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Burgundy (Bourgogne) considers itself the heart of France, a prosperous region with world-renowned wine, earthy but excellent cuisine and magnificent architecture. Under the Dukes of Valois (Phillipe the Good, Phillipe the Bold et.al.), Burgundy was France's most powerful rival, with territory extending well beyond its present boundaries. By the 16th century, however, governors appointed by the French king ruled the duchy, but it still managed to keep its privileges and traditions. The neighboring region, Franche-Comte, which was once a part of Burgundy, struggled to remain independent of the French crown, and was a province of the Holy Roman Empire until it was annexed by Louis XIV in 1674. Burgundy is now, as in the past, a wealthy region, a centre of medieval religious faith, which produced Romanesque masterpieces at Vézelay, Fontenay and Cluny. Dijon is a splendid city, filled with the great palaces of the old Burgundian nobility and a collection of great paintings and sculptures in the Musée des Beaux-Arts. The vineyards of the Côte d'Or, the Côte de Beaune and Châblis yield some of the world's most venerated wines. Other richly varied landscapes - from the wild forests of the Morvan to the lush farmland of the Brionnais - produce snails, Bresse chicken, Charolais beef and Epoisse cheese. (Also see, The Route of the Dukes of Burgundy) |
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