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Dijon

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Administration
Commune of Dijon

Street in the center of Dijon
Location

Coordinates	47°19′26″N, 05°02′34″E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne (capital)
Department	Côte-d'Or (préfecture)
Arrondissement	Dijon
Canton	Chief town of 8 cantons
Intercommunality	Communauté d'agglomération Dijonnaise
Mayor	François Rebsamen (PS) (2001 - 2008)
Statistics
Altitude	220 m–410 m (avg. 245 m)
Land area¹	40.41 km²
Population² (1999)	149,867
- Density (1999)	3,709/km²
Miscellaneous
INSEE/Postal code	21231/ 21000
¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 mi² or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
² Population sans doubles comptes: single count of residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel).

Arc de triomphe known as the Porte Guillaume, on Place Darcy in the center of paris

Dijon and suburbs

Cathédrale St Bénigne - Dijon

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Dijon

Dijon (pronunciation (help·info), IPA: [diˈʒɔ̃]) is a city in eastern France, the préfecture (administrative capital) of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne région. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy. Population (1999): 149,867 for the commune; 240,000 for the greater Dijon area.

1 History
2 Main sights
3 Transport
4 Culture
- 4.1 Colleges and universities
5 Food and drink
- 5.1 Mustard
- 5.2 Wine
6 Miscellaneous
- 6.1 Notable people
7 Photo Gallery
8 External links

Dijon began as a Roman settlement called Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Mainz. Saint Benignus (Saint Kelly), 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 century until the late 1400's and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power and one of the great European centers of art, learning and science.

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Dijon boasts a surprisingly large number of churches and cathedrals, including St. Benigne, Nortre-Dame, St. Etienne, and St. Michel. It is noteworthy that the crypt of Cathédrale Saint-Bégnine dates from 1000 years ago, and the city has retained many architectural styles from many of the main periods from the past millennium, including Gothic, Renaissance and Capetian. Many of the still-inhabited houses in the city's central district date from before the 18th century.

Dijon was spared the destruction of various wars such as the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, despite the fact that the Prussian army invaded the city. Therefore, many of the old buildings such as the half-timbered houses dating from the 12th to the 15th century (found mainly in the city's core district), are undamaged at least by organized violence.

There are many museums in the city, including one dedicated to mustard. Another is the Musée des Beaux Arts in the old part of the Ducal Palace (see below). It contains, among other things, ducal kitchens that date back to the mid-1400s, and a collection of European paintings from the early Renaissance to the Impressionistic periods.

Among the more interesting of Dijon's "must see" localities is the Ducal Palace (i.e. the "Palais des Ducs et des Etats de Bourgogne"), which is one of only a few remaining examples of the Capetian period in the region. Another is a curious carving of an owl, on the church of Notre Dame on the rue de la Préfecture. It is reported that this has become regarded as a good-luck charm: people touch it with their left hand and make a wish.

Dijon is located approximately one hour and 40 minutes southeast of Paris by the TGV high-speed train. For comparison, Lyon is two hours distant, Nice takes about six hours by TGV and Strasbourg about three hours. By car, Dijon is about three hours from Paris.

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

To the northwest of Dijon, the race track of Dijon-Prenois hosts various motor sport events. In the past, it once hosted the Formula 1 French Grand Prix.

Dijon is home to Dijon FCO, a football team in Ligue 2, the second-highest league in French football.

Dijon hosts the main campus of the University of Burgundy (Université de Bourgogne) [1]
École nationale des beaux-arts de Dijon
1er cycle européen (Europe Centrale et Orientale) de Sciences Po Paris [2]
École Supérieure de Commerce de Dijon

Dijon is famous for its mustard, even though nowadays around 90% of all mustard seeds used are imported, mainly from Canada. The term Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon) designates a method for the making of mustard. Traditional Dijon mustard is particularly strong. Most Dijon mustard (brands such as Amora or Maille) is produced industrially, but the town also specializes in exotic or unusually-flavored mustard, often sold in decorative hand-painted faïence (china) pots. In non-European markets such as the United States the name "Dijon mustard" is not trademarked. The only way to be sure you are getting real Dijon mustard is to buy a jar that was imported from France; however, true Dijon mustard in exotic flavors can be difficult to find outside France.

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 drive from Santenay to Dijon, known as the route des Grands Crus, passes through an idyllic countryside of vineyards, rivers, villages, forests, and twelfth-century churches. The region's architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian roofs) made of tiles glazed in terra cotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in eye-catching geometric patterns. The city is also well known for its crème de cassis, or blackcurrant liqueur, used in the drink known as "Kir" (white wine, especially Bourgogne aligoté, with blackcurrant liqueur, named after former mayor of Dijon canon Félix Kir). The same drink made with champagne instead of white wine is known as a Kir Royal.

The American food writer M.F.K. Fisher, who moved to Dijon shortly after her marriage in 1929, wrote about the region's cuisine in Long Ago in France.

Coat of Arms of Dijon (1899-1962)

Dijon was the birthplace of:

Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet
Henry Darcy
Gustave Eiffel
Charles, Duke of Burgundy
Roger Guillemin
François Jouffroy
Jean-Philippe Rameau
François Rude (1784 - 1855), sculptor
Jean-Pierre Marielle (*1932), actor
Claude Jade (*1948), actress
Julien Pillet (September 28, 1977 - ), sabre fencer

Some of the beautiful roof work seen throughout Dijon	The Gargoyles on Notre Dame de Dijon	Porte Guillaume on Darcy Square	Rue de la Liberté (Freedom Street)
Carrefour du Miroir (Mirror's Crossroads)	Boutique de moutarde (Typical mustard shop)	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
Saint-Bénigne Cathedral	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)