Heritage Dijon, a city of art and history
Dijon is a "city of art and history". It has been preserved down the centuries and is unanimously considered as one of the finest historic cities in France. The city "with a thousand spires", as it was nicknamed by King Francis I, has been shaped by a very rich past. The "City of Art and History" department will soon be opening a regional information centre.
In 2008, the city of Dijon was awarded the "City of Art and History" label by the French Ministry of Culture and Communication. It underlines the city's proactive approach in terms of knowledge and conservation, and highlights its exceptional architectural and cultural heritage.
The city and the Culture Ministry signed a convention. It sets out the goals of the "City of Art and History" label through the policies carried out by Dijon over a 10-year period. The city is committed to working with qualified professionals (heritage experts and guides) and to building an architecture and heritage information centre.
Dijon is the historic capital of Burgundy. It is a harmonious and dynamic city forged by an exceptionally rich history and by two major eras: the period of the great dukes of the West (the dukes of Burgundy), who made Dijon a centre of international art and the forerunner of a European capital between 1363 and 1477, and the period of the Burgundy Parliaments. The Parliamentarians shaped the city for three centuries and built the Palace of the Burgundy States and a hundred private mansions. From its history, Dijon has inherited an exceptional and unusually concentrated architectural heritage.