Of Bourgogne, Beaune, And A Hospital Dating From The Middle Ages

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Sculpture by Bruno Catalano

The courtyard of the Hospices De Beaune, founded in 1443

One of the highlights of our trip to France this summer was a trip to the Burgundy region, to Beaune, its wine capital, and to some of the famous wine producing villages right outside of town.

Beaune is a charming historical city with beautifully preserved architecture. Its most splendid building is the Hôtel-Dieu or  'Hospices de Beaune', founded in 1443 as a hospital for the poor by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, and his wife Guigone de Salins.  Here, the Sisters of the Hospices de Beaune took care of patients and orphaned children until 1971, when patients were transferred to a newer facility.

The Hospices' spectacular 160 feet long grand hall still features some of the original sick beds, each with its own table and chair and a shelf for the patient's personal belongings.
A visit to the Hospices also includes the huge kitchen where the sisters prepared food for the sick, and a wonderful pharmacy, filled with herbs and potions in ornate jars.

The Hospices de Beaune charity owns 60 hectares (150 acres) of the region's finest vineyards in Côte de Beaune, Côtes de Nuits and Pouilly-Fuissé. The cru and grand cru wines produced on those vines is auctioned off in early November each year.

Beaune is surrounded by charming villages and vineyards, lots and lots of vineyards.  One can stop to sample wines almost everywhere,  which we did.  2015 was a particularly hot summer in France.  It will be interesting to taste the vintage once it is put in bottles.