Dijon

Dijon or Dijon is a city in eastern France belonging to the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region. It is located in the center of the Côte-d'Or department, on the banks of the Ouche River and not far from the source of the Seine.

In 2008 the population of the city was 151,576 inhabitants, becoming the 17th most populated city in France since that year. The metropolitan area of Dijon or "Grand Dijon", which in 2000 took the form of a "communauté d'agglomération", that is to say an inter-municipal structure with its own taxation, had 244,577 inhabitants in that year.

Toponymy

The toponym may appear referred to in Spanish texts with the spellings Dijon (AFI: /diˈʒɔ̃/) and Dijón (AFI: /diˈxon/).

Climate

Dijon's climate is oceanic with a semi-continental tendency, which entails frequent rains during all seasons and changeable weather.

The semi-continental influence means that the city has a monthly thermal amplitude among the highest in France (18 °C), with cold winters with frequent snowfall, and with warmer summers than nearby cities, as well as violent occasional storms. Fog is almost always present in the city, created in part by the humidity of Lake Kir.

History

Did you mean: Los obispos de Langres residieron con frecuencia en Dijon después de que Langres fuera tomada y saqueada por los bárbaros en el año 407.

In his History of the Franks (book III, chapter 19), Gregory of Tours describes the Dijon of the century VI as surrounded by a wall 9.5 m high and 4.44 m wide, with four gates and 33 towers. Archaeological excavations have identified 12 of these towers. The area thus protected was 11 hectares.

It was part of the Duchy of Burgundy, which after the Battle of Nancy, was annexed to the Kingdom of France on January 19, 1477 by King Louis XI. It was occupied by the troops of the Sixth Coalition on January 19, 1814 and again by Prussian troops on October 30, 1870.

In 2015 the city became part of the Burgundy region and became part of Burgundy-Franche-Comté.

Demography

Places and monuments

The city preserves important works of art, which makes it, after Paris, one of the most important cultural centers in the country.

It has the churches of Saint Philibert, in Romanesque style, Notre Dame (from the XIII century), one of the works most important of the Burgundian Gothic, Saint-Michel (Renaissance), and the cathedral of San Benigno (XIII and XIV), whose crypt is from the 11th century .

Among the few remains of the charterhouse that existed until the 19th century on the outskirts of the city, is the cover and the so-called Moses Well, works by Claus Sluter.

Among the many civil buildings that are preserved, the Palace of Justice (former Parliament of Dijon) and the palace of the Dukes of Burgundy, currently the Town Hall and Museum of Fine Arts, stand out.

There is a good taste for the care of parks and gardens, which is why it is considered a city of four flowers.

Dijon-Prenois is a road course that is commonly used in French motorsport championships.

Economy

The growth of Dijon during the 20th century is associated with its location regarding the Paris-Lyon railway line. Marseille, being the starting point of the lines that go to Besançon, Belfort, Nancy, Italy or Switzerland. Global development has favored industries ranging from metallurgy, or the food industry to leather work.

In 2009 the average tax income per household was €19,716, which places it in 7,434th place among the 31,827 municipalities in France that enter the ranking.

Dijon is the birthplace of the famous Dijon mustard, produced with local crops and generally presented in the form of a green or yellow-green paste.

Tourism occupies a good place in Dijon's economy. The interest in visiting the city is mainly due to the richness of its historical heritage and its proximity to the wine-growing area. In addition, the city has three of the ten most visited monuments of the Côte d'Or in 2004. Like many other cities of medium importance, tourism in Dijon can be divided above all into three sectors: cultural tourism (museums, monuments and cultural festivals), gastronomic and wine tourism (Burgundy wine or Dijon mustard), and business tourism (for its conference palace and hotel restaurants adapted for these visits).

Education

• Burgundy School of Business

Sports

The city is home to the Dijon FCO football club, which plays in the second category of national football, Ligue 2. Its stadium is the so-called Stade Gaston Gérard with a capacity of more than 15,000 spectators.

Twinning cities

• Maguncia (Germany)
• Volgograd (Russia)

Featured people