Prehistory and early history Bry's name comes from the
Celtic word
Briw, which means a bridge or a river crossing. The area has been inhabited since
Neolithic times. The town's motto, which features on its coat of arms, is "
Moult viel que Paris" - old French for "Much older than Paris". In 1903,
archeologist Adrien Mentienne uncovered the bones of a large
bovine which died 15,000 years ago. In 1982, the skeleton of a woman who died in the 5th century BC was uncovered beneath the playground of a school in Bry. It is now housed in the town's museum. From that century onwards, there was a permanent human presence where Bry now stands. In 1886, a
necropolis was found which contained
pottery,
Gaul and
Frankish weaponry, silver and gold jewelry, and coins, dating from the
Gaul era to the
Merovingian. The first known written mention of the town named Bry was in a charter signed by King
Charles the Bald in 861. The first church was built in 1130.
From the feudal era to modern times In 1404, Robert de Châtillon, cousin of King
Charles VI, was Bry's
feudal lord. His castle no longer stands, and its exact location is uncertain. Bry's current
château was built in the 1690s. It became the
town hall in 1866. It was rebuilt after the
Franco-Prussian War of 1870. The
railway came to Bry in 1926, followed by the
motorway (1970) and the
RER (1977). The town's hospital was built in 1936. ==Population==