Photo : Rolf Kranz / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 4.0)
Semur-en-Auxois
Semur-en-Auxois is a small town in the west of the Côte-d'Or, built on a granite plateau enclosed in a meander of the Armançon. The site is mentioned around 606 in a form evoking old walls. Having become capital of the County of Auxois in the eleventh century, the town received a municipal charter from Duke Robert II in 1276.
Of the old castle, four towers remain, including the Orle d'Or tower, 44 m high. The defences were reinforced during the Hundred Years' War. The collegiate church of Notre-Dame, begun in 1225, is a fine example of Burgundian Gothic; it was restored by Viollet-le-Duc in the nineteenth century.
Semur is also known for the Course de la Bague, an equestrian event instituted in 1651 and held every 31 May. The town has about 4,000 inhabitants. Its bridges over the Armançon and old lanes are discovered on foot, above the valley.
