Burgundy

I

Introduction

Burgundy (French, Bourgogne), administrative region of east-central France, and the name of several historical kingdoms, counties, and duchies. Burgundy is bordered to the north by the Île-de-France and Champagne-Ardenne regions, on the east by Franche-Comté, on the south by Rhône-Alpes and Auvergne, and on the west by Centre. It consists of four departments: Nièvre, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, and Yonne and has a total area of 31,582 sq km (12,194 sq mi).

II

Physical Geography

The source of the River Seine, which flows to Paris and the sea, can be found 26 km (16 mi) north-west of Dijon. Other major rivers that traverse the region include the Saône (a tributary of the River Rhône) and the Yonne (a tributary of the Seine). The Burgundy Canal, an important waterway that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Mediterranean Sea, crosses the region, linking the Saône to the Loire, Marne, and Rhine rivers; construction of the canal began in the 18th century and was completed by 1832.

The Côte d’Or mountains, with an average elevation of 460 m (1,500 ft), dominate the heart of Burgundy. The range connects the Cévennes with the Vosges mountains and extends for about 50 km (30 mi). To the south-west of Dijon, the Morvan Regional Nature Park, established in 1970, encompasses around 196,000 hectares (484,000 acres) of meadows, lakes, dense forests, moors, and uplands. Among the park’s highest points are Haut-Folin (902 m/2,959 ft), Mount Préneley (855 m/2,805 ft), and Mount Beuvray (821 m/2,694 ft).

III

Population

Burgundy has around 1,626,000 inhabitants (2007 estimate), with an average population density of 51 people per sq km (132 per sq mi). The largest city in Burgundy is Dijon (population, 2005 estimate, 150,800), the regional capital and administrative centre. Other major towns include Chalon-sur-Saône (2005 estimate, 46,800 ); Nevers (2005 estimate , 38,300); Auxerre (2005 estimate, 37,500); Maçon (2005 estimate, 34,000); Sens (2005 estimate, 26,500); Le Creusot (2005 estimate, 23,800); Beaune (2005 estimate, 21,800); and Autun (1999, 16,419).

Burgundy was a seat of intellectual and religious authority in the Middle Ages, largely because of the influence of the Benedictine abbey in Cluny. Only ruins remain of the abbey, which was the largest church in the Christian world for 500 years, until the construction of St Peter’s Basilica in Rome. The abbey in Cluny was quarried for building materials after the French Revolution. Solutre Rock, outside Cluny, holds an unusual archaeological find: the skeletons of more than 100,000 horses, probably driven over the cliff by Stone Age hunters. A Cistercian abbey at Fontenay, founded by St Bernard of Clairvaux in 1119, was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1981. Around 120 km (75 mi) to the north-west is the historic town of Vézelay. In 1146 St Bernard preached a sermon at the town’s 12th-century monastic church (designated a World Heritage Site in 1979) that convinced King Louis VII of France to join the Second Crusade. More than 40 years later, Richard I of England and Philip II of France met at the same church to set off on the Third Crusade. The University of Burgundy, founded in Dijon in 1722, now also has campuses at Auxerre, Chalon-sur-Saône, Le Creusot, Mâcon, and Nevers. The Jules Guyot Institute, in Dijon (1993), offers specialist higher education courses in winemaking and viticultural research.

IV

Economy

The region is most well known for its Burgundy wines. A few of the most important wine districts in the region are Beaune, Nuits-Saint-Georges, and Chablis, where a festival of regional wines is held during the fourth weekend in November. The soils of the Yonne valley are poor, but vineyards line the rivers’ banks. Dijon is famed for its mustard and spiced bread, known as pain d’epice. Industry in the region is concentrated around the larger cities. China and porcelain are produced at Nevers; machinery, electronic equipment, brandy, and metal goods are manufactured at Dijon; and Le Creusot is famous for its ironworks and steelworks.