mi west of Washington, DC; population (1990) 29,300. Washington Dulles International Airport is northwest of this residential suburb, which is also home to some high technology industry.

It was the scene of a battle fought 1 September 1862, in which Confederate forces led by Stonewall Jackson attempted unsuccessfully to prevent a retreat by Union forces under John Pope, after the second battle of Bull Run.