Paris Saint–Germain FC was founded in 1970 by the merger of Paris FC and Stade Saint–Germain FC. The latter club was named after the commune of Saint–Germain–en–Laye (essentially a suburb of Paris, about ten miles west of the city centre).
Apart from its football club, Saint–Germain is famous for its château, which was built as a royal palace in the 16th century. Louis XIV moved definitively to Versailles in 1682, and King James II of England lived in the Château de Saint–Germain–en–Laye from his deposition in 1688 until his death in 1701. He is buried in the nearby Church of Saint–Germain; the château today is the home of France's National Archaeological Museum.
PSG moved in 1974 to the newly–built Parc des Princes, which is about four miles from the city centre (near the Bois de Boulogne). Until the opening of the Stade de France in 1998, the Parc des Princes was also home to the French national football and rugby union teams. (The Stade de France is in St.–Denis, about four miles north of the city centre.)
© Haydn Thompson 2017