Villeneuve-sur-Yonne

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Coordinates: 48°04′56″N, 3°17′51″E

Commune of Villeneuve-sur-Yonne

Sketch of the gate to the city by Eugène Viollet-le-Duc

Location

Coordinates

48°04′56″N, 3°17′51″E

Administration

Yonne
(Prefecture)

Cyril Boulleaux
(2001-2008)

Statistics

Elevation

68 m–206 m
(avg. ??? m)

Land area^¹

4 000 km²

Population^²
(1999)

5 404

- Density

135/km² (1999)

Miscellaneous

INSEE/Postal code

89464/ 89500

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

² Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g. students and military personnel) only counted once.

Villeneuve-sur-Yonne is a French commune, situated in the département of Yonne and région Bourgogne. It is surrounded by a partly intact wall, built during the 12th century, which was one of the 8 residences of the French kings.

The inhabitants are called Villeneuviennes/Villeneuviens.^[1]

1 Geography
2 History
3 Demography
4 Attractions
5 Sister cities and twin cities
6 See also
7 External links
8 References

[edit] Geography

The city lies on the bank of the River Yonne, between the cities of Sens and Joigny.

Month	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Avg high °C	6	8	12	15	20	23	26	26	22	16	10	7
Avg low °C	1	1	4	5	9	12	14	14	11	8	4	2
Avg rain cm	3.78	3.71	2.96	4.12	4.32	4.14	4.12	3.54	4.1	5.07	4.81	4.21
Source: ^[2]

[edit] History

The city was founded in 1163 by Louis VII of France to protect the kingdom of France at the boundary of the Champagne. In 1204 Philippe Auguste held parliament in the city, and Saint Louis resided in the city before departing for the Eighth Crusade. In 1594 the city was burnt down. During the French Revolution the name was changed from le-Roi (the king) to sur-Yonne (on the Yonne). In 1870 a memorial for the dead was designed by the sculptor Émile Peynot. The city was governed from 1927 till 1935 by the infamous mayor Marcel Pétiot, who was guillotined in 1946, convicted of 27 killings.

[edit] Demography

Year	1936	1954	1962	1968	1975	1982	1990	1999
Population	4077	4372	4333	4452	4764	4980	5054	5404
Source: ^[3]

[edit] Attractions

Two main entrance gates to the city, Gate of Sens and Gate of Joigny. The Gate of Joigny or Porte de Joigny was rebuilt in the 16th century; the Gate of Sens, or Porte de Sens, predates it by three hundred years and is similar in appearance.^[4]
City market built during the 19th century by Paul Sédille.
La Lucarne aux Chouettes or The Owls' Nest restaurant run by Leslie Caron, serving Burgundy specialities. The old dilapidated boathouse was bought by her in 1990 on the suggestion of Jean Renoir. ^[5]
A Neolithic menhir situated on the bank of the river, called Pierre-Fritte or Plaine-des-Egriselles.^[6]