Autun Travel Guide

  From the cathedral to the town
by Beausoleil
 
  • From the cathedral to the town
      From the cathedral to the town
    by Beausoleil
  • Cathedral St. Lazare
      Cathedral St. Lazare
    by Beausoleil
  • Cathedral St. Lazare
      Cathedral St. Lazare
    by Beausoleil
  • Cathedral St. Lazare, stained glass
      Cathedral St. Lazare, stained glass
    by Beausoleil
  • Cathedral in Autun, Burgundy
      Cathedral in Autun, Burgundy
    by Beausoleil
 

Explore Autun

Things to Do  

Visit the cathedral St. Lazare

Visit the cathedral St. Lazare, Autun

 Beausoleil Says:  We've visited the cathedral in sun and rain and believe me, sun is preferable. The stained glass windows are wonderful on a sunny day. They impress on a dark day, but you really don't get the full effect.Click on the photo to get more pictures. There is stained glass and the... 

Cathedral St.-Lazare: The West Front Capitals

Cathedral St.-Lazare: The West Front Capitals, Autun

 hquittner Says:  It requires a detailed guide to find all of the original capitals still on the cathedral or to recognize any additions or copies, let alone hw to interpret them.Such a document is for sale. There are 6 capitals supporting the great tympanum of the West Facade that are from... 

Cathedral St.-Lazare: A Jesse Window & A Virgin

Cathedral St.-Lazare: A Jesse Window & A Virgin, Autun

 hquittner Says:  There are other items of interest in the church besides the marvellous capitals. A Chapel half-way down the North side contains a 16C stained glass window of the Tree of Jesse. Almost all of the glass in the cathedral is relatively new but this window is said to be 16C and... 

Look At the St. Lazarus' Fountain

Look At the St. Lazarus' Fountain, Autun

 hquittner Says:  This large structure is located just to the North of the Cathedral in a square. It is quite tall (and we did not have a wide angle lens). There is a complete picture of it in a Things Tip by Pieter11 (#2 of his set) entitled "The Old Center". The fountain was built in 1543.... 

Musee Rolin: The 15C Sculpture

Musee Rolin: The 15C Sculpture, Autun

 hquittner Says:  The old mansion is approached through an interior courtyard and besides the exhibits, the rooms maintain many of their period appointments: doorways and mantels. They have collected several fine 15C sculptures and paintings and modern works too to supplement the Gislebertus... 

Musee Rolin: The 15C Sculpture

Musee Rolin: The 15C Sculpture, Autun

 hquittner Says:  The old mansion is approached through an interior courtyard and besides the exhibits, the rooms maintain many of their period appointments: doorways and mantels. They have collected several fine 15C sculptures and paintings and modern works too to supplement the Gislebertus... 

See St. Andrew's Gate

See St. Andrew's Gate, Autun

 hquittner Says:  This gate is one of two that still remain as part of the Gallo-Roman walls of ancient Augustodunum. Fragments of the walls alsosurvive. It has two large arches for vehicles and two smaller ones for pedestrians. The top level is an arcaded gallery with 10 arches bearing Ionic... 

Study the Capitals Inside the Cathedral

Study the Capitals Inside the Cathedral, Autun

 hquittner Says:  The Cathedral of Autun houses more than 65 figurated capitals created by Gislebertus and his assistants from about 1125-45 (50 years after they first began to be made at Moissac and Toulouse). There are a few others on the outside doors. In the Chapter House, reached from... 

Musee Rolin: More Gislebertus (& Associates?)

Musee  Rolin: More Gislebertus (& Associates?), Autun

 hquittner Says:  A number of works from the talented Gislebertus have been destroyed by the prelates of Autun who found them immoral or not to their tastes. In 1766 a contractor was hired to demolish the North Portal which had a tympanum and associated figures on the Resurrection of Lazarus.... 

Spend Time in the Musee Rolin

Spend Time in the Musee Rolin, Autun

 hquittner Says:  The city of Autun was lucky to have the Rolin mansion in which to house its artistic treasures. They range from pieces found in the excavations of its Roman antiquities to the works by Gislebertus and others recovered from the depredations of the prudish churchmen of yore.... 

Musee Rolin: The Gallo-Roman Finds

Musee Rolin: The Gallo-Roman Finds, Autun

 hquittner Says:  In the annex building on the ground floor are a number of interesting and attractive Gallo-Roman finds unearthed in the locality. These range from the fine Chieftan's ceremonial helmet with foliated ear guards, to rough bas-reliefs like the Boatman's pillar at the Cluny;... 

Find the Relics of St. Lazarus & The Tomb Remnants

Find the Relics of St. Lazarus & The Tomb Remnants, Autun

 hquittner Says:  There once was an elaborated tomb to St. Lazarus and a place to demonstrate his Relics behind the altar.In a remodeling the chancel in 1766, it was decided to destroy the tomb because the Pilgrimage years were long over. The tomb was the work of Brother Martin, a monk who... 

Examine Gislebertus' Great Cathedral Tympanum

Examine Gislebertus' Great Cathedral Tympanum, Autun

 hquittner Says:  This tympanum is one of the Last Judgment. It is unlike others of the century in the limberness of the figures and the overlap of the figures between panels suggesting that it was carved in situ and not of preworked blocks that are assembled. There were originally three... 

Enter the Cathedral

Enter the Cathedral, Autun

 hquittner Says:  The church is very tall and narrow but has wide and tall aisles. This is similar to what will be perfected at Cluny itself. The triforium is blind but has an interesting arcade pattern. The clerestory windows are small and the church is dark. The height is achieved by... 

Hotels  

Restaurants  

Hôtel les Ursulines Restaurant Gastronomique: Not much inspiration

Hôtel les Ursulines Restaurant Gastronomique: Not much inspiration, Autun

 Bewohner Says:  Walking in on a Saturday night, we immediately wondered whether we had chosen the right place, as the dining room was only about one-third full (and so it would remain throughout the evening). The décor was amusing to me—very hospitality-industrial: soft colors, a kind of... 

LE PETIT BANC

LE PETIT BANC, Autun

 Helga67 Says:  It's a cosy little restaurant, situated in the old remains of the wall around the city. It's an excellent place for a quick lunch. They serve pizza, big salades, meal pancakes and sweet pancakes. See photo:Pizza Capriciosa (cheese, goat cheese and basil) €... 

Local Customs  

Heroic Saviours
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The Jeannins

The St. Bartholomew Day Massacres went on all over France and over 3,000 persons were killed. The riots occurred in Autun as elsewhere. Pierre Jeannin and his wife helped save a great many of them. Later he became a revered statesman for his community. This is why their tombs and statues appear in the Cathedral near the entrance to the Chapter House.

Updated Nov 1, 2008

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Warnings and Dangers  

How to Pollute: A Cautionary Tale
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Slag-heaps at the edge of town

While visiting the Porte St.-Andre there was a belvedere with a view to the North with the Morvan in the distance. Rearing up just beyond town were two dark hillocks that were puzzling, until we found out what they were. They are two immense slag-heaps that result from the "mining" of the tar sands in that locality before the 20C. With the technology of oil well drilling in its infancy, oil shale and other bituminous materials were harvested for petroleum associated materials and these are the residues, over a century old. The mines closed when petroleum became plentiful. Immense mineral deposits of this type are present in both the US and Canada (Athabaska) and vast sums are being spent trying to make it profitable, but the slag will always remain as a by-product. This is a monument to man's ignorance and greed.

Written Nov 6, 2008

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Favorites  

#1 Most Impressive Woman in Art (My Vote)

#1 Most Impressive Woman in Art (My Vote), Autun

 hquittner Says:  The Rolin Museum contains much of interest. Among the items is a deeply cut bas-relief originally above a doorway in the Cathedral. During my 15+ years of European travel, I began to enjoy the evolution of Western Art. I saw that one of the obsessions oe artists has been the... 

Th wooden doors in this church look fantastic.

Th wooden doors in this church look fantastic., Autun

 Waalewiener Says:  Look at the details of these doors the wood carvings are really something.What a craftmanship. The St Lazare Cathedral in the centre of Autun 

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Map of Autun