Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in

Burgundy Burgundy (; french: link=no, Bourgogne ) is a historical territory and former administrative region and province of east-central France. The province was once home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century. The ...

. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are referred to as ''Auxerrois''. Auxerre is a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries. It is also noted for its production of

Burgundy wine Burgundy wine ( or ') is made in the Burgundy region of eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here, and those commonly referred to as "Burgundies," are dry red win ...

, including Chablis. In 1995 Auxerre was named "Town of Art and History".

Geography

Auxerre lies on the river Yonne and the Canal du Nivernais, about 150 km southeast of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

and 120 km northwest of

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlie ...

. The A6 autoroute (Paris–Lyon) passes northeast of the city. Auxerre-Saint-Gervais station has rail connections to Dijon, Paris, Corbigny and Avallon.

History

Auxerre was a flourishing Gallo-Roman centre, then called Autissiodorum, through which passed one of the main roads of the area, the Via Agrippa (1st century AD) which crossed the Yonne (Gallo-Roman Icauna) here. In the third century it became the seat of a bishop and a provincial capital of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ( la, Imperium Romanum ; grc-gre, Βασιλεία τῶν Ῥωμαίων, Basileía tôn Rhōmaíōn) was the post-Roman Republic, Republican period of ancient Rome. As a polity, it included large territorial holdings aro ...

. In the 5th century it received a cathedral. In the late 11th-early 12th century the existing communities were included inside a new line of walls built by the feudal counts of Auxerre. Bourgeois activities accompanied the traditional land and wine cultivations starting from the twelfth century, and Auxerre developed into a commune with a Town Hall of its own. The Burgundian city, which became part of France under King Louis XI, suffered during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a series of armed conflicts between the kingdoms of England and France during the Late Middle Ages. It originated from disputed claims to the French throne between the English House of Plantagen ...

and the

Wars of Religion A religious war or a war of religion, sometimes also known as a holy war ( la, sanctum bellum), is a war which is primarily caused or justified by differences in religion. In the modern period, there are frequent debates over the extent to wh ...

. In 1567 it was captured by the

Huguenots The Huguenots ( , also , ) were a religious group of French Protestants who held to the Reformed, or Calvinist, tradition of Protestantism. The term, which may be derived from the name of a Swiss political leader, the Genevan burgomaster B ...

, and many of the Catholic edifices were damaged. The medieval ramparts were demolished in the 18th century. In the 19th century numerous heavy infrastructures were built, including a railway station, a psychiatric hospital and the courts, and new quarters were developed on the right bank of the Yonne. Until the early 20th century, Auxerre was one of the most prosperous cities in the department. But the local authorities of that period refused the railway that was subsequently set in the village of Migennes, and signed the economic decline of the town.

Population

Climate

Main sights

* Cathedral of St. Étienne (11th–16th centuries). In

Gothic Gothic or Gothics may refer to: People and languages *Goths or Gothic people, the ethnonym of a group of East Germanic tribes **Gothic language, an extinct East Germanic language spoken by the Goths **Crimean Gothic, the Gothic language spoken b ...

style, it has three doorways with bas-reliefs. There are stained-glass windows in the choir and the apsidal chapel. The 11th-century crypt houses the remains of the former Romanesque cathedral. * Abbey of Saint-Germain, existing from the 9th century. The crypt has some of the oldest mural paintings in France, and houses the tomb of the bishops of Auxerre. There is a chapter room (12th century), a cellar (14th century) and a cloister (17th century). *The Clock Tower, in the Old Town *The church of St. Pierre en Vallée (17th–18th centuries), established over a 6th-century abbey. In late Gothic style, it has a tower similar to that of the cathedral. Portions of the decorations and inner chapels were financed by local winegrowers. * Church of St. Eusèbe, founded in the 7th century. The nave was rebuilt in the 13th century, while the tower is in Romanesque style.

Notable people

Germanus of Auxerre Germanus of Auxerre ( la, Germanus Antissiodorensis; cy, Garmon Sant; french: Saint Germain l'Auxerrois; 378 – c. 442–448 AD) was a western Roman clergyman who was bishop of Autissiodorum in Late Antique Gaul. He abandoned a career as a h ...

(-), bishop of Auxerre, missionary to Britain * William of Auxerre (d.1231), early High Scholastic theologian from Auxerre * Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, (1768–1830), born in Auxerre, mathematician, experimental physicist, and politician * Paul Bert (1833–1886), born in Auxerre, physiologist and politician *Théodore Frédéric Gaillardet, (1808–1882), born in Auxerre, journalist, publisher of French-language newspaper ''

Courrier des Etats-Unis Courrier may refer to: *''Courrier International'', a Paris-based French weekly newspaper *'' Courrier des États-Unis'', a French language newspaper published by French immigrants in New York *'' Courrier d'Ethiopie'', a French language weekly new ...

'' in New York City, mayor of Plessis-Bouchard, France * Eugène Hatin (1809–1893), historian and bibliographer * Saint Helladius (d. 387), bishop of Auxerre *

Paul Monceaux Étienne-Paul-Victor Monceaux (29 May 1859 – 7 February 1941) was a 19th-20th-century French historian. A professor at the Collège de France from 1907 to 1937, he was elected a member of the Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres in 191 ...

(1859–1941), born in Auxerre, historian * Benoît Mourlon (born 1988), footballer *

Jean Paul Rappeneau Jean-Paul Rappeneau (born 8 April 1932) is a French film director and screenwriter. Career He started out in film as an assistant and screenwriter collaborating with Louis Malle on ''Zazie dans le métro'' in 1960 and ''Vie privée'' in 1961. I ...

(1932), born in Auxerre, film director. * Guy Roux (1938), coach of AJ Auxerre for more than 40 years, holding the French record of 894 games in

Ligue 1 Ligue 1, officially known as Ligue 1 Uber Eats for sponsorship reasons, is a French professional league for men's association football clubs. At the top of the French football league system, it is the country's primary football competition. ...

Specialties

* Gougère – baked choux pastry made of dough mixed with cheese. * Kir – a traditional aperitif mixed drink from Burgundy wine (traditionally Bourgogne Aligoté) and blackcurrant liqueur. *

Boeuf bourguignon Beef bourguignon () or bœuf bourguignon (; ), also called beef Burgundy, and ''bœuf à la Bourguignonne'',''Random House Dictionary'online at dictionary.com/ref> is a French beef stew braised in red wine, often red Burgundy, and beef stock, t ...

– a typical main dish made of beef and vegetables. * Truffe bourguignonne – truffles from Burgundy.

Regional wines

Chablis wine Chablis () is a town and commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France. It lies in the valley of the River Serein. Wine The village of Chablis gives its name to one of the most famous French white wine ...

: A white wine made exclusively of

Chardonnay Chardonnay (, , ) is a green-skinned grape variety used in the production of white wine. The variety originated in the Burgundy wine region of eastern France, but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand. For new ...

in the Chablis AOC * Saint-Bris AOC: The only white wine in Burgundy made of Sauvignon grapes, especially

Sauvignon blanc is a green-skinned grape variety that originates from the Bordeaux region of France. The grape most likely gets its name from the French words ''sauvage'' ("wild") and ''blanc'' ("white") due to its early origins as an indigenous grape in ...

and Sauvignon gris * Irancy: A red wine from the surrounding area made of

Pinot noir Pinot Noir () is a red-wine grape variety of the species ''Vitis vinifera''. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from pinot noir grapes. The name is derived from the French words for ''pine'' and ''black.'' The word ''pine ...

*Bourgogne côte d'Auxerre: Belonging to the Burgundy

AOC (wine) AOC or AoC may refer to: People *Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (born 1989), Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives * Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain (born 1993), English footballer Aeronautics * Aeronautical operational control ...

, it is made of

for the white wine and

for the red. * Crémant de Bourgogne: Sparkling wine following the tradition of Champagne, Crémant de Bourgogne has a strong production in and around Auxerre. * Bourgogne Aligoté: Dry wine. Aligoté is the second most popular grape variety grown in Burgundy after Chardonnay. The whole region of Burgundy produces over 200 million bottles per year.

Twin towns – sister cities

Auxerre is twinned with: * Greve in Chianti, Italy * Płock, Poland *

Redditch Redditch is a town, and local government district, in north-east Worcestershire, England, approximately south of Birmingham. The district has a population of 85,000 as of 2019. In the 19th century, it became the international centre for the ...

, England, United Kingdom * Roscoff, France * Saint-Amarin, France *

Worms Worms may refer to: *Worm, an invertebrate animal with a tube-like body and no limbs Places *Worms, Germany Worms () is a city in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, situated on the Upper Rhine about south-southwest of Frankfurt am Main. It had ...

, Germany

References

External links

*
Auxerre Town Hall
* {{Authority control Communes of Yonne Prefectures in France Gallia Lugdunensis Burgundy