Unity makes strength in the villages: The Towns of Character of Burgundy-Franche-Comté

In Burgundy-Franche-Comté there was an extremely select club formerly known as the Small Comté Towns of Character that, following the merger, has now become Towns of Character of Burgundy-Franche-Comté. It would really be a shame not to watch out for this label because it would mean missing 46 little gems nestling in our beautiful countryside. 46 bell towers and so many stop-offs that you can factor in to your next break in our leafy region. Château-Chalon, Pesmes, Cluny…. Visiting these villages ensures the twin pleasures of geographical and historical wonders. Above all, remember to bring a camera so that you can immortalise these pretty towns!

Unity makes strength in industry: Engrenages

Did you know that our region turns wood in order to create all manner of objects, works painstakingly in the manufacture of clockwork mechanisms, practices the ancestral arts of the distiller to create Kirsch…You didn’t? Then you certainly don’t know about Engrenages! This network brings together 19 sites spread across Franche-Comté (and soon Burgundy-Franche-Comté) that represent the savoir-faire and industries of yesterday and today. It is a network that showcases the work of local people and that, for once, does not set industry and artisan craft at odds with one another. On the contrary, it brings them together to help them develop all the more.

History shows there is strength in unity: the Abolitionist Route

Bravery and revolution form part of the DNA of our territory. For proof of this you need only go to the Château de Joux, where Toussaint Louverture, the black general, Governor of Santo Domingo and pioneer in the fight for the abolition of slavery, was imprisoned in 1802. Then head to Champagney, to the Maison de la Négritude et des Droits de l’Homme. The site tells of how the inhabitants of this small village issued a clear and unwavering condemnation of slavery in 1789. There are also great local personalities like Lamartine or Victor Hugo. A visit to Hugo’s birth house in Besançon or to the Lamartine Museum in Mâcon will teach you about their struggles. If your thirst for freedom and humanity has still not been satisfied, you can explore the 22 hotspots of abolitionist history and remembrance located around the Grand Est area. This network is, more than ever before, united and together in its aim of educating us in the defence of human liberties.

Unity makes strength in culture and education: the Museums of Mâcon

In this case, the museums of the town of Mâcon are no exceptions to the rule as they too have decided to combine their forces to promote the history of their town, from Antiquity to the present day. The Ursulines Museum, with its 30,000 works, covers a number of bases: literary works, sculpture, paintings… And as for « specialist » arts, a variety of other museums share the burden: Vieux Saint-Vincent and its lapidary museum, the Hôtel-Dieu and its apothecary or even the church of Saint-Vincent and its archaeological site! It is inevitable that you will leave Mâcon knowing slightly more than you did when you arrived.