Chalon-sur-Saône

Chalon-sur-Saône stands on the Saône, where river traffic and roads made it an important town of Burgundy. Its medieval fairs drew merchants, and toll records reveal the goods passing through the Saône valley, while the bishop's city and its fortifications guarded a valuable river crossing. The counts of Chalon gave way to the dukes of Burgundy in the thirteenth century.

After Charles the Bold died in 1477, Chalon became involved in the struggle between Louis XI and Mary of Burgundy over the ducal inheritance. Its defences were tested in the fighting that followed. Much later, the Canal du Centre waterway, built between 1784 and 1792, strengthened Chalon's commercial connections. In 1814 the inhabitants resisted an Austrian invasion during the final campaigns of Napoleon's empire.