Dijon

This article is about the French city. For other uses, see Dijon (disambiguation).

Dijon
Dijon
Location within Burgundy region  Dijon
Administration
Country	France
Region	Burgundy
Department	Côte-d'Or
Arrondissement	Dijon
Intercommunality	Dijon
Mayor	François Rebsamen (2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation	220–410 m (720–1,350 ft) (avg. 245 m or 804 ft)
Land area1	40.41 km2 (15.60 sq mi)
Population2	151,576  (2008)
- Density	3,751 /km2 (9,720 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	21231/ 21000
Website	http://www.dijon.fr/
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.

Dijon (French pronunciation: [diʒɔ̃] ( listen)) is a city in eastern France, and is the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.

Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population (2008): 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 (2007) for the greater Dijon area.

History

Dijon began as a Roman settlement called Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. Saint Benignus, the city's patron saint, is said to have introduced Christianity to the area before being martyred.

Capital of the Duchy of Burgundy

This province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power and one of the great European centres of art, learning and science. The Duchy of Burgundy was a key in the transformation of medieval times toward early modern Europe.

20th century

It was occupied by Nazi Germany between June 1940 and 12 September 1944, when it was liberated by joint French/UK/US forces.

Climate

The average low of winter is -1°C (with average high of 4.2°C). The average high of summer is 25.3°C (average low 14.7°C)

Climate data for Dijon
Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec	Year
Average high °C (°F)	4.2 (39.6)	7.0 (44.6)	10.9 (51.6)	14.7 (58.5)	18.7 (65.7)	22.4 (72.3)	25.3 (77.5)	24.5 (76.1)	21.3 (70.3)	15.5 (59.9)	8.6 (47.5)	4.8 (40.6)	14.83 (58.69)
Average low °C (°F)	−1 (30.2)	0.1 (32.2)	2.2 (36.0)	5.0 (41.0)	8.7 (47.7)	12.0 (53.6)	14.1 (57.4)	13.7 (56.7)	10.9 (51.6)	7.2 (45.0)	2.5 (36.5)	−0.2 (31.6)	6.27 (43.28)
Precipitation mm (inches)	59.2 (2.331)	52.5 (2.067)	52.8 (2.079)	52.2 (2.055)	86.3 (3.398)	62.4 (2.457)	51.0 (2.008)	65.4 (2.575)	66.6 (2.622)	57.6 (2.268)	64.2 (2.528)	62.0 (2.441)	732.2 (28.827)
Avg. precipitation days	11.1	9.3	10.5	9.6	11.7	9.2	7.4	8.3	7.9	8.7	10.5	10.9	115.1
Sunshine hours	52.7	89.6	139.5	177.0	204.6	234.0	266.6	229.4	195.0	120.9	69.0	52.7	1,831
Source: HKO

Population

Historical population of Dijon

Year	1793	1800	1806	1821	1831	1836	1841	1846	1851	1856
Population	20,760	18,888	22,026	22,397	25,352	24,817	26,184	27,543	32,253	33,493

Year	1861	1866	1872	1876	1881	1886	1891	1896	1901	1906
Population	37,074	39,193	42,573	47,939	55,453	60,855	65,428	67,736	71,326	74,113

Year	1911	1921	1926	1931	1936	1946	1954	1962	1968
Population	76,847	78,578	83,815	90,869	96,257	100,664	112,844	135,694	145,357

Year	1975	1982	1990	1999	2008
Population	151,705	140,942	146,703	150,138	151,576

Porte Guillaume (Guillaume Door), Place Darcy (Darcy Square), in the center of Dijon.

Sights

Dijon boasts a large number of churches, notably Notre Dame de Dijon, St. Philibert, St. Michel, Dijon Cathedral, the crypt of which, dedicated to Saint Benignus, dates from 1,000 years ago. The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier.

Cathédrale St Bénigne.

Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns.

Dijon was largely spared the destruction of wars such as the 1870 Franco-Prussian War and the Second World War, despite the city being occupied. Therefore, many of the old buildings such as the half-timbered houses dating from the 12th to the 15th centuries (found mainly in the city's core district) are undamaged, at least by organized violence.

Dijon is home to many museums, including the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon in part of the Ducal Palace (see below). It contains, among other things, ducal kitchens dating back to the mid-15th century, and a substantial collection of European painting from Roman times through contemporary art.

Among the more popular sights is the Ducal Palace, the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne or "Palace of the Dukes and the States of Burgundy" (47°19′19″N 5°2′29″E), which includes one of only a few remaining examples of the Capetian period in the region.

The church of Notre Dame is famous for both its art and architecture. Popular legend has it that one of its stone relief sculptures, an owl (la chouette) is a good-luck charm: visitors to the church touch the owl with their left hands to make a wish. (The current carving was restored after it was damaged by vandalism in the night of 5 and 6 January 2001).

Transport

Dijon and suburbs

Dijon is located approximately 300 km (190 mi) southeast of Paris, which takes about three hours by car along the motorways A38 and A6. The A31 provides connections to Nancy, Lille and Lyon. The A39 connects Dijon with Bourg-en-Bresse and Geneva, the A36 with Mulhouse and Basel.

The Gare de Dijon-Ville is the main railway station, providing connection in one hour and 40 minutes by the TGV high-speed train (LGV Sud-Est) to Paris-Gare de Lyon. For comparison, Lyon is 180 km (110 mi) away and two hours distant – although there is no high-speed train link between both cities. Nice takes about six hours by TGV and Strasbourg about three hours at regular train speed. Lausanne in Switzerland is less than 150 km (93 mi) away or two hours by train. Several regional trains of TER Bourgogne depart from the station.

A new tram network is under construction in Dijon; it is expected to open in 2012.

Sport

To the northwest of Dijon, the race track of Dijon-Prenois hosts various motor sport events. It hosted the Formula 1 French Grand Prix on five occasions from 1974 to 1984.

Dijon is home to Dijon FCO, a Football team in Ligue 1 .Dijon has its own basketball club (Pro A), JDA Dijon Basket.

Dijon is home to the Dijon Ducs ice hockey team, who play in the Magnus League.

Culture

Dijon holds its International and Gastronomic Fair every year in autumn. With over 500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors every year, it is one of the ten most important fairs in France. Dijon is also home, every three years, to the international flower show Florissimo.

Dijon has numerous museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, the Musée Archéologique, the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, the Musée d'Art Sacré, and the Musée Magnin. It also contains approximately 700 hectares of parks and green space, including the Jardin botanique de l'Arquebuse.

Apart from the numerous bars, which sometimes have live bands, some popular music venues in Dijon are : Le zenith de Dijon, La Vapeur and l'Atheneum.

Colleges and universities

• Dijon hosts the main campus of the University of Burgundy (Université de Bourgogne)
• École nationale des beaux-arts de Dijon
• European Campus of Sciences Po Paris
• ENESAD - Établissement National d’Enseignement Supérieur Agronomique de Dijon

Food and drink

Mustard

A Dijon mustard.

Dijon is famous for its mustard: the term Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon) designates a method of making a particularly strong mustard relish. This is not necessarily produced near Dijon, as the term is regarded as genericized under European Union law, so that it cannot be registered for protected designation of origin status. Most Dijon mustard (brands such as Amora or Maille) is produced industrially and over 90% of mustard seed used in local production is imported, mainly from Canada. In 2008, Unilever closed its Amora mustard factory in Dijon. Dijon mustard shops also feature exotic or unusually-flavored mustard (fruit-flavoured, for example), often sold in decorative hand-painted faience (china) pots.

Wine and Liqueurs

As the capital of the Burgundy region, Dijon reigns over some of the best wine country in the world. Many superb vineyards producing vins d'appellation contrôlée, such as Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, are within 20 minutes of the city center. The town's university boasts a renowned oenology institute. The road from Santenay to Dijon, known as the route des Grands Crus, passes through an idyllic countryside of vineyards, rivers, villages, forests, and 12th century churches.

The city is also well known for its crème de cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur, used in the drink known as "Kir", a mixture of white wine, especially Bourgogne aligoté, with blackcurrant liqueur, named after former mayor of Dijon canon Félix Kir.

Personalities

• John the Fearless (1371–1419), Duke of Burgundy
• Charles, Duke of Burgundy (1433–1477)
• Jane Frances de Chantal (Jeanne – Françoise Frémiot, baronne de Chantal, 1572–1641), founder of the Visitation Order
• Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), bishop and theologist
• Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764), composer
• François Chaussier (1746–1828), physician
• Bernard Courtois (1777–1838), discoverer of the element iodine
• François Rude (1784–1855), sculptor
• Augustin Cauchy (1789–1867), mathematician
• Henry Darcy (1803–1858), engineer
• François Jouffroy (1806–1882), sculptor
• Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923), engineer and architect
• Elizabeth of the Trinity (Marie – Élisabeth Catez, 1880–1906), Carmelite nun and religious writer
• Roger Guillemin (b. 1924), Nobel laurate in Physiology and Medicine
• Jean-Pierre Marielle (b. 1932), actor
• Claude Jade (1948–2006), actress
• Jean-Marc Boivin (1951–1990), extreme sports specialist
• Vitalic (born as Pascal Arbez in 1976), an electronic music artist
• Julien Pillet (b. 1977), olympic medalist sabre fencer
• Anne-Caroline Chausson (b. 1977), olympic medalist BMX racer
• Madjid Bougherra (b. 1982), Rangers F.C. football/soccer player
• Laurent Chambertin volleyball player

Photo gallery

• 

  Some of the beautiful roof work seen throughout Dijon

• 

  The false gargoyles on Notre Dame de Dijon

• 

  Porte Guillaume (Guillaume Gate) on Darcy Square

• 

  Rue de la Liberté (Freedom Street)

• 

  Carrefour du Miroir, Rue de la Libérté (Mirror's Crossroads)

• 

  Boutique de la moutarde Maille (Mustard shop of the Maille brand)

• 

  Place François Rude (François Rude Square)

• 

  Typical street in the old town-centre

• 

  Place de la Libération (Liberation Square)

• 

  Palais des ducs de Bourgogne (Dukes of Burgundy's Palace)

• 

  Philippe le Bon Tower

• 

  Philippe II Le Hardi's tomb

• 

  Cathedral St. Begnine

• 

  Saint-Michel Church

• 

  The Market in Dijon designed by Gustave Eiffel (who also designed the Eiffel Tower)

• 

  La Chouette ("The Owl") at Notre Dame de Dijon (rub it for goodluck)

• 

  Place Darcy during a light snow

International relations

See also: List of twin towns and sister cities in France

Twin towns – sister cities

Dijon is twinned with:

Cluj-Napoca in Romania Sofia in Bulgaria Dallas in United States Mainz in Germany Opole in Poland Pécs in Hungary

Reggio Emilia in Italy Skopje in Macedonia Volgograd in Russia York in United Kingdom Białystok in Poland

See also

• Communes of the Côte-d'Or department
• Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy

References

• INSEE

External links

• Official Dijon website
• Dijon tourism website
• Dijon travel guide from Wikitravel
• A lot of photos about Dijon
• Official site of the city government
• Old Postal Cards about Dijon
• Dijon in 1900