Auxey-Duresses


Auxey-Duresses is a commune in the Côte-d'Or department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
The inhabitants of the commune are known as Alcéens or Alcéennes.

Geography

Auxey-Duresses is a wine-growing commune some 10 km south-west of Beaune and 11 km north of Chagny. Access to the commune is by the D973 road from Pommard in the north-east which passes through the length of the commune and the village and continues south-west to La Rochepot. The D17E comes from Saint-Romain in the west and passes through the village continuing east to Meursault. Apart from the village there are the hamlets of Melin in the south-west and Petit-Auxey west of the village. The north and south of the commune are rugged and heavily forested with the valley in the centre and west farmland.
The Ruisseau des Cloux flows from the south-west through the centre of the commune from west to east where it continues to join the River Dheune near Merceuil.

History

The Auxey valley was one of the first places where grapevines were planted in Burgundy during the 2nd century BC. when Auxey-le-Petit, which was dependent on Auxey-Duresses, was a high place of Druid worship. On Mount Mélian the remains of a large prehistoric enclosure can be found which was at that time occupied by the Gauls and the Romans. During the Gallo-Roman period the town grew and became known by the Latin name Alcius.
After the barbarian invasions of the 5th century AD the commune reached new heights thanks to the monks of the Abbey of Saint-Symphorien at Autun who built a church at Auxey-le-Petit in 696. It was rebuilt in the 10th century by monks from the Cluny Abbey and it had a large vineyard in the village. The bell tower and the gate are Romanesque and date from the 12th century. These monks also left the "Moines Mill". At that time there were many mills in the valley and the hamlet of Melin, another dependency of the commune, inherited the name.
At the site of the medieval castle there is now the Church of Saint-Martin-Duresses Auxey whose steeple is made from Tuff. Inside there are some paintings, including a triptych relating the life of Mary. The present chateau belonged to the Marquis de MacMahon, one of whose descendants became Marshal of France and Duke of Magenta.

Heraldry

Administration

List of Successive Mayors
FromToName
17901791René Latour-
17911811Claude Delaplanche-
18001802Pierre Rouiller-
18111816Claude Fleurot-
18161818Brunet de la Serve-
18191821Flis Humbert-
18211830Brunet de la Serve-
18311832Mercier-
18321834Pierre Fleurot Marot-
18341837Louis Garnier-
18371840Pierre Roullier-
18401844Philbert Garnier Boillot-
18441847Claude Fleurot Battault-
18471852Claude Delaplanche Titard-
18521854Claude Fleurot Battault-
18541865Claude Delaplanche Titard-
18651870Rolland Meuriot-
18701871Hippolyte Veau-
18711892Claude Fleuront Malaquin-
18921903Jean-Baptiste Garnier Veau-
19031919Claude Matin Battault-
19191934Armand Veau-

;Mayors from 1934
FromToNamePartyPosition
19341945François Lafouge
19451977Robert Creusefond
19771995Jean Lafouge
19952008Dominique Boire
20082014Agnès Diconne
20142020Bernard Battault

Demography

In 2010 the commune had 333 inhabitants. The evolution of the number of inhabitants is known from the population censuses conducted in the commune since 1793. From the 21st century, a census of communes with fewer than 10,000 inhabitants is held every five years, unlike larger communes that have a sample survey every year.

Wine

Auxey-Duresses is one of the wine communes of the Côte de Beaune with 80 hectares of red wines and 35.60 hectares of white wines.

Culture and heritage

Civil heritage

The commune has a number of buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments:
The commune has several religious buildings and structures that are registered as historical monuments: