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Tournus |
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Tournus
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Location within Burgundy region
Tournus
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| Administration | |
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| Country | France |
| Region | Burgundy |
| Department | Saône-et-Loire |
| Arrondissement | Mâcon |
| Canton | Tournus |
| Intercommunality | Tournugeois |
| Mayor | Jean Legros (2008–) |
| Statistics | |
| Elevation | 168–353 m (551–1,158 ft) (avg. 193 m/633 ft) |
| Land area1 | 25 km2 (9.7 sq mi) |
| Population2 | 6,247 (2006) |
| - Density | 250 /km2 (650 /sq mi) |
| INSEE/Postal code | 71543/ 71700 |
| 1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. | |
| 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once. | |
Tournus is a commune in the Saône-et-Loire department in the region of Bourgogne in eastern France.
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Tournus is located on the right bank of the Saône, 20 km. northeast of Mâcon on the Paris-Lyon railway.
The church of St Philibert (early 11th century), once belonging to the Benedictine abbey of Tournus, suppressed in 1785, 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. The choir beneath which is a crypt of the 11th century has a deambulatory and square chapels.
In the Place de l'Hôtel de Ville stands a statue of J. B. Greuze, born in the town in 1725.
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 is an important industry.
Tournus was the birthplace of Jean-Baptiste Greuze (1725–1805), French painter.
Also home to Gabriel Voisin (February 5, 1880 – December 25, 1973)he was among French aviation's earliest pioneers (1903) and the creator of Europe's first engine powered, heavier-than-air flying machine capable of a sustained circular ( 1 km) controlled flight, including take-off and landing ( flown by Henry Farman on January 13, 1908 ). Later on, Gabriel Voisin became a major producer of military aircraft, notably the Voisin III , during World War I. Finally, he designed and built exceptional cars bearing the name " Avions Voisin " , during the 1920s and 1930s. His house is situated by the river, sadly with no public recognition of it.