Semur-en-Auxois is a French commune with 4139 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Côte-d’Or department. Until his death under the guillotine in 1793, the castle of his birthplace was owned by Louis Marie Florent de Lomont d'Haraucourt, duc du Châtelet.
The Notre-Dame Collegiate Church
The former Notre-Dame collegiate church in Semur-en-Auxois
(Côte-d’Or department) is one of the lesser-known masterpieces of
Gothic architecture in Burgundy.
The monastery was founded in
1060 or 1065 by Duke Robert I of Burgundy. The increasing pilgrimage
(Semur was also a station on a branch route of the Way of St. James)
made a new building necessary, which was started in 1225. In the
14th century the west facade with vestibule and the crossing tower
were built. From 1844 a thorough restoration was carried out by
Viollet-le-Duc.
The building is a three-aisled basilica with
a double-tower facade, a transept with an octagonal crossing tower
and a five-aisled choir with a gallery and radial chapels. Most
comparable to the Cathedral of Auxerre and Notre-Dame de Dijon, the
collegiate church of Semur represents the classic Gothic
architectural style of Burgundy on a smaller scale. The choir and
transept are divided into three floors. The double-shell or
“diaphane” wall, which is particularly pronounced in Burgundy, can
be seen here in the triforium and in the upper aisle with a walkway.
In the choir, the arcades are supported by massive round pillars
with bud capitals, above the fighters the services sit on cube
consoles, just like in the nave of Dijon. Typically Burgundy are the
services in the upper storey area, which are at staggered heights.
The main nave was also originally three-story, the triforium was
removed during the renovation in the 14th century. Otherwise, the
shapes of the 13th century, the cantoned round pillars, the walkway
and the immaculate lancet windows characterize the building.
Characteristic for Semur is the ratio of height and width in the
nave and choir, which gives the room a steep slenderness. This
impression is underlined by the uninterrupted service in the nave up
to the vaults (see Clamecy).
The church had a three-portal
system with an extensive program of figures, which, however, was
completely destroyed. The Madonna standing on the Trumeau today was
subsequently placed here. Late Gothic stone figures of the
evangelists have been preserved above the vestibule. At the crossing
tower you can see figures with amphorae, which symbolize the rivers
of Paradise. The delightful side portal, which was formerly
protected by a two-storey vestibule, shows the story of the Apostle
Thomas in the tympanum with the following scenes: The disbelief of
Thomas. The sea voyage to India. The feast at which the cook slaps
Thomas, whereupon the cook's hand falls off. Thomas distributes the
money he received from the king for building the palace to the poor.
The king puts him in jail. The king is converted when Thomas
explains to him that he has acquired a palace in heaven through the
gifts to the poor. Representations of the monthly work appear in the
archivolts.
The church has rich furnishings from the 15th to
17th centuries with glass windows, stone sculptures, wood and metal
work. Particularly noteworthy is an entombment group from the end of
the 15th century, transferred from the Carmelite Convent in 1791,
which is considered to be one of the most beautiful of its kind in
Burgundy and is stylistically close to Pierre Antoine de Moiturier
(cf. the tomb of Johann Ohnefurcht from the Chartreuse de Champmol
).
The Porte Sauvigny, a former city gate
The four remaining
round towers of the former citadel fortifications
The Pont Joly,
a bridge with a picturesque view of the city
Prehistoric and Ancient Roots
Human occupation of the site dates
back to the Neolithic period, as confirmed by 19th-century excavations.
The bluff's natural defenses likely attracted early settlers.
Geologically, the Jurassic Sinemurian Age (approximately 199–190 million
years ago) takes its name from Semur (from the Latin Sinemurum),
reflecting the area's limestone-rich fossils studied in the 19th
century.
Local legend attributes the town's founding to Hercules on
his return from Spain, but written records begin much later. The first
documented mention appears in 606 (in the founding charter of the nearby
Abbey of Flavigny-sur-Ozerain), as sene muro or sine muro ("old walls"
or "without walls"), emphasizing its ancient defensive character.
Variants like Sinemuro (c. 545) and Senmurus (879) appear in later
documents.
The site may have had Gallo-Roman origins and served as a
Merovingian castrum by the 8th century. In 719, a notable named Widerad
drafted his will there while endowing the Flavigny abbey.
Early
Middle Ages: Rise as a Burgundian Power Center (10th–12th Centuries)
A wooden fortress existed by the 10th century, replaced by stone
fortifications in the 11th–12th centuries. Around this core, the county
(pagus) of Auxois formed and was absorbed into the Duchy of Burgundy in
the late 11th century.
The Benedictine Priory of Notre-Dame (a
dependency of Flavigny abbey), founded by Girard d'Arlebaud between 1018
and 1040, became the nucleus of urban growth. The church gained
parochial status in 1154. A smaller priory of Saint-Jean l'Évangéliste
also existed from the High Middle Ages. By the 11th century, Semur was
the head of the Auxois county within the duchy.
High and Late
Middle Ages: Ducal Capital and Fortifications (13th–15th Centuries)
In 1276, Duke Robert II of Burgundy granted the town its charter of
emancipation (franchise), making it the seat of the bailliage
d'Auxois—one of the duchy's six administrative districts. The castle
(known as the Donjon or "Le Donjon") was rebuilt around 1270 on the
narrowest point of the ridge, replacing an older fortification. It
featured a rectangular plan with four round corner towers: the northeast
Tour Lourdeau (later Tour de l'Orle d'Or, 44 meters high with 5–6
meter-thick walls at the base), northwest Tour de la Géhenne, southwest
Tour Margot, and southeast Tour Solobert (later Prison Tower).
The
Collégiale Notre-Dame (collegiate church) was founded around 1225 and
largely built in Rayonnant/Gothic style by 1260, with later flamboyant
additions. Its north tympanum (Porte des Bleds, c. 1250–1260) uniquely
depicts scenes from the apocryphal Acts of St. Thomas (including the
saint's mission to India and palace-building miracle). The church housed
guilds (drapers and butchers had chapels) and fine 13th–15th-century
art, including stained glass and a Jesse Tree retable.
During the
Hundred Years' War (mid-14th century), Duke Philip the Bold strengthened
the site with full ramparts, towers, and a barbican-protected gate
(Porte Sauvigny, mid-15th century). The town grew to about 600 hearths
(several thousand inhabitants), hosted seven annual fairs, and developed
merchant corporations.
Early Modern Period: Wars, Dismantling,
and Administration (16th–18th Centuries)
Semur remained loyal to the
French crown during the Wars of Religion. In 1589, royalist forces under
Guillaume de Saulx besieged it; the town and castle garrison surrendered
quickly. King Henry IV ordered the dismantling of the ramparts and
castle in 1602, ending its military role. The keep became a granary, and
other towers stored salt or served as prisons.
It shifted to an
administrative center: capital of the bailliage (with a présidial and
salt granary), later district (1790) and arrondissement (1800)
headquarters. Temporarily renamed Semur-Côte-d’Or during the Revolution
to erase feudal connotations, it attracted Enlightenment figures.
Voltaire visited (linked to Émilie du Châtelet), and natives included
naturalist Philippe Guéneau de Montbeillard (Encyclopédiste) and
engineers like Edmé Régnier L'Aîné. The town earned the nickname "Little
Athens of Burgundy" for its scholarly appeal.
19th–21st
Centuries: Restoration, Modernization, and Heritage
Eugène
Viollet-le-Duc restored the Collégiale Notre-Dame (1843–1855) and
ramparts (1843–1850). A railway arrived in 1876 (passenger service until
1953; a tourist line operates today). The subprefecture moved to
Montbard in 1926.
A unique tradition, the "Course de la Bague" (ring
race on horseback), has run annually since 1639. The town appears in
films like Ni vu... Ni connu... (1958). Today, with about 4,000
inhabitants, it thrives on tourism, leather goods, accordions, and
biscuits while preserving its "Cité de Caractère" status. The museum
(former Jacobins convent) and historic library add cultural depth.
Semur-en-Auxois is a historic commune in the Côte-d'Or department
within the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France. It
occupies a strategically dramatic position in the heart of the
Auxois region, at the crossroads where the foothills of the Morvan
massif meet the plains of the Châtillonnais to the north and the
edges of the Autunois to the south.
Geographically, the town sits
at 47°29′29″N 4°20′01″E (approximately 47.4914°N, 4.3336°E), roughly
midway between Auxerre (to the west) and Dijon (to the southeast),
on the northeastern fringes of the Morvan area. The commune spans
19.14 km² (7.39 sq mi) and has neighboring communes including
Courcelles-lès-Semur, Lantilly, Millery, Pont-et-Massène, Le
Val-Larrey, Vic-de-Chassenay, and Villars-et-Villenotte. Its rural
character places it in a transitional landscape of valleys, rolling
hills, and open plains typical of northern Burgundy.
Topography and Geology
The defining feature of Semur-en-Auxois is
its medieval core, perched atop a prominent pink granite bluff (or
promontory/plateau) that rises steeply above the surrounding
terrain. This granite outcrop forms a natural defensive platform,
with the historic town more than half-encircled by a pronounced loop
of the river below. The bluff creates a hillside setting where
streets and ramparts ascend dramatically from the water’s edge,
giving the town its iconic hilltop silhouette—visible from afar,
including the cracked tower that serves as a landmark when
approaching via the A6 autoroute.
Elevations range from a minimum
of 237 m (778 ft) along the river to a maximum of 423 m (1,388 ft)
on the higher plateau sections, with an average of 286 m (938 ft).
The steep banks and granite foundation contribute to the town’s
compact, elevated layout, with the medieval walls and towers
following the contours of the promontory. Geologically, this pink
granite is distinctive; it represents an extension of the ancient
Morvan massif into the Auxois. The surrounding Jurassic sedimentary
layers (notably, the Sinemurian stage of the Early Jurassic is named
after ammonite fossils first identified near Semur) contrast with
the harder granite core. The terrain transitions outward into
gentler valleys and plains, part of the larger Auxois (one of four
main valleys in the region).
Hydrology
The Armançon
River—a significant right-bank tributary of the Yonne (and
ultimately part of the Seine basin)—dominates the local hydrology.
It forms a pronounced meander that encircles more than half the
town, creating a natural moat-like barrier and supplying historic
motive power for tanneries and mills along its banks (now
diminished). Several smaller streams converge into the Armançon
within the commune. The river’s flow has been moderated since the
19th century by the upstream Lac de Pont dam, constructed to feed
the Canal de Bourgogne. The entire territory lies within the
Seine-Normandie hydrological basin, with the river valley providing
fertile lowlands and scenic corridors below the granite bluff.
Climate
Semur-en-Auxois experiences an altered oceanic
climate (Köppen-Geiger classification Cfb), influenced by its
position on the margins of the Morvan and Langres plateau zones. It
features cool summers, no dry season, moderate winds, and frequent
autumn/winter fog, with harsher winters than more coastal areas.
Annual average temperature is 11.2 °C (1991–2020 normals), with a
modest thermal amplitude. Annual precipitation totals about 778 mm
spread over roughly 126 days, peaking slightly in spring and autumn.
Key averages (1991–2020):
Winter: January mean 3.3 °C (max
6.2 °C, min 0.3 °C); December similar.
Summer: July mean 19.9 °C
(max 26.0 °C, min 13.7 °C).
Extremes: Record low −24.0 °C
(January 1985); record high 40.5 °C (August 2003).
The
climate supports the region’s mixed agriculture and contributes to
the lush valley vegetation visible along the Armançon.
Broader Landscape Context and Human Influence
Semur-en-Auxois
sits in a rural, undulating landscape where the granite promontory
provides commanding views over the Armançon valley and surrounding
farmlands, woodlands, and distant hills. The Auxois region’s open
valleys contrast with the denser Morvan forests to the southwest,
while the Châtillonnais plateau lies northward. This geography
historically favored defense (the river loop and bluff) and trade
(river power and crossroads location), shaping the town’s fortified
medieval layout that survives today in its ramparts, towers, and
cobblestone streets. Modern land use remains predominantly rural,
with the river offering recreational and scenic value via bridges
like the Pont Joly and Pont des Minimes.