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Origin and history

The Hôtel des Ducs de Bourgogne in Beaune is a medieval palace built in the 14th century, partially integrated with the castrum of the city. Located between the streets of Hell and Paradise, it was built near the collegiate Notre-Dame and the Hospices de Beaune. In 1354, Duke Philip II of Burgundy installed the original seat of the Parliament of Burgundy, making Beaune the judicial capital of the Duchy. Today's half-timbered buildings date mostly from the late 15th or early 16th century, with traces of remodelling in the 17th and 18th centuries (rail ramp staircase, modified bays).

After Burgundy joined France in 1478 under Louis XI, the hotel became the King's Logis and Parliament was transferred to Dijon. Sold to private individuals in 1566, he passed into the hands of families such as the Chevignard or the Brunet, before being bequeathed to the French Academy in 1917, then given to the city of Beaune in 1919. Its 13th-century winery and its presses (XVI-XIXth centuries) bear witness to its ancient connection to viticulture.

In 1938, the Musée du Vin de Bourgogne, the first ecomuseum in France, was created in the former belfry of Beaune by Mayor Roger Duchet, before being transferred in 1946 to the Hôtel des Ducs. The museum, labeled Museum of France, traces twenty centuries of wine history, from Antiquity to the 1920s, through tools, paintings, amphores and tapestries. Ranked a historic monument in 1924, the palace illustrates both the Burgundian Ducal power and the regional wine tradition.

The building, completely enclosed with walls, organizes in U around a trapezoidal courtyard, with two entrances (paradis and hell streets). Its facades and roofs, as well as a 16th century building, have been protected since 1924. The sources refer to work from the Carolingian period, when Otton (956) made Beaune his favourite residence, but no remains of this period remain. The Dukes of Burgundy, by successive purchases in the 13th and 14th centuries, gave the palace its current hold.

Today, the property of the city, the hotel houses a unique collection: old presses, tastevins, earthenware, and art works related to Bacchus. The museum highlights the central role of wine in the Burgundy economy and culture, from the Gauls to the industrial era. Its ranking and label make it a major site of French wine heritage.

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