Tournus () is a commune in the

Saône-et-Loire Saône-et-Loire (; Arpitan: ''Sona-et-Lêre'') is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. It is named after the rivers Saône and Loire, between which it lies, in the country's central-eastern part. Saône-et-Loire is Bo ...

department Department may refer to: * Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility Government and military *Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...

in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.

Geography

Tournus is located on the right bank of the Saône, 20 km. northeast of Mâcon on the Paris- Lyon railway.

Population

Sights

The

church of St Philibert Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship * Chris ...

(early 11th century), is the main surviving building of the former Benedictine abbey of Tournus, suppressed in 1785. It is in the Burgundian Romanesque style. The façade lacks one of the two flanking towers originally designed for it. The nave is roofed with barrel vaulting, supported on tall cylindrical columns. Both the choir and the 11th century

crypt A crypt (from Latin ''crypta'' "vault") is a stone chamber beneath the floor of a church or other building. It typically contains coffins, sarcophagi, or religious relics. Originally, crypts were typically found below the main apse of a chur ...

beneath it have an ambulatory and side chapels. St Philibert Tournus nave

In the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville stands a statue of Jean-Baptiste Greuze, born in the town in 1725.

Economy

Tournus is an important tourist area, with one four-star hotel (the Greuze) and one three-star hotel (the Rempart). In 2013, four restaurants had a

Michelin star The Michelin Guides ( ) are a series of guide books that have been published by the French tyre company Michelin since 1900. The Guide awards up to three Michelin stars for excellence to a select few establishments. The acquisition or loss of a ...

: the Greuze, Quartier Gourmand, Aux Terasses, and Meulien. There are vineyards in the surrounding district and the town and its port have considerable commerce in wine and in stone from the neighboring quarries. Chairmaking was an important industry. There are several industrial areas to the north and south-west. The town manufactures a large quantity of domestic white goods, at the

Groupe SEB Groupe SEB (''Société d'Emboutissage de Bourgogne'') is a large French consortium that produces small appliances, and it is the world's largest manufacturer of cookware. Notable brand names associated with Groupe SEB include All-Clad, IMUSA , ...

factory, and cookware at the Tefal factory. There is a market every Saturday morning.

Sport

* On 9 June 2009, the town was the start of the Stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré cycle race. * On 10 July 2010, the town was en route of the Stage 7 of the Tour de France cycle race.

People

* Birthplace of Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805),

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

. * Home of Gabriel Voisin (February 5, 1880December 25, 1973), aviation and automobile pioneer. * Birthplace of

Marie-Hélène Mathieu Marie-Hélène Mathieu (born 4 July 1929) is a French disability rights activist. She is co-founder of the international movement Faith and Light; with Jean Vanier, she has dedicated her life’s work to people with disabilities and to their fami ...

(July 4, 1929), religious worker for the disabled. * See also: :People from Tournus.

References

Communes of Saône-et-Loire Burgundy {{SaôneLoire-geo-stub