Autun

Autun is a town in the Saône-et-Loire département in Burgundy, France, and has a history which dates back to Roman times.

Autun was founded during the reign of the Roman emperor Augustus (Autun derives from its Latin name Augustodunum), and was famous for having schools of rhetoric. Several elements of Roman architecture such as walls, gates, and a Roman theatre are still visible in the town. The area also lies in the area of Burgundy, and in the Middle Ages, it was a Count of Autun who became the first Duke of Burgundy.

Christian teaching reached Autun at a very early period, as we know from the famous funeral inscription, in Greek, of a certain Pectorius frequently known as the Inscription of Autun which dates from the third century. The first bishop known to history is Saint Reticius, an ecclesiastical writer, and contemporary of the Emperor Constantine I (306-337). The Bishop of Autun enjoys the right of wearing the pallium, in virtue of a privilege accorded to the see in 599 by pope St. Gregory the Great (590-604). The diocese comprises the entire Department of Saone et Loire in France.

The city boasts ancient Roman gates and other ruins dating to the time of Augustus (Augustodonum).

Autun has a major Romanesque cathedral dating from the eleventh and twelfth centuries, which was formerly the chapel of the Dukes of Burgundy; their palace was the actual episcopal residence.