Neauphle-le-Château


Neauphle-le-Château is a commune in the Yvelines department in the Île-de-France region in north-central France.

History

Neauphle-le-Château gained international fame in 1978 when, on October 8, Iranian Islamic leader Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini rented and moved into a house there following his exile by the regime of Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi in the midst of the Iranian Revolution, and after being deported from Iraq where he was taking refuge amongst the Shi'a community. The Ayatollah continued to reside there until the following year, when he returned to Iran following the collapse of the Shah's regime, and later became Iran's Supreme Leader. Due to the Ayatollah's time residing in Neauphle-le-Château, the street in Tehran on which the French Embassy in Iran is located and was previously known as Faranseh street, is now renamed after the village. The property where he lived, at the corner of the Chevreuse Road and Jardins Path has long been fenced off and locked and the former dwelling is now destroyed.
It was also the home until her death in April, 2013, of Deanna Durbin, Hollywood actress.