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Origin and history

The bastion Saint-Martin de Beaune, built between 1636 and 1637, was originally an element of the fortifications of the city, lined with a gate. After Franche-Comté joined France, he quickly lost his defensive utility. The ruin of the old gate in 1761 served as a pretext for the municipality to request permission to develop a public promenade, a project entrusted to architect Nicolas Lenoir Le Romain.

The work, awarded in 1762 to the entrepreneur Fleuriet, was carried out according to the plans of Lenoir Le Romain, reusing an earlier project deemed too costly for the Saint-Nicolas gate. The sculptor Marlet created the two lions in round-bosse, symbols of Burgundy, placed at the entrance on pedestals. The promenade was completed in 1764, but repairs were needed as early as 1779 under the direction of the Voyer Quinard, the bastion having been renamed Villeneuve in honour of the Intendant.

In the 19th century, drilling projects in 1841-1842 to facilitate access to the city remained unanswered. Between 1887 and 1892, new renovations were carried out by Joseph Morot, including sculptural restorations entrusted to Creuzot, a Dijon artisan. This work was accompanied by the development of a public garden beyond the bastion, on the location of the filled ditch. The monument, inscribed in the Historical Monuments in 1928, now retains its dual vocation of military vestige and public space.

The bastion illustrates the evolution of urban fortifications from defensive to recreational. Its architecture combines military elements (reparts, missing door) and landscape (promenade, carved lions), reflecting the urban transformations of the 18th and 19th centuries. The presence of lions, regional emblems, also highlights its Burgundian identity anchor.

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