Dijon | ||
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Top: Dijon City Hall, Bottom: Saint Benigne Cathedral, Statue of Jean-Philippe Rameau, Statue of Francois Rude, Saint Michel Church
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Coordinates: 47°17′26″N 5°02′34″E / 47.2906°N 5.0428°ECoordinates: 47°17′26″N 5°02′34″E / 47.2906°N 5.0428°E | ||
Country | France | |
Region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
Department | Côte-d'Or | |
Arrondissement | Dijon | |
Intercommunality | Dijon | |
Government | ||
• Mayor (2015–2020) | François Rebsamen | |
Area1 | 40.41 km2 (15.60 sq mi) | |
Population (2012)2 | 152,071 | |
• Density | 3,800/km2 (9,700/sq mi) | |
Time zone | CET (UTC+1) | |
• Summer (DST) | CEST (UTC+2) | |
INSEE/Postal code | 21231 / 21000 | |
Elevation | 220–410 m (720–1,350 ft) (avg. 245 m or 804 ft) |
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Website | http://www.dijon.fr/ | |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Dijon (French pronunciation: [diʒɔ̃]) is a city in eastern France, capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.
The earliest archaeological finds within the city limits of Dijon date to the Neolithic period. Dijon later became a Roman settlement named Divio, located on the road from Lyon to Paris. The province was home to the Dukes of Burgundy from the early 11th until the late 15th centuries and Dijon was a place of tremendous wealth and power, one of the great European centres of art, learning and science. Population (2008): 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 (2007) for the greater Dijon area.
The city has retained varied architectural styles from many of the main periods of the past millennium, including Capetian, Gothic and Renaissance. Many still-inhabited town houses in the city's central district date from the 18th century and earlier. Dijon architecture is distinguished by, among other things, toits bourguignons (Burgundian polychrome roofs) made of tiles glazed in terracotta, green, yellow and black and arranged in geometric patterns.
Dijon holds an International and Gastronomic Fair every year in autumn. With over 500 exhibitors and 200,000 visitors every year, it is one of the ten most important fairs in France. Dijon is also home, every three years, to the international flower show Florissimo. Dijon is famous for Dijon mustard which originated in 1856, when Jean Naigeon of Dijon substituted verjuice, the acidic "green" juice of not-quite-ripe grapes, for vinegar in the traditional mustard recipe.