Autun

Autun (ōtöN`), town (1990 pop. 19,422), Saône-et-Loire dept., E central France, on the Arroux River. It is an industrial center producing metals, machinery, leather, cloth, timber, and shale oil. An important market town in ancient times, Autun was a residence of the prefects of Gaul and was the seat of an important Gallic university. Between the 5th and 9th cent. Autun was often attacked by barbarians. Among the Roman ruins are the remains of the town wall, an amphitheater, and the 3d-century gates of SS. André and Arroux. The Hotel Rolen (15th cent.), with the 12th-century sculpture of Eve, is now a museum. The Cathedral of St. Lazare (12th cent.) is also famous for its medieval sculpture. The town has other museums as well as a bishop's palace.

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Autun 

a city in France, in the department of Saône-et-Loire, on the Arroux River. Population, approximately 12,000.

In ancient times, Autun was known as Augustodunum. The city has numerous structures dating from Gallic and Roman times. These include the gates of St. André and Arroux (both gates from the third century) and the remains of the city walls (first century B.C. to the first century A.D.). The Romanesque Cathedral of St. Lazare was built from 1120 to 1132. In the tympanum of its portal there is a statue by the sculptor Gis-leberte depicting the Last Judgment (early 12th century). The cathedral has 12th-century capitals in the interior and a 15th-century belltower. There is also a Romanesque dungeon. Chancellor Rolin’s residence was built in Autun in the 15th century. The city is the site of the Renaissance Tower of the Marshals, the Renaissance fountain of St. Lazare (1543), an early 18th-century chapel of a former Jesuit college, and an 18th-century episcopal palace.

REFERENCE

Bonnerot, J. Autun. Paris, 1921.