Brancion- a Hidden Gem in the Heart of Southern Burgundy
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Brancion is in the heart of southern Burgundy. In addition, it is an easy drive from Saint- Gengoux , Tournus, Chalon-sur-Saône, Mâcon, Taizé or Cluny . The idea of visiting an authentic medieval village filled us with anticipation as we drove up to Brancion. For the most part, we cycled to villages in this area but I recommend going by car unless you are adept at cycling up hill for long periods.
Medieval village of Brancion
Above we made very brief stop at the side of a narrow road to capture this image. Fortunately the road was not well-traveled!
Brancion château viewed from the car-park
Park and Walk
Arriving, you must leave you car in the car-park outside the village gate and walk up a short incline to the village. Only residents are allowed to drive inside the village gates.
Gate to the village
You enter the village via the castle gate. Once inside the walls we discovered a small café (auberge) in a former house.
We carried our glasses of Orangina to the table area near the outlook and enjoyed the view while we relaxed. The shade was heavenly as the heat rose through the afternoon.
Auberge
The 14th century market hall, still in use, dominates the center of the this little village.
Finding the Romanesque Chapel
From there, we proceeded to walk through the village until we reach the top-most point where the Romanesque chapel of St. Peter is located.
My unspoken thought as we wandered up the streets was that I was glad we had decided not to ride the bikes here . The climb to the village would have been stressful and once inside the village we continued to climb as we made our way to the top. Spectacular views presented themselves from every angle we looked. What a reward for the climb!
Quiet village street sans autos with a view of the feudal château
The peacefulness found here was amazing and on this July day the air was perfumed with the scent of lavender.
14th century Romanesque church of Saint-Pierre
All too quickly we arrived at the church where we discovered these beautiful frescoes.
The 12 apostles framed the narrow window (only 5 are visible)
Six praying pilgrims are approaching a church (possibly Le St Sépulcre)
The upper right image is “Heaven, where Abraham is holding a cloth from which escapes a group of souls.” according to the brancion.fr site. Unfortunately, they did not have a description of the fresco to its lower left.
Some of the severely deteriorating frescoes have been reproduced on canvas.
La résurrection des morts – The resurrection of the dead
Views from the Top
At the very top of the village, we met spectacular views from every direction. How could we choose? We thought the views on the drive up to the village were amazing but this view of the Grosne valley has merits all its own!
Brancion is truly a hidden gem in my opinion!
Views of the Grosne valley from atop Brancion
Mon histoire en français…
Brancion, dans le cœur de Bourgogne du sud ,est un village médiéval authentique. Il est proche de la ville de Saint-Gengoux, où nous avons loué une gite, ainsi que les villes de Tournous, Taizé et Cluny. Même-si nous avons voyagé à plusieurs de ces villes par vélo, la montée vers Brancion m’aurait dépassée.
Nous avons dû laisser notre voiture dans le parking juste devant la porte de la ville. Seuls les habitants du village peuvent entrer par la porte avec leur voiture.
Nous sommes entrées dans le village par la porte du château. Dans une ancienne maison nous avons trouvé un petit café. C’était avec plaisir que nous avons emmené nos bouteilles d’Orangina à notre table. Les boissons étaient bien froides, l’ombre était accueillant et la vue était magnifique.
Les rues ont un charme chaleureux et l’air était parfumé de la lavande. Le centre de la ville est dominé par la halle du marché du XIVe siècle. Elle est notée pour ses murs bas.
Nous nous sommes promenées sur les petites rues de la ville jusqu’à le pointe le plus haut de la ville. Plus nous grimpions les rues, plus j’étais heureuse que nous n’avons pas fait du vélo ici ! Nos récompenses ont été les vues spectaculaires et la chapelle romane de Saint-Pierre. Dans cette chapelle du XIIe siècle sont de belles fresques du XIVe siècle. Sur le site web de la ville, ils expliquent les choses qui ont éte fait pour restaurer et protéger les fresques. À mon avis, la ville de Brancion est un petit bijou caché.
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