1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
Auxerre (/oʊˈsɛər/oh-SAIR,[3]French:[osɛʁ]ⓘ, Burgundian: Auchoirre) is the capital (prefecture) of the Yonnedepartment and the fourth-largest city in the Burgundy historical region southeast of Paris. Auxerre's population today is about 35,000;[4] the urban area (aire d'attraction) comprises roughly 113,000 inhabitants.[5] Residents of Auxerre are referred to as Auxerrois.
Auxerre is a commercial and industrial centre, with industries including food production, woodworking and batteries. Nearby areas are also noted for the production of Burgundy wine, including Chablis. In 1995 Auxerre was named a "Town of Art and History".[6]
Auxerre was a flourishing Gallo-Roman centre, then called Autissiodorum, through which passed one of the main roads of the area, the Via Agrippa (1st century AD) which crossed the Yonne (Gallo-Roman Icauna) here. In the third century it became the seat of a bishop[7] and a provincial capital of the Roman Empire. In the 5th century it received a cathedral. 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.
Bourgeois activities accompanied the traditional land and wine cultivations starting from the twelfth century, and Auxerre developed into a commune with a Town Hall of its own. The Burgundian city, which became part of France under King Louis XI, suffered during the Hundred Years' War and the Wars of Religion. In 1567 it was captured by the Huguenots, and many of the Catholic edifices were damaged. The medieval ramparts were demolished in the 18th century.
In the 19th century numerous heavy infrastructures were built, including a railway station, a psychiatric hospital and the courts, and new quarters were developed on the right bank of the Yonne.
Until the early 20th century, Auxerre was one of the most prosperous cities in the department. But the local authorities of that period refused the railway that was subsequently set in the village of Migennes, and signed the economic decline of the town. [citation needed]
Archaeology
In June 2024, the French National Institute for Preventive Archaeological Research announced the discovery of a large Roman cemetery in Place du Maréchal Leclerc, Auxerre, France. The cemetery contains more than 250 burials of infants and stillborn babies. Some remains were buried in ceramic vessels and wooden coffins, while others were wrapped in textiles.[8][9]
Demographics
Historical population
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1793
12,000
—
1800
12,047
+0.06%
1806
12,044
−0.00%
1821
12,065
+0.01%
1831
11,439
−0.53%
1836
12,326
+1.50%
1841
12,326
+0.00%
1846
13,968
+2.53%
1851
14,166
+0.28%
1856
15,119
+1.31%
1861
15,081
−0.05%
1866
15,497
+0.55%
1872
15,631
+0.14%
1876
16,239
+0.96%
1881
16,986
+0.90%
1886
17,456
+0.55%
1891
18,036
+0.66%
1896
18,576
+0.59%
Year
Pop.
±% p.a.
1901
18,901
+0.35%
1906
20,931
+2.06%
1911
21,929
+0.94%
1921
21,203
−0.34%
1926
21,978
+0.72%
1931
22,900
+0.83%
1936
24,282
+1.18%
1946
24,052
−0.10%
1954
26,583
+1.26%
1962
31,178
+2.01%
1968
35,784
+2.32%
1975
38,342
+0.99%
1982
38,741
+0.15%
1990
38,819
+0.03%
1999
37,790
−0.30%
2007
37,218
−0.19%
2012
35,096
−1.17%
2017
34,634
−0.26%
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A view of Auxerre's old town with Saint-Germain Abbey in the backgroundChurch of St. Pierre en Vallée, listed as monument
Cathedral of St. Étienne (11th–16th centuries). In Gothic style, it has three doorways with bas-reliefs. There are stained-glass windows in the choir and the apsidal chapel. The 11th-century crypt houses the remains of the former Romanesque cathedral.
Abbey of Saint-Germain, existing from the 6th century. The crypt has some of the oldest mural paintings in France, and houses the tomb of the bishops of Auxerre. There is a chapter room (12th century), a cellar (14th century) and a cloister (17th century).
The Clock Tower, in the Old Town
The church of St. Pierre en Vallée (17th–18th centuries), established over a 6th-century abbey. In late Gothic style, it has a tower similar to that of the cathedral. Portions of the decorations and inner chapels were financed by local winegrowers.
Church of St. Eusèbe, founded in the 7th century. The nave was rebuilt in the 13th century, while the tower is in Romanesque style.
Notable people
Germanus of Auxerre (c. 378 – c. 442–448), bishop of Auxerre, missionary to Britain
William of Auxerre (died 1231), early High Scholastic theologian from Auxerre
Théodore Frédéric Gaillardet, (1808–1882), journalist, publisher of French-language newspaper Courrier des États-Unis in New York City and mayor of Plessis-Bouchard, France, born in Auxerre[15]
Eugène Hatin (1809–1893), historian and bibliographer
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