Côte-d'Or

Côte-d'Or (French pronunciation: [kot dɔʁ] ) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in France. In 2023, it had a population of 540,100. Its prefecture is Dijon, which is also the regional prefecture; its subprefectures are Beaune and Montbard. History Côte-d'Or is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. Formed from part of the former province of Burgundy, it is arguably unique among the departments in having a name that is poetic rather than geographic. The name was first proposed by the representative of Dijon (fr:Charles-André-Rémy Arnoult), and is said to refer to the autumn gold of the flanks of the hills in wine-growing areas. The literal meaning of côte d'or in French is "golden hill". Geography The department is part of the current region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is surrounded by the departments of Yonne, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Jura, Aube, Haute-Saône, and Haute-Marne. A chain of hills called the Plateau de Langres runs from north-east to south-west through the department to the north of Dijon and continues south-westwards as the Côte d'Or escarpment, from which the department takes its name. It is the south-east facing slope of this escarpment which is the site of the celebrated Burgundy vineyards. To the west of the Plateau de Langres, towards Champagne, lies the densely wooded district of Châtillonais. To the south-east of the plateau and escarpment, the department lies in the broad, flat-bottomed valley of the middle course of the Saône. Rivers include: The Saône The Seine rises in the southern end of the Plateau de Langres. The Ouche rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows to the Saône via Dijon. The Armançon rises on the dip slope of the escarpment and flows north-westward. The Arroux rises on the dip slope of the escarpment at the southern end of the department. Climate The climate of the department is continental, with abundant rain on the west side of the central range. Principal towns The most populous commune is Dijon, the prefecture. As of 2023, there are 5 communes with more than 10,000 inhabitants: Demographics The inhabitants of the department are called Costaloriens in French. Population development since 1791: Politics The President of the Departmental Council is François Sauvadet of the Union of Democrats and Independents. Current National Assembly Representatives Economy This is a premier wine-growing region of France. It produces what are arguably the world's finest, and definitely most expensive Pinot noir and Chardonnay wines from some of the most rigorously and painstakingly (thanks to the region's many monasteries) classified vineyards in the world. Wine from the Côte-d'Or was a favorite of the emperor Charlemagne. Other crops include cereal grains and potatoes. Sheep and cattle are also raised in the department. The region is famous for Dijon mustard. There are coal mines and heavy industry, including steel, machinery, and earthenware. The industries most developed in Côte-d'Or are agriculture and food (14% of employees) metallurgy and metal manufacture (12% of employees) chemicals, rubber and plastics (12% of employees) pharmacy electrical and electronic components and equipment wood and paper industries. The big works are generally in the conurbation of Dijon although the biggest (CEA Valduc) is at Salives in the Plateau de Langres. There is also the SEB metal works at Selongey below the plateau on the margin of the Saône plain and the Valourec metalworking group at Montbard in the west of the department on the River Brenne near its confluence with the Armançon. The Pharmaceutical industry has shown the greatest growth in recent years. However, since the Dijon employment statistics zone includes the urban and administrative centre of the Burgundy region, the service sector is proportionately bigger there in relation to the industrial, than in the other three zones of Côte-d'Or. Reference Industry in Bourgogne website Transport Air Côte-d'Or is served by Dole–Jura Airport which is located 51 km (32 mi) south east of Dijon. However, the airport only provides flights to limited European destinations. Residents in Côte-d'Or would normally use Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport, Geneva Airport and EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg which provide more domestic and international destinations. Tourism Some of the major tourist attractions are the Gothic abbey church of Saint-Seine-l'Abbaye and the 11th-century Romanesque abbey church at Saulieu, as well the 12th-century Château de Bussy Rabutin at Bussy-le-Grand. The Abbey of Cîteaux, headquarters of the Cistercian Order, lies to the east of Nuits-Saint-Georges in the south of the department. See also French wine Cantons of the Côte-d'Or department Communes of the Côte-d'Or department Arrondissements of the Côte-d'Or department Pont-d'Ouche Sincey coal mines References External links (in French) Prefecture website (in French) Departmental Council website