Laignes () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

in the Côte-d'Or department, in the

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

in eastern

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

Geography

Laignes has a total area of 40 km² and an approximate altitude of 220 m. Near the town hall there is a basin formed by the resurgence of the river Laigne.

Accessibility

Laignes is traversed by RN 965 from

Auxerre Auxerre ( , ) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth-largest city in Burgundy. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000; the urban area (''aire d'attraction'') comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants. Residents of Auxerre are r ...

Chaumont Chaumont can refer to: Places Belgium * Chaumont-Gistoux, a municipality in the province of Walloon Brabant France * Chaumont-Porcien, in the Ardennes ''département'' * Chaumont, Cher, in the Cher ''département'' * Chaumont-le-Bois, in the C� ...

. The nearest train stations are found at Nuits (17 kilometers) and Montbard (25 kilometers). There is a bus connection to Gare de Montbard, a (

TGV The TGV (french: Train à Grande Vitesse, "high-speed train"; previously french: TurboTrain à Grande Vitesse, label=none) is France's intercity high-speed rail service, operated by SNCF. SNCF worked on a high-speed rail network from 1966 to 19 ...

) station.

Neighboring communes

History

Prehistory and antiquity

Refined flints and tombs dating to the

Iron Age The Iron Age is the final epoch of the three-age division of the prehistory and protohistory of humanity. It was preceded by the Stone Age ( Paleolithic, Mesolithic, Neolithic) and the Bronze Age ( Chalcolithic). The concept has been mostl ...

attest to the antiquity of the site's occupation. The crossing of the roads from Auxerre to Langres and Alise to Vertault made it a very active place for the

Lingones The Lingones (Gaulish: 'the jumpers') were a Gallic tribe of the Iron Age and Roman periods. They dwelled in the region surrounding the present-day city of Langres, between the provinces of Gallia Lugdunensis and Gallia Belgica. Name Attes ...

during the Gallo-Roman period: an ancient potter's wheel was discovered near the train station bearing witness to the area's artisanal past.

Middle Ages

Merovingian coins were struck at Laignes, especially those bearing the likeness of

Charles the Bald Charles the Bald (french: Charles le Chauve; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as Charles II, was a 9th-century king of West Francia (843–877), king of Italy (875–877) and emperor of the Carolingian Empire (875–877). After a ...

. During this period, Laignes belonged to Tonnerre which passed from the Counts of Champagne to the

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; la, Ducatus Burgundiae; french: Duché de Bourgogne, ) emerged in the 9th century as one of the successors of the ancient Kingdom of the Burgundians, which after its conquest in 532 had formed a constituent part of the ...

. To resist various assaults from armed bands that ravaged the country during the Hundred Years' War, the city surrounded itself with fortifications; of which only a single round tower remains.

Modern era

On the eve of the French Revolution, Laignes depended on goods from the Bailiwick of Sens in the County of Champagne and spiritual guidance from the Deanery of Châtillon-sur-Seine, part of the Diocese of Langres.

Heraldry

List of mayors

Demographics

In 2017, the commune had 692 inhabitants, a change of -22% from 2007.

Monuments and historic places

Église Saint-Didier was designated a monument historique (national heritage site) in 1930. Its furniture and statuary date to the 16th and 17th centuries. *The sculpture at the resurgence of the river Laigne and the basin at the center of town. * Logo monument historique - rouge sans texte

The former Café des Chiens Blancs (Cafe of the White Dogs), now a multimedia library on the main square near the town hall. It was designated a monument historique in 1995. *Old freight station on the line from Nuits-sous-Ravières to Châtillon-sur-Seine. *Old medieval

tower A tower is a tall structure, taller than it is wide, often by a significant factor. Towers are distinguished from masts by their lack of guy-wires and are therefore, along with tall buildings, self-supporting structures. Towers are specifi ...

near the west entrance of the

. *The Chappelle Sainte-Marguerite (English: Chapel of Saint Margaret) on the road to Fontaines-les-Sèches. *The elementary school. File:Café des chiens.JPG, Café des Chiens Blancs. File:Laignes 002.JPG, The Laigne. File:Laignes 003.JPG, A street in the village.

Notable personalities

* André Metthey, (1871-1920), world-renowned ceramic artist, born 4 June 1871 in Laignes, and died in

Asnières-sur-Seine Asnières-sur-Seine () is a commune in the Hauts-de-Seine department and Île-de-France region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometres from the centre of Paris in the north-western suburbs of ...

in 1920. * Christine Petit, born in Laignes in 1948, physician and researcher, professor at the

Collège de France The Collège de France (), formerly known as the ''Collège Royal'' or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment ('' grand établissement'') in France. It is located in Paris n ...

and the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (french: Institut Pasteur) is a French non-profit private foundation dedicated to the study of biology, micro-organisms, diseases, and vaccines. It is named after Louis Pasteur, who invented pasteurization and vaccines ...

. *Doctor Paul Robert was born on Réunion in 1904, physician in Laignes from 1930 to 1939, and killed by the Nazis on 11 June 1944 in

Essarois Essarois () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the Côte-d'Or department of France. The communes coope ...

. * André Osterberger, (1920-2009), professional hammer thrower, born 26 Oct 1920 in Laignes. In 1950, he held the French record in the hammer throw with a mark 51.66 meters and had a mark of 52.95 meters in the 1952 Olympics.