Beaune (; in
Burgundian: ''Beane'') is widely considered to be the wine capital of
Burgundy in the
Côte d'Or department in eastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. It is located between
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
and
Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and a major hub of Burgundy wine production and business. The annual wine auction of the
Hospices de Beaune is the primary wine auction in
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
.
The town is surrounded by some of the world's most famous wine villages, such as Mersault or Puligny Montrachet, while the facilities and cellars of many producers, large and small, are situated in the historic center of Beaune itself, as they have been since Roman times. With a rich historical and architectural heritage, Beaune is considered the "Capital of
Burgundy wines". It is an ancient and historic town on a plain by the hills of the Côte d'Or, with features remaining from the pre-Roman and Roman eras, through the medieval and renaissance periods.
Beaune is a walled city, with much of the battlements, ramparts, and the moat, having survived in good condition. The central "old town" within the walls is extensive. Historically Beaune is intimately connected with the
Dukes of Burgundy.
The 15th-century
Hospices de Beaune, in the town center, is one of the best preserved renaissance buildings in Europe. Other landmarks in Beaune include the old market (les Halles), the Beffroi (clock tower), and the
collegiate church of Notre Dame. Beaune is the main center for the "Burgundian tile" polychrome renaissance roofing style of the region. Because of its historical importance in wine production and the unique system of ''
terroir'' in the region, the town of Beaune was inscribed on the
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO ) is a List of specialized agencies of the United Nations, specialized agency of the United Nations (UN) with the aim of promoting world peace and International secur ...
World Heritage List
World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural heritag ...
in 2015 as part of the
Climats, terroirs of Burgundy site.
Wine

Beaune is one of the key wine towns in the
Côte de Beaune section of the
Burgundy wine region. Although Beaune itself does not have a
Grand cru named for it, it is the hub of the region's wine business, as many of Burgundy's major
négociants are here. Beaune is renowned for its annual charity wine auction on behalf of the
Hospices de Beaune.
It is on the ''
route des Grands Crus'' which is a road that runs through the vineyards, north from Beaune to
Gevrey Chambertin and
Nuits-Saint-Georges and south to
Nolay,
Saisy and
Autun
Autun () is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Saône-et-Loire Departments of France, department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region of central-eastern France. It was founded during the Principate era of the e ...
.
The town
Beaune is the centre for wine industry services (such as tractors and equipment for vat-rooms) as well as a number of wine-related institutes and education facilities. The train station is served by TGV, through
Dijon or
Lyon
Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...
.
There is a comprehensive "traditional" shopping area clustered around the central square with a focus on gourmet food, fashion, and wine, while large supermarkets, business parks, etc., are situated on the outskirts of town.
Beaune has a major fine food market on Saturdays, where there are a large number of stall holders supplying a broad selection of products and specialties from Burgundy and the surrounding regions. For example, Bresse chickens, Jura cheeses, small goods, spices, produce of every variety as well as seasonal specialties such as truffles. There is a smaller market on Wednesday, and special-event markets and festivals are held throughout the year.
Beaune attracts a large number of tourists, around 400,000 each year according to the Hôtel Dieu.
Beaune is one of a number of towns in Europe asserting a key role in the "invention of film"; a number of murals and other tourist attractions reflect this.
Technically Beaune is a
commune in eastern France, a
sub-prefecture of department 21, 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 areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
.
Population
Origin, geography and climate
The name "Beaune" derives from the Latinised Gaulish word "Belena", which was the name of a spring around which the settlement was established. That name in turn is derived from "Belen" or "Belenos", a god of fast-flowing water. A Roman fort was built there in the first century A.D. and it was already a prosperous wine-growing region in the 13th century.
The town is served by a small river, the "Bouzaise" (or "Bouzaize") of which the source is in a public park on the north-east edge of town.
Beaune has a semi-continental climate with an oceanic influence, seen with frequent rains in each season (though autumn has the most and summer the least) and frequent weather changes. There are significant temperature differences between the seasons, characterized by cold winters with frequent snowfall, and hot summers with sometimes violent thunderstorms. It is this climate which creates the unique environment for which the Côte d'Or is known.
Hospices de Beaune
Founded in 1442 by
Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the
Duke of Burgundy, who was encouraged to do so by his wife, Guigone de Salins, the
Hospices are a charity running hospitals and other services for the needy. Thanks to generous donations from benefactors, they own
vineyard
A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...
s in
Burgundy.
The American Expeditionary Forces University at Beaune
At the end of WWI the
American Expeditionary Forces University was established in Beaune, complete with its own chapter of
Phi Beta Kappa
The Phi Beta Kappa Society () is the oldest academic honor society in the United States. It was founded in 1776 at the College of William & Mary in Virginia. Phi Beta Kappa aims to promote and advocate excellence in the liberal arts and sciences, ...
.
Faculty included
Walter M. Chandler, a
Progressive Party member and, later, a
Republican Party member of the
U.S. House of Representatives from the
State of New York.
Notable people
*
Louis Chevrolet (1878–1941),
race car driver, co-founder of the
Chevrolet Motor Car Company, co-founder of the
Frontenac Motor Corporation
Frontenac Motor Corporation was a joint venture of Louis Chevrolet, Indy 500 winner Joe Boyer, Joseph Boyer Jr., Indianapolis car dealer William Small, and Zenith Carburetor president Victor Heftler. Per articles of Incorporation on file in the ...
with brothers Gaston and Arthur
*
Arthur Chevrolet (1884–1946),
race car driver and co-founder of the
Frontenac Motor Corporation
Frontenac Motor Corporation was a joint venture of Louis Chevrolet, Indy 500 winner Joe Boyer, Joseph Boyer Jr., Indianapolis car dealer William Small, and Zenith Carburetor president Victor Heftler. Per articles of Incorporation on file in the ...
with brothers Louis and Gaston
*
Gaston Chevrolet (1892–1920),
1920 Indianapolis 500 winner and
1920 AAA National Champion
race car driver, co-founder of the
Frontenac Motor Corporation
Frontenac Motor Corporation was a joint venture of Louis Chevrolet, Indy 500 winner Joe Boyer, Joseph Boyer Jr., Indianapolis car dealer William Small, and Zenith Carburetor president Victor Heftler. Per articles of Incorporation on file in the ...
with brothers Louis and Arthur
*
Nicolas Grozelier (1692–1778), 18th-century French fabulist
*
Lucien Jacob (1930-2019), politician
*
Bruno Latour (1947–2022),
anthropologist
An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...
and an influential theorist in the field of
science and technology studies
Science and technology studies (STS) or science, technology, and society is an interdisciplinary field that examines the creation, development, and consequences of science and technology in their historical, cultural, and social contexts.
Histo ...
*
Étienne-Jules Marey (1830–1904), scientist and
chronophotographer, widely considered to be a pioneer of photography and an influential pioneer of the
history of cinema
*
Gaspard Monge (1746–1818),
mathematician
A mathematician is someone who uses an extensive knowledge of mathematics in their work, typically to solve mathematical problems. Mathematicians are concerned with numbers, data, quantity, mathematical structure, structure, space, Mathematica ...
and inventor of
descriptive geometry
Descriptive geometry is the branch of geometry which allows the representation of three-dimensional objects in two dimensions by using a specific set of procedures. The resulting techniques are important for engineering, architecture, design an ...
*
Enzo Peugeot (born 2005), racing driver
*
Félix Ziem (1821–1911),
painter in the style of the
Barbizon School
*
Léna Grandveau (born 2003), French
handball
Handball (also known as team handball, European handball, Olympic handball or indoor handball) is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each (six outcourt players and a goalkeeper) pass a ball using their hands with the aim of thr ...
player
International relations
Beaune is
twinned with:
*
Nantucket
Nantucket () is an island in the state of Massachusetts in the United States, about south of the Cape Cod peninsula. Together with the small islands of Tuckernuck Island, Tuckernuck and Muskeget Island, Muskeget, it constitutes the Town and Co ...
,
Massachusetts
Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...
,
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, since 2006
*
Bensheim,
Hessen,
Germany
Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, since 1960
*
Malmedy,
Liège Province
Liège ( ; ; ; ; ) is the easternmost province of the Wallonia region of Belgium.
Liège Province is the only Belgian province that has borders with three countries. It borders (clockwise from the north) the Dutch province of Limburg, the ...
,
Belgium
Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...
, since 1962
*
Krems an der Donau,
Lower Austria
Lower Austria ( , , abbreviated LA or NÖ) is one of the nine states of Austria, located in the northeastern corner of the country. Major cities are Amstetten, Lower Austria, Amstetten, Krems an der Donau, Wiener Neustadt and Sankt Pölten, which ...
,
Austria
Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...
, since 1976
*
Kōshū,
Yamanashi,
Japan
Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
, since 1976
Gallery
File:Rogier van der Weyden 002.jpg, Beaune Altarpiece, Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune
File:Nicolas Rolin.jpg, Nicolas Rolin, founder of the Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune
File:Beaune Hôtel-Dieu Innen Armensaal 3.JPG, "Salle des Pôvres", Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune
File:Hostel Dieu Beaune.jpg, Hôtel-Dieu, Beaune
File:Mairie-de-beaune.JPG, Beaune City Hall
File:Collégiale Notre-Dame de Beaune.jpg, Collégiale Notre-Dame de Beaune
File:Notre-Dame de Beaune am Tag.JPG, Notre-Dame de Beaune
File:Building of the Savings Bank of Beaune en 2016.jpg, Bâtiment de la caisse d'épargne
Climate
See also
*
Communes of the Côte-d'Or department
*
French wine
*
List of works by Henri Chapu Sculptor of Beaune memorial 1870
References
External links
Official websiteBeaune Tourism office*
{{Authority control
Communes of Côte-d'Or
Subprefectures in France
Côte-d'Or communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia
Burgundy