Dijon
history|website = »http://www.dijon.fr/ }}
Dijon () is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne region. Dijon is the historical capital of the province of Burgundy. Population (2005): 150,800 within the city limits; 236,953 for the greater Dijon area.
History
Dijon began as a Roman settlement called Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. Saint Benignus, 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 eleventh century AD until the late 1400s and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power and one of the great European centers of art, learning and science. It was occupied by Nazi Germany between June 1940 and early 1945, when it was liberated by joint FrenchUKU.S. forces.
The city itself was liberated on 11 September 1944.
Main sights
Dijon boasts a large number of churches, notably Notre Dame de Dijon, St. Philibert, St. Michel and Dijon Cathedral, the crypt of which, dedicated to Saint Benignus, dates from 1,000 years ago. The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier.
Dijon was spared the destruction of various wars such as the 1870 Franco-Prussian War, despite the fact that the Prussian army occupied 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 the Musée des Beaux Arts in part of the Ducal Palace (see below). It contains, among other things, ducal kitchens dating back to the mid-1400s, and a substantial collection of European painting from Roman times through contemporary art. Among the more interesting of Dijon's sights is the Ducal Palace, the Palais des Ducs et des États de Bourgogne or "Palace of the Dukes and the States of Burgundy" (), which includes one of only a few remaining examples of the Capetian period in the region. Another is a curious stone carving of an owl, la chouette, on the church of Notre Dame, which in local folklore is a good-luck charm: people touch it with their left hand and make a wish. The current carving is a copy, the original having been damaged in 2001 by vandalism.
Transport
Dijon is located approximately southeast of Paris, or one hour and 40 minutes by the TGV high-speed train (LGV Sud-Est) via Gare de Lyon. By car, it is about three hours from Paris. For comparison, Lyon is away and two hours distant - although there is no high-speed train link between both cities. Nice takes about six hours by TGV and Strasbourg about three hours at regular train speed. Lausanne in Switzerland is less than away or two hours by train.
Culture
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 show Florissimo.
To the northwest of Dijon, the race track of Dijon-Prenois hosts various motor sport events. It hosted the Formula 1 French Grand Prix on four occasions from 1974 to 1984.
Dijon is home to Dijon FCO, a soccer team in Ligue 2, the second-highest league in French football. Dijon is better known for its national professional league basketball club (Pro A), JDA Dijon.
Dijon has numerous museums such as the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon, the Musée Archéologique, the Musée de la Vie Bourguignonne, the Musée d'Art Sacré, and the Musée Magnin. It also contains approximately 700 hectares of parks and green space, including the fine Jardin botanique de l'Arquebuse.
Apart from the numerous bars, which sometimes have live bands, the major popular music venues in Dijon are : »Le zenith de Dijon, »La Vapeur and »l'Atheneum.
- Dijon hosts the main campus of the University of Burgundy (UniversitĂ© de Bourgogne) »http://www.u-bourgogne.fr/
- École nationale des beaux-arts de Dijon
- 1er cycle europĂ©en (Europe Centrale et Orientale) de Sciences Po Paris »http://www.est-europe.sciences-po.fr
- ENESAD - Établissement National d’Enseignement SupĂ©rieur Agronomique de Dijon »http://www.enesad.fr
Food and drink
Mustard
Dijon is famous for its mustard: the term Dijon mustard (moutarde de Dijon) designates a method of making a particularly strong mustard relish. This is not necessarily produced near Dijon, as the term is regarded as genericized under European Union law, so that it cannot be registered for protected designation of origin status. Most Dijon mustard (brands such as Amora or Maille) is produced industrially and around 90% of all mustard seeds used in local manufacture are imported, mainly from Canada. Dijon mustard shops also feature exotic or unusually-flavored mustard (fruit-flavoured, for example), often sold in decorative hand-painted faience (china) pots. In 2008, Unilever closed its Amora mustard factory in Dijon.
Wine and Liqueurs
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 road 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. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, 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.
Dijon is home to some of the finest French cuisine. Well-known regional dishes include Beef bourguignon, Coq au vin, Escargot, Gougère and pain d'épices (the local form of gingerbread).
The tradition of pain d'épices de Dijon dates to the 14th century. Today it is predominantly made of rye flour and honey, with the addition of spices such as clove, ginger, cinnamon and sometimes anise. It is often garnished with candied fruits.Bazin, Jean-François, Le Tout Dijon, 2003, ISBN 2-913835-45-7. The recipe is recognizably similar to what is called gingerbread in England, though the term pain d'épices is sometimes used in English to make the distinction. Modern commercial Dijon recipes are generally quite different from the harder gingerbreads that are sold as carnival food in Germany.
The American food writer M.F.K. Fisher, who moved to France in 1929 shortly after her marriage, wrote about the region's cuisine and her experience living in Dijon in Long Ago in France.
- John the Fearless (1371–1419), Duke of Burgundy
- Charles, Duke of Burgundy (1433–1477)
- Saint Jane Frances de Chantal (Jeanne - Françoise Frémiot, baronne de Chantal, 1572–1641), founder of the Visitation Order
- Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627–1704), bishop and theologist
- Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683–1764), composer
- Bernard Courtois (1777–1838), discoverer of the element iodine
- François Rude (1784–1855), sculptor
- Augustin Cauchy (1789–1867), mathematician
- Henry Darcy (1803–1858), engineer
- François Jouffroy (1806–1882), sculptor
- Alexandre Gustave Eiffel (1832–1923), engineer and architect
- Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity (Marie - Élisabeth Catez, 1880–1906), Carmelite nun and religious writer
- Roger Guillemin (b. 1924), Nobel laurate in Physiology and Medicine
- Jean-Pierre Marielle (b. 1932), actor
- Claude Jade (1948–2006), actress
- Vitalic (born as Pascal Arbez in 1976), an electronic music artist.
- Julien Pillet (b. 1977), olympic medalist sabre fencer
- Madjid Bougherra (b. 1982), Rangers F.C. football/soccer player.
Dijon is twinned with: {| cellpadding="10" |- style="vertical-align:top;" |
- Cluj-Napoca in Romania
- Dallas in United States
- Mainz in Germany
- Opole in Poland ]] and )}} © 2007-2009 Urząd Miasta Opola}}
- PĂ©cs in Hungary
- Reggio Emilia in Italy
- Skopje in Macedonia
- Volgograd in Russia»Friendly relationship at Official website of Volgograd
- York in United Kingdom
- Białystok in Poland
- »Official Dijon website
- »Dijon tourism website
- »A lot of photos about Dijon
- »Official site of the city government
- »Photos of Dijon
- »Old Postal Cards about Dijon
- »Dijon in 1900