Chalon-sur-Saône

▪ France

      town, Saône-et-Loire département, Bourgogne (Burgundy) région, east-central France, south of Dijon. Chalon's fine quays border the Saône River at its junction with the Canal du Centre. An important town of the Gallic tribe of Aedui, it was called Cabillonum by the Romans. In the 6th century King Guntram chose it as the capital of Burgundy. In feudal times it was the seat of a countship, and in 1237 Jean le Sage exchanged it for other fiefs in the Jura but reserved the title to his descendants. The other party to the exchange, Hugh IV, duke of Burgundy, granted the town a charter in 1256. In 1814 Chalon held out against troops of the Austrian army.

      The former cathedral, now church, of Saint-Vincent was built in the 13th and 14th centuries. The church of Saint-Pierre, with two lofty steeples, was built in the late 17th century. There are a number of old houses, a 15th-century episcopal palace, and remains of ancient ramparts. The town's museum of fine arts and archaeology is one of the finest in Burgundy. Chalon is the second most important manufacturing town (after Le Creusot) of Burgundy and is also an administrative seat. It is the commercial centre of the Saône valley. Besides being a river port and railway centre, it manufactures iron, steel, and machinery and has light and heavy industry (glassworks, photographic equipment, and boilermaking). Pop. (2004 est.) 47,700.

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