Parc Heller, Municipal park in Antony, France.
Parc Heller covers 9.6 hectares in Antony, making it the town's second-largest park after Parc de Sceaux. The Ru des Godets crosses it and feeds the Etang du Soleil, an artificial pond dug in the 1940s by local resident Jean Proska. Plane trees line the stream, and the park holds rugby and football pitches, basketball courts, a pony club and a farm.
The land was owned by the Marquis de Castries until the French Revolution changed its status. A mansion called Chateau Saran was built on the grounds in the second half of the 19th century and continues to shape the park's character.
The park is named after Georges Heller, a communist municipal councillor of Antony who died in deportation at Flossenbürg on 28 December 1944; it took his name after 1945. Near the grounds lies the tomb of François Molé, a sociétaire of the Comédie-Française in the 18th century who owned a country house in Antony. Each June the park hosts the three-day Antony fêtes, with musicians, triathlon athletes and clowns.
The park opens every day from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m., except during strong winds. The Ru des Godets flows through the grounds and feeds the Etang du Soleil, a pond dug in the 1940s below the main level. A cycle path crosses the park, and the pony club, farm and playground sit alongside the sports pitches.
The pond, Étang du Soleil, was dug in the 1940s by a local resident, Jean Proska, on the site of the old Antony mill's water channel. The Ru des Godets still feeds it through a sluice, and the mill channel itself stays under water thanks to a small basin at the former confluence with the Bièvre.
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