Burgundy (French: Bourgogne) is a historic region of east central France. The region's core is the fertile Rhone and Saone river valleys, where routes from Paris and the Rhineland to the Mediterranean converge. Dijon, a city famous as a gastronomic center, is the historic capital. Burgundy's wines, especially those of the celebrated Côte d'Or ("Golden Slope"), are among the world's most distinguished.
The region prospered under Roman rule, with Autun becoming a center of learning and the capital of northeastern Gaul. By the 5th century the Burgundii, a Germanic tribe, had settled in the area and established a kingdom. Burgundy logo In 534, Burgundy became part of the Frankish kingdom under the Merovingians and, after 751, the Carolingians. During the various partitions of the Carolingian empire in the 9th century, two Burgundian states emerged: Lower (sometimes called Cisjurane) Burgundy, or Provence, in the south; and Upper Burgundy, which was further divided into Transjurane and Cisjurane sections, in the north. These were united (933) as another Kingdom of Burgundy, later called Arles, which was part of the Holy Roman Empire from the 11th century until 1378, when it was ceded to France.
Two other, relatively independent, divisions had been formed in the 9th century: the duchy of Burgundy (corresponding to the modern region), which remained part of France, and the Free County of Burgundy, or Franche-Comté. The duchy was ruled by a cadet branch of the Capetians from 1031 until 1361 when the line died out. The golden age of Burgundy commenced in 1363 when John II, king of France, granted the duchy to his second son, Philip the Bold. With the death of his father-in-law in 1384, Philip added Flanders, Artois, Franche-Comté, and other lands to his holdings. Under his successors, John the Fearless, Philip the Good, and Charles the Bold, Burgundy increased its territorial extent to include most of present-day Belgium and the Netherlands, as well as to Luxembourg, Alsace, and Lorraine.
In the early 15th century the dukes of Burgundy sought to dominate French affairs. When thwarted, they allied (1419) with England in the Hundred Years' War. Antagonism between the kings of France and the dukes of Burgundy climaxed with the defeat and death (1477) of Charles the Bold in battle near Nancy. Burgundy's northern territories passed to Hapsburg rule while the duchy itself was annexed by the French king, Louis XI. Franche-Comté was acquired by France in 1678.
The modern region of Bourgogne is both larger than the old Duchy of Burgundy and smaller than the area ruled by the Dukes of Burgundy. It is made up of the following old provinces:
* Burgundy: Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, and southern half of Yonne. This corresponds to the old duchy of Burgundy (later called province of Burgundy). However, the old county of Burgundy (later called province of Franche-Comté) is not included inside the Bourgogne region, but it makes up the Franche-Comté region. Also, a small part of the duchy of Burgundy (province of Burgundy) is now inside the Champagne-Ardenne region.
* Nivernais: now the Nièvre department
* the northern half of Yonne is a territory that was not part of Burgundy (at least not since the 11th century), and was a frontier between Champagne, Île-de-France, and Orléanais, depending from each of these provinces at different times in history.
A Quadripartite agreement was made between Central Bohemia, Opole, Bourgogne and Rhineland Palatinate in 2003 that gave rise to many activities such as a Students European Contest created in 2005, or the students literary prize.
