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Beaune

Coordinates: 47°01′30″N 4°50′23″E / 47.025°N 4.8397°E / 47.025; 4.8397
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Beaune
Hospices de Beaune
Hospices de Beaune
Coat of arms of Beaune
Location of Beaune
Map
Beaune is located in France
Beaune
Beaune
Beaune is located in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Beaune
Beaune
Coordinates: 47°01′30″N 4°50′23″E / 47.025°N 4.8397°E / 47.025; 4.8397
CountryFrance
RegionBourgogne-Franche-Comté
DepartmentCôte-d'Or
ArrondissementBeaune
CantonBeaune
IntercommunalityCA Beaune Côte et Sud
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Alain Suguenot[1]
Area
1
31.30 km2 (12.08 sq mi)
Population
 (2022)[2]
20,233
 • Density650/km2 (1,700/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
21054 /21200
Elevation193–407 m (633–1,335 ft)
(avg. 219 m or 719 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Beaune (French pronunciation: [bon] ; in Burgundian: Beane) is the wine capital of Burgundy in the Côte d'Or department in eastern France. It is located between Lyon and Dijon. Beaune is one of the key wine centers in France, and the center of Burgundy wine production and business. The annual wine auction of the Hospices de Beaune is the primary wine auction in France.

The town is surrounded by some of the world's most famous wine villages, such as Mersault or Puligny Montrachet, while the facilities and cellars of many producers, large and small, are situated in the historic center of Beaune itself, as they have been since Roman times. With a rich historical and architectural heritage, Beaune is considered the "Capital of Burgundy wines". It is an ancient and historic town on a plain by the hills of the Côte d'Or, with features remaining from the pre-Roman and Roman eras, through the medieval and renaissance periods.

Beaune is a walled city, with much of the battlements, ramparts, and the moat, having survived in good condition. The central "old town" within the walls is extensive. Historically Beaune is intimately connected with the Dukes of Burgundy.

The 15th-century Hospices de Beaune, in the town center, is one of the best preserved renaissance buildings in Europe.[citation needed] Other landmarks in Beaune include the old market (les Halles), the Beffroi (clock tower), and the collegiate church of Notre Dame. Beaune is the main center for the "Burgundian tile" polychrome renaissance roofing style of the region. Because of its historical importance in wine production and the unique system of terroir in the region, the town of Beaune was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List in 2015 as part of the Climats, terroirs of Burgundy site.[3]

Wine

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Vineyards on the outskirts of Beaune

Beaune is one of the key wine towns in the Côte de Beaune section of the Burgundy wine region. Although Beaune itself does not have a Grand cru named for it, it is the hub of the region's wine business, as many of Burgundy's major négociants are here. Beaune is renowned for its annual charity wine auction on behalf of the Hospices de Beaune.

It is on the route des Grands Crus which is a road that runs through the vineyards, north from Beaune to Gevrey Chambertin and Nuits-Saint-Georges and south to Nolay, Saisy and Autun.

The town

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Beaune is the centre for wine industry services (such as tractors and equipment for vat-rooms) as well as a number of wine-related institutes and education facilities. The train station is served by TGV, through Dijon or Lyon.

There is a comprehensive "traditional" shopping area clustered around the central square with a focus on gourmet food, fashion, and wine, while large supermarkets, business parks, etc., are situated on the outskirts of town.

Beaune has a major fine food market on Saturdays, where there are a large number of stall holders supplying a broad selection of products and specialties from Burgundy and the surrounding regions. For example, Bresse chickens, Jura cheeses, small goods, spices, produce of every variety as well as seasonal specialties such as truffles.[4] There is a smaller market on Wednesday, and special-event markets and festivals are held throughout the year.

Beaune attracts a large number of tourists, around 400,000 each year according to the Hôtel Dieu.

Beaune is one of a number of towns in Europe asserting a key role in the "invention of film"; a number of murals and other tourist attractions reflect this.

Technically Beaune is a commune in eastern France, a sub-prefecture of department 21, the Côte-d'Or department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

Beaune, France

Population

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Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1793 10,114—    
1800 8,344−2.71%
1806 9,298+1.82%
1821 9,947+0.45%
1831 9,908−0.04%
1836 10,678+1.51%
1841 10,585−0.17%
1846 11,362+1.43%
1851 10,969−0.70%
1856 10,453−0.96%
1861 10,715+0.50%
1866 10,907+0.36%
1872 11,176+0.41%
1876 11,421+0.54%
1881 12,038+1.06%
1886 12,146+0.18%
1891 12,470+0.53%
1896 13,726+1.94%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1901 13,887+0.23%
1906 13,540−0.50%
1911 13,409−0.19%
1921 11,661−1.39%
1926 11,990+0.56%
1931 11,862−0.21%
1936 12,161+0.50%
1946 11,990−0.14%
1954 13,175+1.19%
1962 15,367+1.94%
1968 16,874+1.57%
1975 19,060+1.76%
1982 20,207+0.84%
1990 21,289+0.65%
1999 21,923+0.33%
2007 22,012+0.05%
2012 21,806−0.19%
2017 21,031−0.72%
Source: EHESS[5] and INSEE (1968-2017)[6]

Origin, geography and climate

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The name "Beaune" derives from the Latinised Gaulish word "Belena", which was the name of a spring around which the settlement was established. That name in turn is derived from "Belen" or "Belenos", a god of fast-flowing water. A Roman fort was built there in the first century A.D. and it was already a prosperous wine-growing region in the 13th century.[7]

The town is served by a small river, the "Bouzaise" (or "Bouzaize") of which the source is in a public park on the north-east edge of town.[8]

Beaune has a semi-continental climate with an oceanic influence, seen with frequent rains in each season (though autumn has the most and summer the least) and frequent weather changes. There are significant temperature differences between the seasons, characterized by cold winters with frequent snowfall, and hot summers with sometimes violent thunderstorms.[citation needed] It is this climate which creates the unique environment for which the Côte d'Or is known.

Hospices de Beaune

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Founded in 1442 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of the Duke of Burgundy, who was encouraged to do so by his wife, Guigone de Salins, the Hospices are a charity running hospitals and other services for the needy. Thanks to generous donations from benefactors, they own vineyards in Burgundy.

The American Expeditionary Forces University at Beaune

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At the end of WWI the American Expeditionary Forces University was established in Beaune, complete with its own chapter of Phi Beta Kappa.[9] Faculty included Walter M. Chandler, a Progressive Party member and, later, a Republican Party member of the U.S. House of Representatives from the State of New York.

Notable people

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International relations

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Beaune is twinned with:[10]

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Climate

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Climate data for Beaunne (Savigny-lès-Beaune) (1991–2020 normals, extremes 1940–present)
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °C (°F) 17.0
(62.6)
21.0
(69.8)
24.9
(76.8)
28.7
(83.7)
31.8
(89.2)
37.5
(99.5)
39.0
(102.2)
39.8
(103.6)
34.0
(93.2)
29.0
(84.2)
21.6
(70.9)
17.9
(64.2)
39.8
(103.6)
Mean daily maximum °C (°F) 5.9
(42.6)
7.9
(46.2)
12.8
(55.0)
16.5
(61.7)
20.5
(68.9)
24.5
(76.1)
26.8
(80.2)
26.5
(79.7)
21.9
(71.4)
16.4
(61.5)
10.0
(50.0)
6.4
(43.5)
16.3
(61.3)
Daily mean °C (°F) 3.1
(37.6)
4.3
(39.7)
8.2
(46.8)
11.5
(52.7)
15.4
(59.7)
19.1
(66.4)
21.2
(70.2)
20.9
(69.6)
16.8
(62.2)
12.2
(54.0)
6.9
(44.4)
3.7
(38.7)
11.9
(53.4)
Mean daily minimum °C (°F) 0.3
(32.5)
0.6
(33.1)
3.6
(38.5)
6.4
(43.5)
10.4
(50.7)
13.8
(56.8)
15.6
(60.1)
15.3
(59.5)
11.7
(53.1)
8.1
(46.6)
3.7
(38.7)
1.0
(33.8)
7.5
(45.5)
Record low °C (°F) −20.5
(−4.9)
−20.0
(−4.0)
−11.0
(12.2)
−4.5
(23.9)
−2.0
(28.4)
3.0
(37.4)
5.0
(41.0)
4.5
(40.1)
0.5
(32.9)
−4.5
(23.9)
−9.5
(14.9)
−16.5
(2.3)
−20.5
(−4.9)
Average precipitation mm (inches) 58.9
(2.32)
49.2
(1.94)
52.0
(2.05)
57.3
(2.26)
69.2
(2.72)
62.1
(2.44)
67.4
(2.65)
56.3
(2.22)
55.3
(2.18)
76.0
(2.99)
80.3
(3.16)
68.9
(2.71)
752.9
(29.64)
Average precipitation days (≥ 1.0 mm) 10.8 9.4 9.5 9.6 10.4 8.8 8.2 7.4 7.9 10.1 11.3 11.3 114.8
Source: Meteociel[11]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires". data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises (in French). 2 December 2020.
  2. ^ "Populations de référence 2022" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 19 December 2024.
  3. ^ "The Climats, terroirs of Burgundy". UNESCO World Heritage Centre. United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. Retrieved 15 January 2022.
  4. ^ Ville de Beaune, Faire son marché
  5. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Beaune, EHESS (in French).
  6. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  7. ^ "laissez-vous conter Beaune". Villes et Pays d'art et d'histoire. Direction de la promotion de l'architecture et des réseaux (French government). Retrieved 18 August 2015.
  8. ^ IGN Charte de Randonnée BEAUNE CHAGNY. Paris: Institut Géographique National. 2005.
  9. ^ Voorhees, Oscar M. (May 1919). "The American Expeditionary Forces University at Beaune: An American University in France". The Phi Beta Kappa Key. 3 (12): 580–583. JSTOR 42913340.
  10. ^ "Jumelage". beaune.fr (in French). Beaune. Archived from the original on 3 August 2020. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
  11. ^ "Normales et records pour Savigny-lès-Beaune (21)". Meteociel. Retrieved 21 November 2024.
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