Laignes () is a commune in the

Côte-d'Or Côte-d'Or () is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of Northeastern France. In 2019, it had a population of 534,124.

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 ...

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 ...

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 ( , , Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Auchoirre'') is the capital (Prefectures in France, prefecture) of the Yonne Departments of France, department and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Par ...

to Chaumont. 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 (; , , 'high-speed train') is France's intercity high-speed rail service. With commercial operating speeds of up to on the newer lines, the TGV was conceived at the same period as other technological projects such as the Ariane 1 rocke ...

) 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 historical Metal Ages, after the Chalcolithic and Bronze Age. It has also been considered as the final age of the three-age division starting with prehistory (before recorded history) and progre ...

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 A ...

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 (; 13 June 823 – 6 October 877), also known as CharlesII, 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 series of civil wars during t ...

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

Duchy of Burgundy The Duchy of Burgundy (; ; ) was a medieval and early modern feudal polity in north-western regions of historical Burgundy. It was a duchy, ruled by dukes of Burgundy. The Duchy belonged to the Kingdom of France, and was initially bordering th ...

. To resist various assaults from armed bands that ravaged the country during the

Hundred Years' War The Hundred Years' War (; 1337–1453) was a conflict between the kingdoms of Kingdom of England, England and Kingdom of France, France and a civil war in France during the Late Middle Ages. It emerged from feudal disputes over the Duchy ...

, 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 () is a designation given to some national heritage sites in France. It may also refer to the state procedure in France by which national heritage protection is extended to a building, a specific part of a building, a collection of buildings, ...

(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

in 1995. *Old freight station on the line from Nuits-sous-Ravières to Châtillon-sur-Seine. *Old medieval

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

near the west entrance of the commune. *The Chappelle Sainte-Marguerite (English: Chapel of Saint Margaret) on the road to

Fontaines-les-Sèches Fontaines-les-Sèches () is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Population See also *Communes of the Côte-d'Or department The following is a list of the 698 communes of the C� ...

. *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 Communes of France, commune in the Hauts-de-Seine Departments of France, department and Île-de-France Regions of France, region of north-central France. It lies on the left bank of the river Seine, some eight kilometr ...

in 1920. *

Christine Petit Christine Petit (born 4 February 1948) is a French geneticist. She holds professorships at the Collège de France and the Pasteur Institute. Biography Petit was born in Laignes in 1948. She initially studied at the Paris teaching hospital, Pit ...

, born in Laignes in 1948, physician and researcher, professor at the

Collège de France The (), formerly known as the or as the ''Collège impérial'' founded in 1530 by François I, is a higher education and research establishment () in France. It is located in Paris near La Sorbonne. The has been considered to be France's most ...

and the

Pasteur Institute The Pasteur Institute (, ) 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 for anthrax and rabies. Th ...

. *Doctor Paul Robert was born on

Réunion Réunion (; ; ; known as before 1848) is an island in the Indian Ocean that is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France. Part of the Mascarene Islands, it is located approximately east of the isl ...

in 1904, physician in Laignes from 1930 to 1939, and killed by the Nazis on 11 June 1944 in Essarois. *

André Osterberger André Osterberger (26 October 1920 – 18 January 2009) was a French athlete. He competed in the men's hammer throw at the 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and c ...

, (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.