AUXERRE, o'sfir' (anciently, Autissiodo rum). The capital of the Department of Yonne, France, on the Yonne, 90 miles southeast of Paris (Map; France, K 4). It was originally the see-town of a bishop, but its bishopric was abolished by the Napoleonic C'oneordat, and its fine episcopal palace is used for the prefecture. It is situated on the slope of a hill, in a rich and beautiful district abounding in vineyards. The city is mostly ill-built ; the streets are nar row, crooked, and dirty; hut its aspect from a distance is very imposing, the most prominent feature being the cathedral Church of Saint Etienne, a remarkably beautiful and imposing structure—one of the most important Gothic buildings in France, which dates from the Thir teenth Century. The Chapter of Auxerre was once one of the richest in France. The churches of Saint Germain and of Saint Pierre (Sixteenth Century) are interesting buildings. There is a curious old elock-tower over a gate-house, "with an ugly skeleton spire of iron bars." The an cient walls of the city have been converted into boulevards. It has a communal college, a mu
seum of antiquities, and a botanic garden. The principal products are wine, calico, serge, woolen cloths, hosiery, earthenware, and leather. The Yonne becomes navigable here, and large quan tities of Burgundy wines are sent down it to Paris; there is also a considerable export trade in timber and charcoal. Auxerre was a flour ishing town before the Roman invasion of Gaul. It successfully resisted the Huns under Attila. who only ravaged its suburbs. Clovis took it from the Romans. After his death, it became part of the kingdom of Burgundy. The English took it in 1359, but it was retaken by Du Guesclin. Charles VII. gave it up to the Duke of Burgundy. It was finally united to the Kingdom of France 1):. I olds NI. It is the birthplace of the famous Jacques Amyot, once bishop of the see, whose translation of Plutarch is a French classic. Population, in 1896, 15,082. Consult Freeman, "Sens and Auxerre," in Vol. XXXIX., .1 rchcrulogical Journal (London, 1882 ) .