Dijon

Dijon was the capital of the duchy of Burgundy and a seat of the Valois dukes, whose power extended far beyond the duchy's borders. Their palace grew from an older residence beside the Roman walls into a complex of halls, kitchens and towers. The great tower of Philip the Good and the ducal lodgings proclaimed the wealth of their court.

After Charles the Bold died in 1477, Louis XI brought the duchy under the French Crown. A sovereign Parlement was installed at Dijon in 1480, preserving a Burgundian court of appeal within the kingdom. The city remained a frontier fortress: in 1513 Swiss and other forces entered Burgundy and besieged Dijon in an attempt to recover the duchy. The inhabitants and governor negotiated their withdrawal. Under Louis XIV the Estates of Burgundy established themselves in the former ducal palace. A long programme of rebuilding, beginning in the late seventeenth century, gave the palace and its square a monumental classical setting. The building remained a centre of provincial government until the Revolution.