Saint-Émilion (; Gascon: ''Sent Milion'') is a commune in the

Gironde Gironde ( , US usually , ; , ) is the largest department in the southwestern French region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Named after the Gironde estuary, a major waterway, its prefecture is Bordeaux. In 2019, it had a population of 1,623,749.

department in

Nouvelle-Aquitaine Nouvelle-Aquitaine () is the largest Regions of France, administrative region in France by area, spanning the west and southwest of Metropolitan France. The region was created in 2014 by the merging of Aquitaine, Limousin, and Poitou-Charentes ...

in Southwestern

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

. In the heart of the country of Libournais (the area around

Libourne Libourne (; ) is a commune in the Gironde department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine in southwestern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. It is the wine-making capital of northern Gironde and lies near Saint-Émilion and Pomerol. Geog ...

), in a region of wine hills, Saint-Émilion is a medieval city located at the crossroads of

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( ; ; Gascon language, Gascon ; ) is a city on the river Garonne in the Gironde Departments of France, department, southwestern France. A port city, it is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the Prefectures in F ...

Saintonge Saintonge may refer to: *County of Saintonge, a historical province of France on the Atlantic coast * Saintonge (region), a region of France corresponding to the historical province * Saintonge ware, a medieval pottery type produced in Saintes reg ...

and

Périgord Périgord ( , ; ; or ) is a natural region and former province of France, which corresponds roughly to the current Dordogne department, now forming the northern part of the administrative region of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. It is divided into f ...

. The town and surrounding vineyards was made a

UNESCO World Heritage Site World Heritage Sites are landmarks and areas with legal protection under an treaty, international treaty administered by UNESCO for having cultural, historical, or scientific significance. The sites are judged to contain "cultural and natural ...

in 1999, owing to its long, living history of wine-making, Romanesque churches and

ruins Ruins () are the remains of a civilization's architecture. The term refers to formerly intact structures that have fallen into a state of partial or total disrepair over time due to a variety of factors, such as lack of maintenance, deliberate ...

stretching all along steep and narrow streets.

History

Saint-Émilion's history goes back at least 35,000 years, to the Upper

Paleolithic The Paleolithic or Palaeolithic ( years ago) ( ), also called the Old Stone Age (), is a period in human prehistory that is distinguished by the original development of stone tools, and which represents almost the entire period of human prehist ...

. An ''

oppidum An ''oppidum'' (: ''oppida'') is a large fortified Iron Age Europe, Iron Age settlement or town. ''Oppida'' are primarily associated with the Celts, Celtic late La Tène culture, emerging during the 2nd and 1st centuries BC, spread acros ...

'' was built on the hill overlooking the present-day city in

Gaulish Gaulish is an extinct Celtic languages, Celtic language spoken in parts of Continental Europe before and during the period of the Roman Empire. In the narrow sense, Gaulish was the language of the Celts of Gaul (now France, Luxembourg, Belgium, ...

times, before the region was annexed by

Augustus Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus (born Gaius Octavius; 23 September 63 BC – 19 August AD 14), also known as Octavian (), was the founder of the Roman Empire, who reigned as the first Roman emperor from 27 BC until his death in A ...

in 27 BC. The Romans planted

vineyards A vineyard ( , ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines. Many vineyards exist for winemaking; others for the production of raisins, table grapes, and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is kno ...

in what was to become Saint-Émilion as early as the 2nd century AD. In the 4th century, the

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

poet

Ausonius Decimius Magnus Ausonius (; ) was a Latin literature, Roman poet and Education in ancient Rome, teacher of classical rhetoric, rhetoric from Burdigala, Gallia Aquitania, Aquitaine (now Bordeaux, France). For a time, he was tutor to the future E ...

lauded the fruit of the bountiful vine. Saint-Émilion, previously called Ascumbas, was renamed after the Breton

monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

Émilion (d. 767). According to tradition, Émilion started as a bread-maker for the Count of Vannes. While bringing bread to the poor, a lord angrily approached Émilion and asked him what he was carrying. “These are pieces of wood intended to warm the poor,” Émilion lied. He opened his coat and miraculously, the loaves of bread had transformed into wood. This wonder gave Émilion a high reputation, though he eventually left the manor to create the Hermitage of Saint-Émilion, carved from a rock shelter in a deserted forest. Émilion lived in the oratory until his death in 767, when

Waiofar Waiofar, also spelled Waifar, Waifer or Waiffre (died 2 June 768), was the last independent Duke of Aquitaine from 745 to 768. He peacefully succeeded his father, Hunald I, after the latter entered a monastery. He also inherited the conflict with ...

was the Duke of Aquitaine. The monks who followed him started up the commercial wine production in the area. Because the region was located on the route of the

Camino de Santiago The Camino de Santiago (, ; ), or the Way of St. James in English, is a network of pilgrims' ways or pilgrimages leading to the shrine of the apostle James in the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in Galicia in northwestern Spain, where tra ...

, many monasteries and churches were built during the Middle Ages, and in 1199, while under

Plantagenet The House of Plantagenet ( /plænˈtædʒənət/ ''plan-TAJ-ə-nət'') was a royal house which originated from the French county of Anjou. The name Plantagenet is used by modern historians to identify four distinct royal houses: the Angev ...

rule, the town was granted full rights. During the 12th and 13th centuries, the wines produced in the area were well-renowned for their quality, although political instability during the

European wars of religion The European wars of religion were a series of wars waged in Europe during the 16th, 17th and early 18th centuries. Fought after the Protestant Reformation began in 1517, the wars disrupted the religious and political order in the Catholic Chu ...

negatively affected the vineyards. The region only began to recover in the late 19th century. Saint-Émilion is known for its

macaroon A macaroon ( ) is a small cake or cookie, originally made from ground almonds, egg whites, and sugar, but now often with coconut or other nuts. They may also include jam, chocolate, or other flavorings. Etymology The name ''macaroon'' is ...

s, which have been made continuously since 1620. The recipe has been passed down through generations by Ursuline nuns. These ''macarons traditionnels'' are made from ground almonds, sugar, and fresh egg whites. The Jurade of Saint-Émilion is a prestigious brotherhood, founded in 1199 by

John, King of England John (24 December 1166 – 19 October 1216) was King of England from 1199 until his death in 1216. He lost the Duchy of Normandy and most of his other French lands to King Philip II of France, resulting in the collapse of the Angevin Empi ...

, the King of England, that preserves the memory of Saint-Émilion wines and promotes them worldwide. The authority of the Jurade lasted until the French Revolution in 1789, but was revived again in 1948. Today, the 140 ''jurats'', who wear red robes, organize wine receptions and induction ceremonies.

Geography and description

Saint-Émilion is located east of

, between

and Castillon-la-Bataille. Saint-Émilion station has rail connections to Bordeaux, Bergerac and

Sarlat-la-Canéda Sarlat-la-Canéda (; ), commonly known as Sarlat, is a commune in the southwestern French department of Dordogne, a part of Nouvelle-Aquitaine. Sarlat and La Canéda were distinct towns until merged into one commune in March 1965. Geography Th ...

. Vineyards make up more than 67% of the land area of the commune. Within the region there is a mix of medieval Romanesque religious architecture and vineyard "chateaux", built in 18th and 19th centuries. In the villages, however, most of the buildings are modest, one-story stone houses dating from the 19th century.

Sights

''The Monolithic Church of Saint-Émilion'' The monolithic church of Saint-Émilion is an 11th century church carved entirely out of a limestone cliff. It is one of the largest underground churches in Europe, with an estimated of rock extracted. The great hall measures long and wide, divided into three naves of six bays.Michelle Gaborit, “L’église souterraine de Saint-Émilion” (Congrès archéologique de France, 145e session, Bordelais et Bazadais, 1987, Paris: Société française d’archéologie, 1987), p. 198, https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k3209922j. Like many medieval structures, the church probably had a rich décor of painted

murals A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...

; however, only a few bits of

frescoes Fresco ( or frescoes) is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaster, the painting become ...

remain. Iconographic works, such as depictions of lions, serpents,

centaurs A centaur ( ; ; ), occasionally hippocentaur, also called Ixionidae (), is a creature from Greek mythology with the upper body of a human and the lower body and legs of a horse that was said to live in the mountains of Thessaly. In one version o ...

, and

cherubim A cherub (; : cherubim; ''kərūḇ'', pl. ''kərūḇīm'') is one type of supernatural being in the Abrahamic religions. The numerous depictions of cherubim assign to them many different roles, such as protecting the entrance of the Garden o ...

, can be seen on the walls and ceilings, possibly in reference to Psalms. Today, visitors can enter the church and view its

catacombs Catacombs are man-made underground passages primarily used for religious purposes, particularly for burial. Any chamber used as a burial place is considered a catacomb, although the word is most commonly associated with the Roman Empire. Etym ...

. No documents exist that discuss the building of the monolithic church, but it is hypothesized that construction took place from the late 11th century to the early 12th century. Its purpose was probably to venerate and conserve the body of the 8th century Breton monk Saint Émilion. A small monastic community that gathered near his tomb appears in late 11th century texts, and Bordeaux archbishop Arnaud Guiraud reformed the community in 1110. An inscription on one of the monolithic church pillars mentions only the day of the dedication to Saint Émilion, September 7, and regretfully not the year. ''The Tour du Roy'' The Tour du Roy is a limestone

donjon A keep is a type of fortified tower built within castles during the Middle Ages by European nobility. Scholars have debated the scope of the word ''keep'', but usually consider it to refer to large towers in castles that were fortified residenc ...

built in 1237. From its name (meaning ‘the King's tower’), some hypothesize it was constructed by order of Henry III, King of England and Duke of Aquitaine. Other sources say the Tour du Roy isn’t royal, and was merely the municipal bell tower for the town hall until its 1720 razing by the Jurade to enlarge the other town hall in Market Square. The Tour du Roy has a height of almost and a width of more than . Visitors can climb inside the square tower for a panoramic view of the town. The tower is used by the Jurade to proclaim the judgment of new wine on the third Sunday of June, and the harvest ban on the third Sunday of September.

Wine

Saint-Émilion is one of the principal red wine areas of Bordeaux along with the Médoc, Graves and Pomerol. The region is much smaller than the Médoc and adjoins Pomerol. As in Pomerol and the other

appellations An appellation is a legally defined and protected geographical indication used to identify where the ingredients of a food or beverage originated, most often used for the origin of wine grapes. Restrictions other than geographical boundaries, ...

on the right bank of the

, the primary grape varieties used are the

Merlot Merlot ( ) is a dark-blue-colored wine grape variety that is used as both a blending grape and for varietal wines. The name ''Merlot'' is thought to be a diminutive of , the French name for the blackbird, probably a reference to the color ...

and

Cabernet Franc Cabernet Franc is one of the major black grape varieties worldwide. It is principally grown for blending with Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot in the Bordeaux (wine), Bordeaux style, but can also be vinified alone, as in the Loire (wine), Loire's C ...

, with relatively small amounts of

Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Sauvignon () is one of the world's most widely recognized red wine grape varieties. It is grown in nearly every major wine producing country among a diverse spectrum of climates from Australia and British Columbia, Canada to Lebano ...

also being used by some châteaux. Saint Émilion wines were not included in the 1855 Bordeaux classification. The first formal classification in Saint-Émilion was made in 1955. Unlike the 1855 classification, it is regularly revised.

Population

Saint-Émilion Jazz Festival

Since 2012, Saint-Émilion hosts a jazz festival at the end of July.

Personalities

Marguerite-Élie Guadet Marguerite-Élie Guadet (, 20 July 1758 – 19 June 1794) was a French political figure of the Revolutionary period. Rise to prominence Born in Saint-Émilion, Gironde, Aquitaine, he had already gained a reputation as a lawyer in Bordeaux by t ...

* Clément Fayat

References

External links

*
Saint-Émilion tourist office website

aerial photography of the Saint-Émilion and Aquitaine area

Cash-strapped French wine town Saint Emilion sells off historical monument
RFI English {{DEFAULTSORT:Saintemilion World Heritage Sites in France Saint-Émilion