Côte-d'Or is a department in the eastern part of France.
History
Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the
French RevolutionThe French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
on 4 March 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.
Geography
The department is part of the current
regionFrance is divided into 27 administrative regions , 22 of which are in Metropolitan France, and five of which are overseas. Corsica is a territorial collectivity , but is considered a region in mainstream usage, and is even shown as such on the INSEE website...
of
BourgogneBurgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...
. It is surrounded by the departments of
YonneYonne is a French department named after the Yonne River. It is one of the four constituent departments of Burgundy in eastern France and its prefecture is Auxerre. Its official number is 89....
,
NièvreNièvre is a department in the centre of France named after the Nièvre River.-History:Nièvre is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
,
Saône-et-LoireSaône-et-Loire is a French department, named after the Saône and the Loire rivers between which it lies.-History:When it was formed during the French Revolution, as of March 4, 1790 in fulfillment of the law of December 22, 1789, the new department combined parts of the provinces of southern...
, Jura,
AubeAube is a department in the northeastern part of France named after the Aube River. In 1995, its population was 293,100 inhabitants.- History :Aube is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790...
, and
Haute-MarneHaute-Marne is a department in the northeast of France named after the Marne River.-History:Haute-Marne is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...
.
A chain of hills called the Plateau de Langres runs from north-east to south-west through the department to the north of Dijon and continues south-westwards as the
Côte d'Or escarpmentThe Côte d'Or is a limestone escarpment in Burgundy, France that lends its name to the department which was formed around it...
, which is named from the department's name. It is the south-east facing slope of the
escarpmentAn escarpment is a steep slope or long cliff that occurs from erosion or faulting and separates two relatively level areas of differing elevations.-Description and variants:...
which is the site of the celebrated
BurgundyBurgundy wine is wine made in the Burgundy region in eastern France, in the valleys and slopes west of the Saône River, a tributary of the Rhône. The most famous wines produced here - those commonly referred to as "Burgundies" - are red wines made from Pinot Noir grapes or white wines made from...
vineyardA vineyard is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice...
s. To the west of the Plateau de Langres, towards
ChampagneThe Champagne wine region is a historic province within the Champagne administrative province in the northeast of France. The area is best known for the production of the sparkling white wine that bears the region's name...
, lies the densely wooded district of Châtillonais. To the south-east of the plateau and escarpment, the department lies in the broad, flat-bottomed valley of the middle course of the Saône.
Rivers include:
- The Saône
The Saône is a river of eastern France. It is a right tributary of the River Rhône. Rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department, it joins the Rhône in Lyon....
- The Seine
The Seine is a -long river and an important commercial waterway within the Paris Basin in the north of France. It rises at Saint-Seine near Dijon in northeastern France in the Langres plateau, flowing through Paris and into the English Channel at Le Havre . It is navigable by ocean-going vessels...
rises in the southern end of the Plateau de Langres.
- The Ouche rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows to the Saône via Dijon.
- The Armançon rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows north-westward.
- The Arroux rises on the dip slope of the escarpment at the southern end of the department.
Climate
The climate of the department is temperate, with abundant rain on the west side of the central range.
Politics
The President of the General Council is
François SauvadetFrançois Sauvadet is the president of the Côte-d'Or department and the parliamentary leader of the New Centre. He is a member of the New Centre. He represents the 4th constituency of the Cote-d'Or inthe French National Assembly....
of the
New CentreNew Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...
.
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Socialist PartyThe Socialist Party is a social-democratic political party in France and the largest party of the French centre-left. It is one of the two major contemporary political parties in France, along with the center-right Union for a Popular Movement...
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Union for a Popular MovementThe Union for a Popular Movement is a centre-right political party in France, and one of the two major contemporary political parties in the country along with the center-left Socialist Party...
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Miscellaneous Right Miscellaneous Right in France refers to right-wing candidates that are not member of any large party. They either include small right-wing parties, dissidents expelled from their parties for running against their party's candidate, as well as candidates who were never formal members of a party...
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Miscellaneous Left Miscellaneous Left in France refers to left-wing candidates that are not member of any large party. They either include small left-wing parties or dissidents expelled from their parties for running against their party's candidate. Numerous DVG candidates are elected at a local level, and a smaller...
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Left Radical PartyThe Radical Party of the Left is a minor social-liberal, and in opposition to its common understanding of its name, a moderate centre-left political party in France advocating radicalism, secularism to its french extend known as laïcité, progressivism, pro-Europeanism, individual freedom and...
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New CentreNew Centre , also known as the European Social Liberal Party is a centre-right political party in France, formed by the members of the Union for French Democracy – including a majority of former parliamentarians – who did not agree with François Bayrou's...
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MoDem The Democratic Movement , MoDem) is a centrist, social liberal and pro-European French political party that was founded by centrist politician François Bayrou to succeed his Union for French Democracy and to contest the 2007 legislative election, after his strong showing in the 2007 presidential...
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Economy
This is a premier wine-growing region of France. It produces what are arguably the world's finest, and definitely most expensive
Pinot noirPinot noir is a black wine grape variety of the species Vitis vinifera. The name may also refer to wines created predominantly from Pinot noir grapes...
and
ChardonnayChardonnay is a green-skinned grape variety used to make white wine. It is originated from the Burgundy wine region of eastern France but is now grown wherever wine is produced, from England to New Zealand...
wines from some of the most rigorously and painstakingly (thanks to the region's many monasteries) classified vineyards in the world. Wine from the Côte-d'Or was a favorite of the emperor Charlemagne. Other crops include cereal grains and potatoes. Sheep and cattle are also raised in the department. The region is famous for its
DijonDijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
mustardMustard is a condiment made from the seeds of a mustard plant...
.
There are coal mines and heavy industry, including steel, machinery, and earthenware.
The industries most developed in Côte-d'Or are
- agriculture and food (14% of employees)
- metallurgy and metal manufacture (12% of employees)
- chemicals, rubber and plastics (12% of employees)
- pharmacy
- electrical and electronic components and equipment
- wood and paper industries.
The big works are generally in the conurbation of Dijon although biggest (CEA Valduc) is at
Salives Salives is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-References:*...
in the Plateau de Langres. There is also the SEB metal works at Selongey below the plateau on the margin of the Saône plain and the Valourec metalworking group at
MontbardMontbard is a commune and subprefecture of the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne region in eastern France.Montbard is a small industrial town on the river Brenne. The Forges de Buffon, ironworks established by Buffon, are located in the nearby village of Buffon...
in the west of the department on the River Brenne near its confluence with the Armançon.
The Pharmaceutical industry has shown the greatest growth in recent years.
However, since the Dijon employment statistics zone includes the urban and administrative centre of the
Burgundy regionBurgundy is one of the 27 regions of France.The name comes from the Burgundians, an ancient Germanic people who settled in the area in early Middle-age. The region of Burgundy is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy, from the modern...
, the service sector is proportionately bigger there in relation to the industrial, than in the other three zones of Côte-d'Or.
Tourism
Some of the major tourist attractions are the Gothic abbey church of
Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.It is also a place steeped in history with its archaeological sites, the goddess Sequana; nymph Sources close to the Seine and Alesia, the remnants of its ancient abbey, the abbey church, a jewel of Gothic art...
and the Romanesque abbey church at
SaulieuSaulieu is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in the Burgundy region in eastern France.Capital of the Morvan, and found in the Morvan Regional Park, Saulieu is located to the southeast of Paris on the RN6 road.-History:...
, as well the Château de Bussy Rabutin at
Bussy-le-Grand Bussy-le-Grand is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-Population:-Personalities:Jean-Andoche Junot, a general under Napoleon was born in the village...
. The Abbey of Cîteaux, headquarters of the Cistercian Order, lies to the east of
Nuits-Saint-GeorgesNuits-Saint-Georges is a commune in the arrondissement of Beaune of the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France. It lies in the Burgundy region.-Wine:Nuits-Saint-Georges is the main town of the Côte de Nuits wine-producing area of Burgundy...
in the south of the department.
See also
Côte-d'Or Tourism Guide
- French wine
French wine is produced in several regions throughout France, in quantities between 50 and 60 million hectolitres per year, or 7–8 billion bottles. France has the world's second-largest total vineyard area, behind Spain, and is in the position of being the world's largest wine producer...
- Cantons of the Côte-d'Or department
- Communes of the Côte-d'Or department
- Arrondissements of the Côte-d'Or department
External links
Prefecture website Council website
Photos Gallery of Dijon and the Côte D'or