More about this marvellous little town

Quiet, picturesque Noyers, a perfectly preserved medieval town near Tonnerre in northern Burgundy, was an important stronghold in the Middle Ages.


Somehow, it has managed to survive intact through the centruries untouched by the widespread destruction of the Wars of Religion, the French Revolution and 20th century development.

In The Shadow of Ruins

Noyers itself has survived, but the original castle that once loomed over the town lies in ruins.  It was begun in the 11th century by the powerful family of Miles de Noyers, which ruled here for ten generations. Although the castle was once considered one the finest in Burgundy, Henry IV ordered it to be dismantled in 1599 to punish the fearsome Baron of Vitteaux.  More pirate than nobleman, he was greatly feared in the region - and with reason; when angered, he regularly tossed his enemies from the top of the parade ground.  Called the Saut Parabin (Parabin’s Leap), to the riverbank below.  During the Wars of Religion enemy prisoners were thrown over these same walls.
Although Noyers was a small town, distinct neighbourhoods divided it into even smaller villages.  The wealthy bourgeois lived in the half-timbered homes around the Place du Marché au Blé and the elegant 18th century houses in the Place du Grenier à Sel.

Grape-growers and farmers lived in the more modest homes along the Rue Paul Bonnetat, and several of these houses still exist.
  The cellar doors on the street were wide enough to accommodate large casks of wine, while the families lived on the floor above.  For centuries, local wine producers, hung green, unripe grapes round the stone sculpture of the Blessed virgin in the Porte de Tonnerre to protect the coming harvest.  The virgin also received frequent offerings from young girls seeking husbands.

Cellar houses along the Rue Paul Bonnetat

Mediaeval Meets Modern

Past and present have reached a happy compromise in Noyers.  It is such an authentic picture of a medieval village that many French film-makers have used Noyers as a ready made film set (Moliere, La Grande Vadrouille, Chevalier de Pardaillon, Mon Oncle Benjamin and L’Enfant des Loups were filmed here).

Every year on Bastille Day (14th July) Noyers celebrates a municipal decree dating back to 1231, when a generous 13th century lord decided to offer some of the residents a tax exemption.  An arbitrary dividing line along the street was determined by the lady of the castle, who rolled an iron ball from the parade grounds; the spot where it stopped marked the boundary between the non-taxpayers and the others.  The street still bears the name Ruelle Franche (Free Street).

Noyers was once the chief administrative centre of the region.  As such, it held control of the salt supplies.  At one time, the salt warehouse in Noyers (in the Place du Grenier à Sel) stocked enough salt for 33 parishes.  Efforts to evade the hated salt tax (gabelle) were common, but the tax was an important source of royal income, as demonstrated by the sumptuous residence belonging to the tax collector, but pointedly next to the warehouse.


Designated les plus beaux villages de France, the town hosts various summer music events in conjunction with the Burgundy Wine Festival.  Just past the 15th century late Gothic church is a museum that contains a permanent collection of nave paintings donated to the town in 1990.  The museum also organises temporary exhibits throughout the summer.



Evening concert venue by the ramparts