The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to theNeolithicperiod. Dijon later became aRoman settlement namedDivio, located on the road betweenLyon and Paris. The province was home to theDukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries, and Dijon became a place of tremendous wealth and power, one of the great European centres of art, learning, and science.[6]
The city has retained variedarchitectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian,Gothic, andRenaissance. Many still-inhabited townhouses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Dijon's architecture is distinguished by, among other things,toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of glazedterracotta tiles of various colours arranged in geometric patterns.
Dijon holds an International and Gastronomic Fair every year in the northern-hemisphere autumn. Dijon also hosts every three years the international flower showFlorissimo. Dijon has become famous forDijon mustard, which originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substitutedverjuice, the acidic "green" juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe. Dijon is agreen city with an important tertiary sector, as well as a regional economic centre with a diversified fabric, a traditional food-processing center (Dijoncrême de cassis and kir, gingerbread, Lanvin chocolate...) and a renowned pharmaceutical sector.
On 4 July 2015, UNESCO registered the historical centre of the city as aWorld Heritage site, as one of the components of the "Climats,terroirs of Burgundy" site, because of its historical importance in regulating the system of wine production in Burgundy.[7]
The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to theNeolithic period. Dijon later became aRoman settlement calledDivio, which may meansacred fountain, located on the road fromLyon to Paris.Saint Benignus, the city's apocryphalpatron saint, is said to have introduced Christianity to the area before being martyred.[8]
This province was home to theDukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th century, and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power and one of the great European centres of art, learning, and science. TheDuchy of Burgundy was key in the transformation of medieval times towardearly modern Europe. ThePalace of the Dukes of Burgundy now houses the Hôtel de Ville (City Hall) and themusée des Beaux-Arts (Museum of Fine Arts).[9]
In 1513, Swiss and Imperial armies invaded Burgundy and besieged Dijon, which was defended by the governor of the province,Louis II de la Trémoille. The siege was extremely violent, but the town succeeded in resisting the invaders. After long negotiations, Louis II de la Trémoille managed to persuade the Swiss and the Imperial armies to withdraw their troops and also to return three hostages who were being held in Switzerland. During the siege, the population called on theVirgin Mary for help and saw the town's successful resistance and the subsequent withdrawal of the invaders as a miracle. For those reasons, in the years following the siege, the inhabitants of Dijon began to venerateNotre-Dame de Bon-Espoir (Our Lady of Good Hope). Although a few areas of the town were destroyed, there are nearly no signs of the siege of 1513 visible today. However,Dijon's museum of fine arts has a large tapestry depicting this episode in the town's history: it shows the town before all subsequent destruction (particularly that which occurred during the French Revolution) and is an example of 16th-century art.[10]
A system of purified water for the citizens of Dijon was constructed byHenry Darcy a quarter-century before Paris was so supplied.[11]
Dijon was also occupied by anti-Napoleonic coalitions in 1814, by the Prussian army in 1870–71, and byNazi Germany beginning in June 1940, during WWII, when it was bombed by US Air Force B-17 Flying Fortresses,[12] before the liberation of Dijon by theFrench Army and the French Resistance, 11 September 1944.[13]
From June 12 to 16,2020, violent riots took place that were unprecedented in the city's history, although similar incidents on a smaller scale had preceded them inNice,Rouen andTroyes. In Dijon, violent clashes broke out in one neighborhood over several days when drug dealers andChechens clashed.[14][15]
Dijon is situated at the heart of a plain drained by two small converging rivers: theSuzon, which crosses it mostly underground from north to south, and theOuche, on the southern side of town. Farther south is thecôte, or hillside, of vineyards that gives the department its name. Dijon lies 310 km (193 mi) southeast of Paris, 190 km (118 mi) northwest ofGeneva, and 190 km (118 mi) north ofLyon.
Dijon features anoceanic climate (Cfb) withcontinental influence under theKöppen climate classification. The city is highly influenced by its position far inland in Northeastern France. Thus, winters are cool to cold with moderate frosts at night and thawing conditions during the day while summers are warm to hot and humid with frequent thunderstorms.
Comparison of local Meteorological data with other cities in France[16]
Porte Guillaume (Guillaume Gate), Place Darcy (Darcy Square), in the center of Dijon.
Dijon has a large number of churches, includingNotre Dame de Dijon, St. Philibert, St. Michel, andDijon Cathedral, dedicated to the apocryphal Saint Benignus, thecrypt of which is over 1,000 years old. The city has retained variedarchitectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian,Gothic andRenaissance. Many still-inhabited townhouses 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 glazedterracotta tiles of various colours arranged in geometric patterns.
Dijon was largely spared the destruction of wars such as the 1870Franco-Prussian War and the Second World War, despite the city being occupied. Therefore, many of the old buildings such as thehalf-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 theMusée 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 primarily European art, from Roman times through the present.
Among the more popular sights is theDucal Palace, thePalais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne or "Palace of the Dukes and the States of Burgundy" (47°19′19″N5°2′29″E / 47.32194°N 5.04139°E /47.32194; 5.04139), which includes one of only a few remaining examples of Capetian period architecture in the region. Many art interested visitors flock to thePuits de Moïse orWell of Moses, a monumental sculpture byClaus Sluter.
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 agood-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).
The Grand Théâtre de Dijon, built in 1828 and one of the main performing venues of theOpéra de Dijon, was declared amonument historique of France in 1975. It was designed by the Dijon-born architectJacques Cellerier (1742–1814) in theNeo-classical style with an interior modelled on Italian opera houses.[20]
Dijon is located approximately 300 km (190 mi) southeast of Paris, about three hours by car along theA38 andA6 motorways. TheA31 provides connections to Nancy, Lille and Lyon. TheA39 connects Dijon withBourg-en-Bresse and Geneva, theA36 withBesançon,Mulhouse andBasel.
TheCanal de Bourgogne passes through the heart of Dijon and creates a navigable route to Paris in the north-west via the riverYonne, a tributary of the riverSeine, and to theSaône river 25 km to the south-east. The canal joins the Saône atSaint-Jean-de-Losne which is the barging centre of France and Europe. In addition to the connection to the Atlantic via the Seine it has navigable water connections to the Mediterranean—via the Saône to the Rhône river at Lyon and further south (ultimately west to the Atlantic via theCanal du Midi)—Germany and central Europe—via theRhône-Rhine canal—plus west to the centre and river Loire via theCanal du Centre. These waterways were largely completed before the 19th century and were the main means of industrial transport until the railways began taking over in the mid-19th century. Today they form a water route for mostly pleasure craft between northern Europe and the south. For example the route through Dijon is popular with those sailing their boats from the United Kingdom to the Mediterranean.
Dijon is an important railway junction for lines from Paris to Lyon andMarseille, and the east–west lines toBesançon,Belfort,Nancy, Switzerland, and Italy. TheDijon-Ville station is the main railway station, providing service toParis-Gare de Lyon byTGVhigh-speed train (LGV Sud-Est), covering the 300 km (190 mi) in one hour and 40 minutes. For comparison, Lyon is 180 km (110 mi) away and two hours distant by standard train. The city of 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. Dijon has a direct overnight sleeper/couchette service to Milan, Verona and Venice by the operatorThello. Numerous regionalTER Bourgogne-Franche-Comté trains depart from the same station. There is another railway station east of the city centre,Dijon-Porte-Neuve station, on the line to Is-sur-Tille and Culmont-Chalindrey.
Anew tram system opened in September 2012. Line T1 is an 8.5 kilometres (5.3 miles) line with 16 stations running west–east from theDijon railway station toQuetigny.[21] Line T2 opened in December 2012, an 11.5 km (7.1 miles) north–south line with 21 stations running between Valmy and Chenôve.
Dijon is served byDole–Jura Airport which is located 51 km (32 mi) south east of Dijon. However, the airport only provides flights to limited European destinations. The nearest airports areGeneva Airport, located 195 km (121 mi) to the south east andLyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, located 211 km (131 mi) to the south, both airports provide more domestic and international destinations.
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 showFlorissimo.
Dijon is home to the prominent contemporary art centreLe Consortium, a fine-arts school (ENSA), as well as a number of art galleries like theFonds régional d'art contemporain, which holds a permanent collection including pieces by locally established artistYan Pei-Ming.
Apart from the numerous bars, which sometimes have live bands, some popular music venues in Dijon are : Le Zénith de Dijon, La Vapeur, l'Espace autogéré des Tanneries and l'Atheneum.
A jar of Dijon mustard
Dijon mustard originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substitutedverjuice, the acidic "green" juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe.[22] In general, mustards from Dijon today contain white wine rather than verjuice. Dijon mustard is not necessarily produced near Dijon, as the term is regarded asgenericized underEuropean Union law, so that it cannot be registered forprotected designation of origin status.[23] Most Dijon mustard (brands such asAmora orMaille) 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-paintedfaience (china) pots.
Burgundy is a world-famous wine growing region, and notable vineyards, such asVosne-Romanée andGevrey-Chambertin, are within 20 minutes of the city center. The town's university boasts a renowned enology institute. The road fromSantenay to Dijon is known as the "route des Grands Crus", where eight of the world's top ten most expensive wines are produced, according to Wine Searcher.[24]
The city is also well known for itscrème de cassis, or blackcurrantliqueur, used in the drink known as "Kir", named after former mayor of DijoncanonFélix Kir, a mixture of crème de cassis with white wine, traditionallyBourgogne Aligoté.
^mondial, UNESCO Centre du patrimoine."Les Climats du vignoble de Bourgogne".UNESCO Centre du patrimoine mondial (in French).Archived from the original on 26 April 2020. Retrieved13 April 2023.
^"Dijon–Longvic (35)"(PDF).Fiche Climatologique: Statistiques 1991–2020 et records (in French). Meteo France.Archived(PDF) from the original on 7 July 2022. Retrieved21 July 2022.
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