Chalon-sur-Saône

Chalon-sur-Saône (shălôN`-sür-sōn), town (1990 pop. 56,259), Saône-et-Loire dept., E central France, in Burgundy, on the Saône River and the Canal Central. It is an inland port and railway center with a large wine and grain trade. The town contains a thermal power station; its many manufactures include metal products, electrical equipment, barges, textiles, chemicals, and glass. Of pre-Roman origin, it was the capital of King Guntram of Burgundy (6th cent.) and the scene of 10 church councils, most notably the one convoked by Charlemagne in 813. Its cathedral, begun in the 12th cent., was completed in the 15th cent.