3399 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - The Bread of the Earth

This postcard depict the cover of the book The Bread of the Earth - The Mountain People Tell, by Anne-Marie Prodon, published by Cabédita Publishing House on December 22, 1998. In 25 chapters, 35 peasants and mountain people recount their lives in the first half of the 20th century, in their villages of the Franco-Swiss Jura. Men and women of the earth, attached to their living environment and their heritage, they conducted the same struggle to find the basic necessities for their existence in this arid county subject to the strong winds from the north. Through both funny and tragic anecdotes, they bear witness to a harsh and healthy life that made them robust, tenacious, determined and ingenious to face everyday realities.

3204 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - Settons Lake

Built between 1854 and 1861 to regulate the flow of the Yonne River and make it easier to float wood along the river to Paris, Settons Lake lies at the heart of the Morvan Massif, near Montsauche-les-Settons, at an elevation of 586 m. Protected by a unique granite dyke, this 367-hectare lake, long of 3.5km, wide of 2km and with a maximum depth of 6m, lies between quiet, wooded banks planted with pine trees and larches.

2347, 2554 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - Yonne Department

Posted on 04.03.2016, 15.05.2016
Located in central France, in the northwest of the region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, bordering Île-de-France, Yonne department was created in 1790 during the French Revolution. It was named after the river Yonne, a left tributary of the Seine, which rises in the Morvan hills and flows northwards through department. The Canal de Bourgogne, which connects the Mediterranean Sea with the Atlantic Ocean, joins the River Yonne through locks at Migennes a little further north from Auxerre.

Auxerre, the biggest city and the capital of the department, was once a flourishing Gallo-Roman centre (Autissiodorum), through which passed one of the main roads of the area, the Via Agrippa. In the late 11th-early 12th century the existing communities were included inside a new line of walls built by the feudal  Counts of Auxerre. The Burgundian city became part of France under King Louis XI. It was noted for its production of Burgundy wine since the 12th century.

2479 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - The church Sainte-Croix-Notre-Dame in La Charité-sur-Loire - part of Routes of Santiago de Compostela in France (UNESCO WHS)

In 1059, the powerful order of Cluny decided to build a priory in Seyr, an island in the Loire. The priory became the heart around which the town  La Charité-sur-Loire developed. The place was an easy crossing for the river Loire, with the wooden bridge the monks built and it soon became a major stop on the road to Santiago de Compostella, and an important part of the Clunisian network.

2175-2176 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay (UNESCO WHS)

2175 Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay (1)

The Abbey of Fontenay, located in the commune of Marmagne, near Montbard, was founded by Saint Bernard of Clairvaux in 1118, and built in the Romanesque style. It is one of the oldest and most complete Cistercian abbeys in Europe, and with its church, cloister, refectory, sleeping quarters, bakery and ironworks, is an excellent illustration of the ideal of self-sufficiency as practised by the earliest communities of Cistercian monks.

2176 Cistercian Abbey of Fontenay (2)

The monks moved to Fontenay Abbey in 1130, and in 1200 it was able to serve 300 monks. In 1259, the King Louis IX exempted it from taxes, and ten years later it became a royal abbey. In 1359, it was pillaged by the armies of King Edward III of England. It suffered further damage during the Wars of Religion, and.with the beginning of the French Revolution in 1789 the monks successively left the abbey. In 1906 Edouard Aynard bought the abbey and commenced its restoration which was complete by 1911.

2109-2111 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - People from Morvan

2109 Morvan - A couple in front of the fireplace
(The Galvachers from Morvan)

The Morvan, the granite heart of  Burgundy,, is a high hills massif lying to the west of the Côte d'Or escarpment, actually a northerly extension of the Massif Central, marked by a dense river network, including many artificial lakes, and by a strong afforestation. The region being poor from agricultural point of view, the inhabitants has been forced to develop associated activities. Thus, alongside the floating timber, two have gradually imposed, becoming emblematic to the area: nourrices morvandelles (wet nurses from Morvan) and the galvachers.

2110 Morvan - A woman in front of the fireplace
(The Galvachers from Morvan)

The galvachers were carters, who used to rent their pairs of oxen to carry heavy transport work, but also hauling or plowing, all requesting service activities a strong pulling power. Traditionally, they leave their villages after planting potatoes (spring) and returned to the Saint-Martin (in autumn). After the Second Empire, the emergence of the railroad initiated the decline of galvachers. The number of migrants have been decreasing gradually until the WWI to then finally disappear.

2111 Morvan - Girls chattering on the grass
(The Galvachers from Morvan)

Often isolated by the snow in winter, Morvanese learnt to live in autarky and to develop an appropriate culture. It has a strong folk musical tradition, using musical ideas from lots of other cultures and combining them to make its own. Since its creation in 1952 by Albert Jaillet, the Folkloric Group Les Galvachers du Morvan pursued to maintain tradition by reviving the folklore of the region. Its members collected songs from the old people, learned old dances, and reconstructed costume by 1780-1880 using traditional methodes.

1911 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - Villeneuve-sur-Yonne

 

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne lies on the bank of the River Yonne, between the cities of Sens and Joigny. The city was founded in 1163 by Louis VII of France to protect the kingdom of France at the boundary of the Champagne. In 1204 King Philip II Augustus held parliament in the city, and Louis IX resided in the city before departing for the Eighth Crusade. In 1594 the city was burnt down. During the French Revolution the name was changed from le-Roi (the king) to sur-Yonne (on the Yonne). Now it is surrounded by a partly intact wall, built during the 12th century, which was one of the 8 residences of the French kings.

1464 FRANCE (Bourgogne-Franche-Comté) - House of Châteauneuf

The Château de Châteauneuf-en-Auxois is a 15th-century fortress located at 43km from Dijon, a vast stone building, 75m in length and 35m broad, situated on a rocky outcrop 475m above the surrounding plains which dominates the valley of Canal de Bourgogne. The castle was built in 1132 by Jean de Chaudenay for his son Jehan, who took possession of it in 1175 and became Jean I de Châteauneuf. After nine generations in the castle, the reign of the Châteauneufs ended in tragedy when in 1456 the last heiress, Catherine de Châteauneuf, was burnt alive for poisoning her second husband, Jacques d'Haussonville. In 1457, Philippe le Bon, duke of Burgundy, offered the fortress to his advisor Philippe Pot, who modified the castle to make it more comfortable as a residence.