Porte du Bourg - Flavigny-sur-Ozerain - plaque

An afternoon wonder around Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain is a commune in the French department of Côte-d'Or, in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.

The village was awarded membership in Les Plus Beaux Villages de France ("France's most beautiful villages").

The medieval village of Flavigny is situated on a rocky spur, surrounded by three streams: the Ozerain, the Recluse and the Verpant.

The first written mention of the village of Flavigny was in the Latin form of its name, Flaviniacum, which appears in the cartulary (or charter) of the Benedictine abbey founded on the site by a certain Widerard in 719. In the mid-9th century, in response to the increasing frequency of Viking raids, the relics of Saint Reine (or Santa Regina) were removed from the nearby town of Alise to Flavigny in the hopes that they could be better protected in a more fortified setting. The relics remain in Flavigny to this day, although they travel back to Alise every fall for the celebration of the saint's feast day in early September.

The town was prosperous during the Middle Ages, catering to large numbers of pilgrims, both those who came to visit the relics of Saint Reine and those on their way to Santiago de Compostela. By the 10th century, the abbey had grown into a town, with a parish church dedicated to St. Genest in addition to the abbey church (dedicated to St Peter). During the 12th and 13th centuries, extensive fortifications were raised around the town; large portions of these walls still surround the village to this day, including the Porte du Val (which includes both an inner gate dating to the 13th century and a sixteenth-century outer gate), and the 15th century Porte du Bourg with its statue of the Virgin. Despite these fortifications, Flavigny was occupied by the English during the Hundred Years' War.

In 1632 the Ursuline convent of Flavigny was founded, and in the early 18th century a new residence for the Abbot of Flavigny was constructed. However, by that time the abbacy had become corrupt and was held by a layman who had little to do with the town. At the time of the French Revolution, there may have been as few as five monks in residence. The abbey church was probably already in ruins, although local tradition holds that it suffered damage at the hands of revolutionaries. The parish church, St. Genest, emerged from the Revolution more or less unharmed.

In the 21st century, Flavigny has fewer than 400 year-round residents, although this number increases in the summer due to the substantial number of foreigners (Swiss, American, Australian, German) who have summer homes in the village. The abbey now houses the factory which manufactures Les Anis de Flavigny, small aniseed-flavored pastilles distributed worldwide. Various artists and artisans make their homes in the village, and it has become a popular tourist destination.

The Porte du Bourg - the main entrance gateway into the historic village. Our coach was parked near here on Rue Saint-Jacques (or Faubourg St Jacques). You walk through onto the Grand Rue.

Porte du Bourg 15th century
Ancien pont-levis
14th century

plaque

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Taken in: France / Bourgogne / Flavigny-sur-Ozerain (show map)

Taken on: June 7, 2017

Tags:

Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

Burgundy

France

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté

Côte-d'Or

Les Plus Beaux Villages de France

France's most beautiful villages

Montbard

medieval village of Flavigny

Flaviniacum

tree

trees

Faubourg St Jacques

Rue Saint-Jacques

Grand Rue

Porte du Bourg

Ancien pont-levis

plaque

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Sets appears in: • Plaques in Burgundy • Flavigny-sur-Ozerain

Groups appears in: • Plaques • Open Plaques

Camera: Panasonic DMC-FZ72, f/4.2, 1/1600 sec, 11.2mm, ISO 100 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Panasonic DMC-FZ72
Aperture:	f/4.2
Exposure Time:	0.001 sec (1/1600)
Focal Length:	11.2mm
ISO:	100
Exposure Bias:	0 EV
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Exposure Mode:	Auto
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	sRGB
Software:	Ver.1.0
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