Auxerre (ōsĕr'), town (1990 pop. 40,597), capital of Yonne dept., N central France, in Burgundy, on the Yonne River. A commercial and industrial center, it has a great variety of manufactures and an important trade in Chablis wines. Auxerre gave its name to the medieval county of Auxerrois. It became part of Burgundy with the Treaty of Arras (1435). St. Germanus of Auxerre was bishop there in the 5th cent. The former abbatial church of St. Germain (13th cent.) is built on crypts dating back to the 6th cent. The abbey (now a hospital) has a fine Romanesque clock tower. The cathedral (13th-16th cent.) is in the Gothic flamboyant style.
Auxerre
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Coordinates: 47°47′55″N 3°34′02″E / 47.7986°N 3.5672°E
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Commune of Auxerre |
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 Yonne river, in Auxerre. |
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| Location | |
  Auxerre
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| Administration | |
|---|---|
| Country | France |
| Region | Bourgogne |
| Department | Yonne |
| Arrondissement | Auxerre |
| Intercommunality | Auxerrois |
| Mayor | Guy Ferez (2008–2014) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 93–217 m (310–710 ft) (avg. 102 m/330 ft) |
| Land area1 | 49.95 km2 (19.29 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 40,000 (1999) |
| - Density | 801 /km2 (2,070 /sq mi) |
| Miscellaneous | |
| 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 sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Auxerre (French pronunciation: [osɛʁ]) is a commune in the Bourgogne region in north-central France, between Paris and Dijon. It is the capital of the Yonne department.
It is a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries. It is also famous for the wine produced in the neighbourhood, including the renowned Chablis.
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History
Auxerre was a flourishing Gallo-British centre, Antissiodorum 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[1] 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 1995 it was named "Town of Art and History".
Main sights
- 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.
Miscellaneous
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Lists of miscellaneous information should be avoided. Please relocate any relevant information into appropriate sections or articles. (February 2009) |
- Auxerre is known for its football club Association de la Jeunesse Auxerroise.
- Local wines include Chablis, Saint-Bris-le-Vineux and Irancy.
- Auxerre is so typical and average among towns in France, that it was chosen by a polling institute as 'the average French town', and polls among the population here are often extrapolated to the whole of France.[2]
Notable residents
- 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.[3]
- Jean Baptiste Joseph Fourier, (1769-1830), born in Auxerre, mathematician, experimental physicist, and politician.[4]
- Carol Ficatier (1958-), Playmate of the month of December 1985.
- Saint Patrick (5th Century AD), Apostle to the Irish, visited Bishop Germanus of Auxerre here. Possibly he studied in Auxerre.
- Saint Helladius (d. 387), bishop of Auxerre
Sister cities and twin cities
Greve in Chianti, Italy
Płock, Poland
Redditch, United Kingdom
Roscoff, France- Saint-Amarin, France
Varaždin, Croatia
Worms, Germany
See also
- County of Auxerre
- Bishopric of Auxerre
- Cathédrale Saint-Étienne d'Auxerre
- Lady of Auxerre
- Saint Germanus of Auxerre
- Remigius of Auxerre
- William of Auxerre
References
- ^ Councils were held here in 578 and 1147.
- ^ Elaine Sciolino (2007-03-28). "Typical French Town Is Split Over Election". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/03/28/world/europe/28france.html?ei=5088&en=a0d20e315eb83223&ex=1332734400&partner=rssnyt&pagewanted=all. Retrieved 2007-03-28.
- ^ Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896. Chicago: Marquis Who's Who. 1963.
- ^ Howard Eves (1990). An Introduction to the History of Mathematics (sixth ed.). Saunders College Publishing.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Auxerre |
- This article incorporates text from the public-domain Catholic Encyclopedia of 1913. diocese (under Sens)
- Auxerre Town Hall (French)
"Auxerre". Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). 1911.
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| Yonne (department, France) |
| Priscus |
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Mentioned in
- Auxier (family name)
- Yonne (department, France)
- Priscus
- Peregrine of Auxerre
- Saint Germanus of Auxerre (French theologian)
- Saint Celestine I (Italian pope)
- Marien (family name)
- Valeriano (family name)
- Saint-Germain
- Germanus of man
- Verulamium
- Palladius
- Lupus of Troyes
- Patiens of Lyons
