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Bourgogne (Region, France)

by Pierre Gay

The Region uses the banner of arms of the traditional province of Burgundy.

Pascal Vagnat, 2 December 1997

Administrative data
Flag of the Regional Council

See also:

Administrative data

Departments: Côte-d'Or, Nièvre, Saône-et-Loire, Yonne
Bordering Regions: Auvergne, Centre, Champagne-Ardennes, Franche-Comté, Ile-de-France, Rhône-Alpes
Traditional provinces: Bourgogne, Champagne, Nivernais, Orléanais

Area: 31,582 km²Population (1995): 1,623,900 inhabitants
Regional prefecture: Dijon

Flag of the Regional Council

The Regional Council also flies the flag of the Region (see above).

1982

by Jaume Ollé

1983

by Jaume Ollé

1984

by Jaume Ollé

The logo of the Regional Council shows in its left part an "adaptation" (same design but colour changed) of the traditional banner of arms of Burgundy, and on its right part a big blue B letter.

The B stands of course for the region name but is also a reference to one of the most famous Burgundians, Saint Bernard de Clairvaux. The B shown on the logo was the first letter of his signature.
Bernard de Clairvaux (Fontaine-les-Dijon 1090 - Clairvaux 1153) joined the abbey of Cîteaux as a monk in 1112. In 1098, Abbot Robert of Molesme founded there the Cistercian order, independent of the Cluny order. At that time, the powerful abbey of Cluny had built in a few generations an economical empire stretching out all over western Europe. Bernard decided to carry on Robert de Molesme's reform and advocated for a strict implementation of Saint Benedict's rule, abolishing the tithe and other taxes which had made the fortune of Cluny. With a few monks, he settled in a very isolated and poor place named Clairvaux in 1115. In spite of harsh life conditions and a rule based on austerity and labour, Clairvaux attracted a lot of monks and the daughter abbey of Trois-Fontaines was founded in 1121 in Champagne. When Bernard died, the Abbey of Cîteaux had 700 monks and more than 350 abbeys had joined the Cistercian order. The order was organized in a hierarchical network dominated by the "Elder Daughters" of Cîteaux, i.e. Clairvaux, Pontigny, La Ferté and Morimond.

Although he had initially decided to live in an isolated place and spend his time in prayer and labour, Bernard quickly became one of the most famous men of his times. He was famous as erudite, theologian, philosoph, and political councillor of Kings and tPopes, preaching the Second Crusade in 1147 in Vézelay on behalf of Pope Eugene III.
His philosophy was characterized by mysticism and he opposed to rationalism advocated by Abélard. As a theologian, he was one of the founders of devotion to Virgin, and remained famous for his mystical interpretation of the Song of Songs (also a masterpeice of French poetry).

The Cistercian architecture is characterized by a very simple plan, which was spread all over Europe with very few variations. Any kind of decoration was forbidden, giving a very strong impression of austerity. The abbey church usually has a flat chevet and no bell tower, to prevail the bells disturbing silence and meditation. The best example of Cistercian architecture is the abbey of Fontenay, now on UNESCO world heritage list, located on the commune of Marmagne, in Burgundy. The abbey was transformed into a papermill after the Revolution but the most important buildings did not suffer too much from industrial activity. Clairvaux was transformed into a jailhouse in 1808. Cîteaux is stil inhabited by Cistercian monks.

Ivan Sache, 14 December 2001

Current flag

by Jaume Ollé

A few weeks after the adoption of the 1984 design, small modifications were introduced in the red-yellow bands and in the letter "B", and this is the current flag of the Regional Council.

Jaume Ollé, 23 November 1996