Autun

<p>Autun (French: [otœ̃] ⓘ) is a <a href="/facts/Subprefectures_in_France/tgseLpWX">subprefecture</a> of the <a href="/facts/Sa%25C3%25B4ne-et-Loire/oBt1P7Xs">Saône-et-Loire</a> <a href="/facts/Departments_of_France/KVnaWaqQ">department</a> in the <a href="/facts/Bourgogne-Franche-Comt%25C3%25A9/HJLm0jIA">Bourgogne-Franche-Comté</a> <a href="/facts/Regions_of_France/ovVDJLnK">region</a> of central-eastern <a href="/facts/France/CxIeIKM3">France</a>. It was founded during the <a href="/facts/Principate/v3Vh1aop">Principate</a> era of the early <a href="/facts/Roman_Empire/l4E1aUuV">Roman Empire</a> by Emperor <a href="/facts/Augustus/RGfMCR2V">Augustus</a> as Augustodunum to give a Roman capital to the <a href="/facts/Gauls/r8nFrHmV">Gallic</a> people <a href="/facts/Aedui/jg3jbt95">Aedui</a>, who had <a href="/facts/Bibracte/qPAWeaRp">Bibracte</a> as their political centre. In Roman times the city may have been home to 30,000 to 100,000 people, according to different estimates. Nowadays, the <a href="/facts/Communes_of_France/76pNg6kk">commune</a> has a population of about 15,000.
</p><p>Pioneer of the Industrial Revolution in the nineteenth Century with the early exploitation of oil shale and fluorine, since the twentieth century, Autun has experienced a renewed dynamism that has made it the headquarters of several international companies (Dim, Nexans). It contains one of the six French military high schools (Lycée militaire d'Autun). The city, due to its ancient and medieval past, possesses a rich heritage that makes it one of the most important tourist sites in the heart of Burgundy.
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Autun open-in-new

Autun