Canon
Félix Kir (January 22, 1876 - April 26, 1968) was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Catholic priest, resistance fighter and politician.
He was born at
Alise-Sainte-ReineAlise-Sainte-Reine is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne in eastern France.It is the site of the ancient city of Alesia, where Caesar defeated the Gauls under Vercingetorix in the Battle of Alesia...
on the
Côte-d'OrCôte-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 Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
. He entered a small seminary at
Plombières-lès-Dijon Plombières-lès-Dijon is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Côte-d'Or department...
in 1891 and was ordained 1901. He then worked as a parish priest. During the occupation of France during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he took an active part in the
French ResistanceThe French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
, helping with the escape of 5,000 prisoners of war from a camp at
Longvic Longvic is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France....
.
Canon
Félix Kir (January 22, 1876 - April 26, 1968) was a
FrenchFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
Catholic priest, resistance fighter and politician.
He was born at
Alise-Sainte-ReineAlise-Sainte-Reine is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in Bourgogne in eastern France.It is the site of the ancient city of Alesia, where Caesar defeated the Gauls under Vercingetorix in the Battle of Alesia...
on the
Côte-d'OrCôte-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 Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was formed from part of the former province of Burgundy.- Geography :...
. He entered a small seminary at
Plombières-lès-Dijon Plombières-lès-Dijon is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France.-See also:*Communes of the Côte-d'Or department...
in 1891 and was ordained 1901. He then worked as a parish priest. During the occupation of France during
World War IIWorld War II, or the Second World War , was a global military conflict which involved a majority of the world's nations, including all great powers, organized into two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, he took an active part in the
French ResistanceThe French Resistance is the collective name used for the French resistance movements which fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and the collaborationist Vichy Regime during World War II...
, helping with the escape of 5,000 prisoners of war from a camp at
Longvic Longvic is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in eastern France....
. He was arrested and condemned to death, but he was released because of his status. He continued organising operations, and was seriously wounded, but escaped interrogation by the
GestapoThe was the official secret police of Nazi Germany. Beginning in April 1934, it was under the overall administration of the Schutzstaffel under Heinrich Himmler in his position as leader of the SS and Chief of German Police...
.
In 1945 he was made a knight of the
Légion d'honneurThe Légion d'honneur or Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and was elected mayor of
DijonDijon 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 : 150,800 for the commune; 236,953 for the greater Dijon area....
and to the
French National AssemblyThe French National Assembly is the lower house of the bicameral Parliament of France under the Fifth Republic. The other is the Senate ....
. He remained mayor of
DijonDijon 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 : 150,800 for the commune; 236,953 for the greater Dijon area....
up to his death.
A local drink, then locally known as 'blanc-cassis,' consists of white burgundy wine, traditionally
AligotéAligoté is a white grape used to make dry white wines in the Burgundy region of France, and which also has significant plantings in much of Eastern Europe including Romania, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova and Bulgaria. With , it was the 22nd most planted vine variety in the world in 2004...
, mixed with
Crème de CassisCrème de cassis is a blood-red, sweet, blackcurrant flavored liqueur, and is an ingredient of kir, an apéritif. The modern version of the drink first appeared in the Burgundy region in 1841, displacing "ratafia de cassis" from prior centuries. It is made from blackcurrants crushed into refined...
, a sweet, blackcurrant-flavored liqueur. Kir habitually served this local drink to delegations and so the drink itself is now known internationally as
Kir. An artificial lake built to the west of Dijon was also called
Lac Kir.