Auxonne

• 1. The Saône Valley Edge

  ›

  Auxonne sits at the edge of the Côte-d'Or department, positioned along the boundary between Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The town lies some 30 km south-east of Dijon and 45 km west by south-west of Besançon. Access to the commune is provided by road D905 from Genlis in the north-west which passes through the town and continues south-east to Sampans. The western border of the commune is the Saône river as it flows south to eventually join the Rhône at Lyon. The commune is at an altitude ranging between 181 m and 211 m which makes it virtually immune to floods that envelop the region during major floods. Auxonne belongs to a region called the plain of Saône. The plain with Bresse is a geo-morphological unit of the Bressan depression: an extensive collapsed formation dating from the Miocene extending from the Upper Rhine Plain and the Rhone basin. The city of Auxonne is specifically in the alluvial ribbon called the Val de Saône , a band a few kilometres wide that follows the river. Its immediate limit in the Auxonne area is ten kilometres to the east where there is a rise of the Massif de la Serre to an altitude of about 400 metres.

• 2. Monastic Roots And Border Wars

  ›

  Modern historians agree on doubting the veracity of the assertions contained in the Chronicle of Saint-Pierre de Bèze concerning the term Assona to refer to Auxonne in the first half of the 7th century. The first three authentic instruments where the name Auxonne appears date from 1172, 1173 and 1178. Religious rights of Auxonne date back to around 870, the date of establishment of their monastery in the pagus (County) of Amous in the Jura of Burgundy. The monks remained in Amous for more than twenty years; the Normans from Hastings destroyed the monastery when they invaded Burgundy. Count Manassès built them a new monastery circa 895, 896 in Frankish Burgundy in the County of Beaune on the slopes of Mount Vergy. In 1172 the city had grown in importance: Count Stephen I of Auxonne had settled there. His successor Stephen II, Count of Auxonne died 1241 was master of rich domains. In 1197 taking advantage of unrest in Germany, Stephen III renounced loyalty to Otto I and took the Auxonne tribute to the Duke of Burgundy Odo III. On the 15th of June that year under an exchange agreement concluded at Saint-Jean-de-Losne between John Count of Chalon and Hugh IV Duke of Burgundy the town of Auxonne and all the possessions of Stephen III were transferred to the Duke of Burgundy. In 1419 and 1424 two fires devastated the city five years apart.

• 3. The Artillery School Years

  ›

  The city of Auxonne remained famous because of two visits that were made by a young second lieutenant in the regiment of La Fere named Napoleon Bonaparte who was later to make his name known across Europe. The Bonaparte district preserves the room he occupied during one of his stays. There is also a small museum in a tower of the Chateau of Auxonne his set square his fencing foil and objects he offered during his stay as well as one of his hats. Napoleon Bonaparte was stationed as a lieutenant and audited classes from 1788 to 1791. Jean-Louis Lombard born 1723 died 1794 was a scholar professor of mathematics at the Royal School of Artillery at Auxonne and French military writer who had Napoleon Bonaparte as a student. Claude-Xavier Girault born in Auxonne on the 5th of April 1764 became mayor of Auxonne in 1801 appointed by Bonaparte. He took the initiative to create the municipal library of over three thousand volumes selected by him from libraries of suppressed religious orders. On being appointed First Consul Bonaparte appointed him mayor of Auxonne for four years.

• 4. Vauban's Stone Defenses

  ›

  When the fortifications were strengthened starting from 1673 the Count of Apremont who was the engineer built the Royal Gate to replace the Flammerans Portal. Upon his return the Count of Apremont was not satisfied with the work and started again. On the Count's death in 1678 the work halted and it was Vauban who completed it in 1699. The central pavilion was added on top in 1717. The Arsenal was originally used to provide gun carriages. It was built by Vauban between 1689 and 1693. It has preserved its original plan which is now three buildings one of which serves as a covered market. In 1673 it was François de la Motte-Villebret Count of Apremont from Tours who was responsible. He destroyed almost all of the medieval walls to establish a defence system by Vauban part of which still exists today. Apremont died in 1678 and it was Vauban who succeeded him to ensure completion of the works. He raised a magnificent project that complemented the work of Count Apremont but on the signing of the Treaty of Nijmegen in 1678 he lost interest and the project was never completed.

• 5. Loyalty And Rebellion

  ›

  In 1574 Charles of Lorraine became Duke and governor of Burgundy. A champion of the Catholic cause he extended the religious wars to political wars. On the 2nd of April 1585 the people of Auxonne received a letter from King Henry III recommending them to ensure the safety of their town and especially in not receiving the Duke of Mayenne. Jean de Saulx-Tavannes born in 1555 was appointed Governor of Auxonne and Lieutenant of Burgundy for the Duke of Mayenne. The people of Auxonne loyal to the king hastened to execute orders. Jean de Saulx-Tavannes at first took the measures imposed then secretly strengthened the garrison of the castle as he suspected that the inhabitants were conspiring with Mayenne to deliver it to him instead. Counselled by Joachim de Rochefort Baron of Pluvault the magistrates decided to seize the governor. They arrested him on Saints' Day in 1585 when it was making his devotions in the church. In January 1586 new orders from the king expressed his dissatisfaction with these repeated refusals. The situation was difficult for the people but they received encouragement in their resistance from the future Henri IV who was at Montauban and sent them a letter of encouragement on the 25th of January 1586.