Morvan

The Morvan is a granite massif in the region of Burgundy ( Bourgogne ) in eastern France. It extends across the departments of Yonne, Saône -et -Loire, Côte-d'Or Nièvre and.

Natural space

The Morvan region is geologically the Massif Central and is also known as La montagne noire ( "Black Mountain " ) (not to be confused with the Montagne Noire in southern France ). This name comes from the dense mixed forests and the great heaths, which are characterized mainly by ferns and gorse.

Since 1970, the Regional Natural Park of Morvan protects the sparsely populated, rich in rare flora and fauna region. Deer, European mouflon, pheasant, partridge, grouse, badger, fox, wild cat, hawk and buzzard inhabit the forests and heathland of the Central Mountains.

The highest elevation of the Morvan and thus also of Burgundy is the 901 m high Mont Haut- Folin.

Many rivers in the region originate in the Morvan, so Yonne, Arroux and cousin. Therefore, the Morvan is also an important drinking water reservoir. Several mineral springs, as in Saint -Honoré- les- Bains, and some reservoirs, such as the Lac de Saint- Agnan, the Lac des settons and the dam Barrage de Pannesière - Chaumard indicate. Both reservoirs were originally created for the water regulation of the Burgundian shipping channels. The two most important channels in the area of the Morvan are the Burgundy Canal and the Canal du Nivernais.

History and colonization

The Morvan has always been a sparsely populated region, marked by poverty. The population lived on meager agriculture and the men worked as a lumberjack and rafters on the many rivers in the region. The women earned their living as amines, where the public welfare Les petits Paris, orphans from Paris confided. In the Middle Ages it was the Cistercians, the numerous hermitages and chapels built in the region, the barren soil under cultivation and made ​​much contributed to the development of the region. Even later, monks settled in the Morvan: as 1850, the Abbaye de la Pierre- Qui- Vire was founded, which is still farmed.

During the German occupation of the country in the second world war, the region was a focal point of the Resistance, with up to 10,000 fighters at its peak in the summer of 1944, shortly before the liberation. This honors the present government by taking Morvans in the register of the Chemins de mémoires, the "Street of the places of memory ".

Cultural monuments

Important for the development of Celtic history are the international excavation of oppidum Bibracte on Mont Beuvray ( 800 m) in Saint- Léger- sous- Beuvray. In the late 90s created, structurally and educationally appealing, museum exhibits and Celtic are presented the latest results of the excavation history. The archaeological excavations and the development of oppidum Bibracte, which ( was the Mayor of Château- Chinon ) without the support of Mitterrand, would have been extremely difficult, can be actively tracked at Mont Beuvray. Center of the archaeologists is the village Glux -en- Glenne. For archeology students and youth groups Internships are possible. The town of Autun ( the former Augustodunum ) as Roman counterpart to Bibracte, sister city of Ingelheim in Rheinhessen, is a regional center with appropriate infrastructure.

Places in and around the Morvan

  • Autun
  • Avallon
  • Château- Chinon
  • Corbigny
  • Dun -les -Places
  • Quarré -les- Tombes
  • Saint- Brisson
  • Saint -Léger -Vauban
  • Saulieu
  • Vézelay
Genista Common Pheasant Western Capercaillie Buteo Wet nurse
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