Auxerre

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Auxerre
Auxerre 001.JPG
Yonne river
Auxerre is located in France
Auxerre
Administration
Country France
Region Burgundy
Department Yonne
Arrondissement Auxerre
Intercommunality Auxerrois
Mayor Guy Ferez
(2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation 93–217 m (305–712 ft)
(avg. 102 m or 335 ft)
Land area1 49.95 km2 (19.29 sq mi)
Population2 44,620  (2006)
 - Density 893 /km2 (2,310 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 89024/ 89000
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Coordinates: 47°47′55″N 3°34′02″E / 47.7986°N 3.5672°E / 47.7986; 3.5672

Auxerre (French pronunciation: ​[o'sɛʁ]) is the capital of the Yonne department and the fourth largest city in Burgundy. The city of Auxerre is ideally located 1h30 southeast of Paris.

Auxerre's population today is about 40,000.[1] Residents of Auxerre are referred to as Auxerrois. Auxerre's metropolitan area comprises roughly 90,000 inhabitants.

It is a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries.

Auxerre is also world famous for its production of Burgundy wine, including Chablis.

In 1995 Auxerre was named "Town of Art and History".

Contents

History [edit]

Clock Tower

Auxerre was a flourishing Gallo-Roman centre, then called Autissiodorum, through which passed one of the main roads of the area, the Via Agrippa (1st century AD) which crossed the Yonne River (Gallo-Roman Icauna) here. In the third century it became the seat of a bishop[2] and a provincial capital of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century it received a Cathedral. In the late 11th-early 12th century the existing communities were included inside a new line of walls built by the feudal Counts of Auxerre.

Bourgeois activities accompanied the traditional land and wine cultivations starting from the twelfth century, and Auxerre developed into a commune with a Town Hall of its own. The Burgundian city, which became part of France under King Louis XI, suffered during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. In 1567 it was captured by the Huguenots, and many of the Catholic edifices were damaged. The medieval ramparts were demolished in the 18th century.

In the 19th century numerous heavy infrastructures were built, including a railway station, a psychiatric hospital and the courts, and new quarters were developed on the right bank of the Yonne.

In parts of France during the World War II, there were so few men around, because of the prisoners of war and forced labor sent to Germany, that old problems returned. Wolves returned to Burgundy. In the tenth century the packs of wolves were so large and vicious, that they forced the Dukes of Burgundy from their capital in Auxerre to the safer regions of Dijon. When faced with starvation, the wolves would also eat the grapes. During World War II, a pack of starving wolves had eaten the grapes, and had become intoxicated. The drunken wolf pack ran into the center of the town, where they lay down in a drunken stupor. “The wolves were all intoxicated… they were too drunk to remember they were wolves.” At that point, the frightened townspeople Auxerre came out with their kitchen knives and dispatched the wolves. “They just lay down in the street, stupidly drunk,” Monsieur Le Brun said.[3]

Old Slide

Main sights [edit]

A view of Auxerre's old town with Saint-Germain Abbey in the background.
Church of St. Pierre en Vallée, listed as monument.
  • Cathedral of St. Étienne (11th–16th centuries). In Gothic style, it is renowned for its three doorways with remarkable bas-reliefs. The stained glass windows in the choir and the apsidal chapel are among the finest in France. The 11th century crypt houses the remains of the former Romanesque cathedral.
  • Abbey of Saint-Germain, existing from the ninth century. The crypt has some of the most ancient mural paintings in France, and houses the tomb of the bishops of Auxerre. Also interesting are the chapter room (12th century), the cellar (14th century) and the cloister (seventeenth century).
  • The Clock tower, located in the Old Town
  • The church of St. Pierre en Vallée (17th–18th centuries), established over a 6th century abbey. In the style of late Gothic architecture, it has a tower similar to that of the cathedral. Portions of the decorations and inner chapels were financed by local winegrowers.
  • Church of St. Eusèbe, founded in the 7th century. The nave was rebuilt in the 13th century, while the tower is in Romanesque style.
  • Museum of Natural History.

Personalities [edit]

  • Saint Helladius (d. 387), bishop of Auxerre
  • Saint Patrick (5th Century AD), Apostle to the Irish, visited Bishop Germanus of Auxerre here. According to the city's archives, it is said that St Patrick possibly studied in Auxerre for about 2 years.
  • Théodore Frédéric Gaillardet, (1808–1882), born in Auxerre, journalist, publisher of French-language newspaper Courrier des Etats-Unis in New York City, mayor of Plessis-Bouchard, France.[4]
  • Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, (1769–1830), born in Auxerre, mathematician, experimental physicist, and politician.[5]
  • Paul Bert (1833-1886), born in Auxerre, Physiologist and politician.
  • Marie-Noël (1883-1967), born in Auxerre, Poetess.
  • Jean Paul Rappeneau (1932), born in Auxerre, Film director.
  • Guy Roux (1938) Coach of AJ Auxerre for more than 40 years, holding the French record of 894 games in Ligue 1.

Specialties [edit]

  • Gougère : Baked choux pastry made of dough mixed with cheese.
  • Kir (cocktail) : A traditional Aperitive mixed drink from Burgundy - Bourgogne Aligoté and Blackcurrant liquor -.
  • Boeuf bourguignon : a typical main dish made of beef and vegetables.
  • Truffe bourguignonne : Truffles from burgundy.

Famous regional wines [edit]

Sister and twin cities [edit]

See also [edit]

References [edit]

  1. ^ Populations légales 2007 de la commune d’Auxerre, INSEE
  2. ^ Councils were held here in 578 and 1147.
  3. ^ Kladstrup, Don and Petie Kladstrup. 2001. Wine and War: the French, the Nazis, and the Battle for France’s Greatest Treasure. New York: Broadway Books. Pages 137-138.
  4. ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607–1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963. 
  5. ^ Howard Eves (1990). An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (sixth ed.). Saunders College Publishing. 

External links [edit]

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