Stone is everywhere in South Burgundy!
Whether to build majestic abbeys, beautiful medieval houses, sober and elegant Romanesque churches, magnificent castles, practical cadoles (to shelter our courageous winegrowers) or solid murgers to fence off our meadows... Whether it is a bearer of spirituality, ornamental or agricultural use, it has shaped and still shapes our landscapes. Closely linked to man, stone tells his story and his heritage.
The Romanesque art that you will find scattered throughout our territory is the perfect expression of this. In harmony with the vineyards and hills that surround it, our Romanesque garden was invited to many villages.
Whether used for building or as a ceremonial stone, it has survived the ages and left us with a rich heritage from the past: from medieval fortresses to Classicist castles, we offer you an anthology of French art and a historical evocation of Burgundy through an extraordinary route des châteaux.
Our villages are full of treasures linked to the abbey of Cluny. Indeed, the abbey created numerous agricultural estates and established farming centres called deaneries. You will find fine examples of this in Saint Hippolyte (commune of Bonnay-Saint-Ythaire) or in Mazille.
The small heritage such as the cadoles, crosses and wash houses are very present and you will be pleased to find them during the visit of our hamlets, villages and sites of character or during your hikes.
But Cluniac art did not only develop locally. It spread throughout Europe!
From Xe century, Cluny is a major civilisation in Europe: more than 1,800 Cluniac sites These sites bear witness to its spiritual, artistic and architectural influence, as well as its economic, social and political influence - until the French Revolution. Some Cluniac sites may be close to you! So go and conquer the Cluniac sites in Europe
