- Source: Tournus
Tournus (French pronunciation: [tuʁny]) is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France.
Geography
Tournus is located on the right bank of the Saône, 20 km. northeast of Mâcon on the Paris-Lyon railway. In 1972 Tournus absorbed the former commune Plottes.
Population
Sights
The church of St Philibert (early 11th century), is the main surviving building of the former Benedictine abbey of Tournus, suppressed in 1785. It is in the Burgundian Romanesque style. The façade lacks one of the two flanking towers originally designed for it. The nave is roofed with barrel vaulting, supported on tall cylindrical columns. Both the choir and the 11th century crypt beneath it have an ambulatory and side chapels.
In the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville stands a statue of Jean-Baptiste Greuze, born in the town in 1725.
Economy
Tournus is an important tourist area, with one four-star hotel (the Greuze) and one three-star hotel (the Rempart). In 2013, four restaurants had a Michelin star: the Greuze, Quartier Gourmand, Aux Terasses, and Meulien.
There are vineyards in the surrounding district and the town and its port have considerable commerce in wine and in stone from the neighboring quarries. Chairmaking was an important industry.
There are several industrial areas to the north and south-west. The town manufactures a large quantity of domestic white goods, at the Groupe SEB factory, and cookware at the Tefal factory.
There is a market every Saturday morning.
Sport
On 9 June 2009, the town was the start of the 182 km (113 mi) Stage 3 of the Critérium du Dauphiné Libéré cycle race.
On 10 July 2010, the town was en route of the 165.5 km (102.8 mi) Stage 7 of the Tour de France cycle race.
Notable people
See also: Category:People from Tournus.
Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805), painter.
Albert Thibaudet (1874–1936), a French essayist and literary critic.
Gabriel Voisin (1880–1973), aviation and automobile pioneer.
Marie-Hélène Mathieu, (born 1929), religious worker for the disabled.
Josiane Bost (born 1956), a French former racing cyclist
See also
Communes of the Saône-et-Loire department
Lords of Brancion