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Dijon

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

Dijon
Top: Dijon City Hall, Bottom: Saint Benigne Cathedral, Statue of Jean-Philippe Rameau, Statue of Francois Rude, Saint Michel Church
Top: Dijon City Hall, Bottom: Saint Benigne Cathedral, Statue of Jean-Philippe Rameau, Statue of Francois Rude, Saint Michel Church
Coat of arms of Dijon
Coat of arms
Location of Dijon
Map
CountryFrance
RegionBourgogne-Franche-Comté
DepartmentCôte-d'Or
ArrondissementDijon
IntercommunalityDijon
Government
 • Mayor (2008–2014) François Rebsamen
Area
1
40.41 km2 (15.60 sq mi)
Population
 (2008)
151,576
 • Density3,800/km2 (9,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
21231 /21000
Elevation220–410 m (720–1,350 ft)
(avg. 245 m or 804 ft)
Websitehttp://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.

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

Dijon began as a Roman settlement called Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. The 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. Population (2008): 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 (2007) for the greater Dijon area.

Dijon's churches include Dijon Cathedral. 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. 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 geometric patterns.

Dijon holds an 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 is famous for Dijon mustard which originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted verjuice, the acidic "green" juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe.

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.

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. The Palais des ducs de Bourgogne (Palace of the Dukes of Burgundy) now houses city hall and a museum of medieval art.

It was occupied by Nazi Germany between June 1940 and 12 September 1944, when it was liberated by joint French/UK/US forces.[1]

Population

Historical population
YearPop.±%
1793 20,760—    
1800 18,888−9.0%
1806 22,026+16.6%
1821 22,397+1.7%
1831 25,352+13.2%
1836 24,817−2.1%
1841 26,184+5.5%
1846 27,543+5.2%
1851 32,253+17.1%
1856 33,493+3.8%
1861 37,074+10.7%
1866 39,193+5.7%
1872 42,573+8.6%
1876 47,939+12.6%
1881 55,453+15.7%
1886 60,855+9.7%
1891 65,428+7.5%
1896 67,736+3.5%
1901 71,326+5.3%
1906 74,113+3.9%
1911 76,847+3.7%
1921 78,578+2.3%
1926 83,815+6.7%
1931 90,869+8.4%
1936 96,257+5.9%
1946 100,664+4.6%
1954 112,844+12.1%
1962 135,694+20.2%
1968 145,357+7.1%
1975 151,705+4.4%
1982 140,942−7.1%
1990 146,703+4.1%
1999 150,138+2.3%
2006 151,504+0.9%
2009 152,110+0.4%

Geography

The average low of winter is −1 °C (30 °F), with an average high of 4.2 °C (39.6 °F). The average high of summer is 25.3 °C (77.5 °F) with an average low of 14.7 °C (58.5 °F). Average normal temperatures are between 2.3 °C (36.1 °F) and 5.3 °C (41.5 °F) from November to March, and 17.2 to 19.7 °C (63.0 to 67.5 °F) from June to August.[2]


Sights

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

Dijon has a large number of churches, including Notre Dame de Dijon, St. Philibert, St. Michel, Dijon Cathedral, the crypt of which, dedicated to Saint Benignus, is a 1,000 years old. 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. 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 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 / 47.32194°N 5.04139°E / 47.32194; 5.04139), 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 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 only 1 hour and 56 minutes via the TGV Rhin-Rhône. 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 system opened in September 2012. Line T1 is an 8.5 km line with 16 stations running from the Dijon railway station to Quetigny.[3] Line T2, due to open in December 2012, will be an 11.5 km long line with 21 stations running between Valmy and Chenôve

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.

A Dijon mustard

Dijon mustard originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted verjuice, the acidic "green" juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe.[4] In general, mustards from Dijon today contain white wine rather than verjuice. 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.[5] 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 sell exotic or unusually-flavoured mustard (fruit-flavoured, for example), often sold in decorative hand-painted faience (china) pots.

Burgundy is a notable wine growing region, and there are vineyards, such as Vosne-Romanée and Gevrey-Chambertin, within 20 minutes of the city center. The town's university boasts a renowned oenology institute. The road from Santenay to Dijon is known as the "route des Grands Crus".

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.

Dijon is home to Dijon FCO, a Football team in Ligue 2. 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.[6] To the northwest, 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.

Colleges and universities

Personalities

International relations

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

Twin towns – sister cities

Dijon is twinned with:[7] [8]

See also

References

  1. ^ "SAS – Special Air Service – WWII". Sasregiment.org.uk. Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  2. ^ HKO August 2011, weather.gov.hk
  3. ^ "Pioneering PPP energises Dijon tram". Railway Gazette. 21 July 2010. Retrieved 25 June 2012.
  4. ^ Jack E. Staub, Ellen Buchert (18 August 2008). 75 Exceptional Herbs for Your Garden. Gibbs Smith. p. 170.
  5. ^ "SCADPlus: Protection of Geographical Indications and Designations of Origin". Europa (web portal). Retrieved 5 May 2009.
  6. ^ Dijon Hockey Club. "Duc's Official Website" (in French). Retrieved 1 October 2010.
  7. ^ "Ville de Dijon - Dijon, une politique renouvelée à l'international". Dijon.fr. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  8. ^ "Ville de Dijon - Jumelages". Dijon.fr. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  9. ^ "Opole Official Website – Twin Towns". (in English and Polish)2007–2009 Urząd Miasta Opola. Retrieved 18 June 2009.
  10. ^ "Official portal of City of Skopje – Skopje Sister Cities". City of Skopje. 2006–2009. Retrieved 14 July 2009. {{cite web}}: External link in |publisher= (help)
  11. ^ Friendly relationship at Official website of Volgograd
  12. ^ "Vennskapsbyer". www.visitvolgograd.info. Retrieved 5 January 2010.
  13. ^ Korolczuk, Dariusz (12 January 2010). "Foreign cooperation - Partner Cities". Białystok City Council. City Office in Białystok. Retrieved 22 March 2013.

Further reading

Published in the 19th c.
  • "Dijon", A handbook for travellers in France, London: John Murray, 1861 {{citation}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  • C.B. Black (1876), "Dijon", Guide to the north of France, Edinburgh: Adam and Charles Black {{citation}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
  • "Dijon", Northern France, Leipsic: Karl Baedeker, 1899, OCLC 2229516 {{citation}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
Published in the 20th c.
  • "Dijon", The Encyclopaedia Britannica (11th ed.), New York: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 1910, OCLC 14782424 {{citation}}: External link in |chapterurl= (help); Unknown parameter |chapterurl= ignored (|chapter-url= suggested) (help)
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