A charming town on the banks of the Yonne, Joigny proudly displays its splendid half-timbered houses, built from the trees of the nearby Othe forest. One of them, the Pillory House, with its sculpted motifs and ceramic tiles, is simply remarkable! Not far from there, the 16th-century House of the Tree of Jesse, depicting Jesus Christ's family tree, is also well worth a look.
A listed Historic Monument just like the two other churches overlooking the rooftops of the old town, St. Andrew and St. John, the Flamboyant Gothic Church of St. Theobald features a square tower with a campanile on top. Inside, you can admire a beautiful smiling Madonna from the 14th century.
It's a pleasure to wander through the narrow streets and alleys of the historic centre, particularly along Place du Pilori, Rue de la Galère and Rue Cortel, which is lined with appealing artists' and craftspeople's shops. When you reach the bridge, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the old centre and its three churches.
Commune of Yonne, Burgundy-Franche-Comté, Joigny takes place at about thirty kilometers of Auxerre and Sens. Classified City of Art and History and third city of the department, it is located on the banks of the river Yonne, not far from Brion, Champlay or Villevallier.
Occupied since the Neolithic, the site sees the creation of the current city in the Gallo-Roman era, by a prefect of the Roman militia in Gaul, Flavius Jovinius. Ferriers and baths are still visible on the territory of the town. A stronghold is then built at the end of the 10th century, but a terrible fire in 1530 requires a complete reconstruction.
Known for housing one of the largest sets of half-timbered houses in Burgundy, the town of Joigny is also appreciated for its wine heritage. These include the production site of Burgundy Côte Saint-Jacques (AOC). It also has a very rich architectural heritage testifying to its importance over the centuries.
The circuit of half-timbered houses allows to admire real jewels of architecture with the house of the Pillory, the house of the Bailli, the house of Ave Maria, and the house of the tree of Jesse.
Listed as a historic monument, the Saint-André church is a Gothic building enlarged in the thirteenth century and refurbished in the sixteenth. Place of burial of the Counts of Joigny, it reveals a beautiful Pietà of the late Middle Ages, a funerary slab of the thirteenth century and a tombstone fifteenth century classified Historical Monuments.
It also classified, the church Saint-Jean dates from the thirteenth century. Located at the top of the city, next to the Gondi castle, it was rebuilt at the end of the 15th century during the Hundred Years War, then in the middle of the 16th century following a major fire. If the lower parts have a Gothic style, the top has been completely redone in Renaissance style. The building was frequented by Saint Vincent de Paul when he was tutor to the children of Count de Joigny. Inside, it is possible to discover a unique example of a complete tomb from the beginning of the 13th century with lying and vat, a Entombment of the 16th century, a carved group of characters from the early 16th century, a Virgin Mary. Painted stone child of the sixteenth century, or a work bench with the backrest in carved wood of the eighteenth century both classified as Historical Monuments.
In flamboyant Gothic style, the Saint-Thibault church is also classified as an historic monument. Built in the eleventh century, it was devastated during the Hundred Years War and rebuilt in the late fifteenth century. It has beautiful arches and stained glass windows of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The building is especially famous for its Burgundy and Champagne statues, like its beautiful Virgin with the Gothic Child.
Overlooking the city, Gondi Castle is a Renaissance building surrounded by some beautiful mansions.
While strolling through the city, do not miss to discover the Porte Saint-Jean which served as a gateway to the first castle of Joigny in the 10th century or the chapel of Ferrand. Built in full Renaissance under Francis I, it was in the center of the old cemetery of St. Andrew, and encompassed since the mid-nineteenth century in the courthouse of the city. Octagonal in shape, its outer frieze represents five bas-reliefs on the resurrection of the dead. Inside, you can admire a fresco of the first half of the seventeenth century depicting the Adoration of the Magi. Sold in 2012 to individuals, it is now rented for major events.
In the old center, it is possible to admire old laundries full of charm.
Markets are held on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. A big garage sale is organized for August 15th. A Christmas market is proposed the third weekend of December.
In May, there is room for the game festival and barter.
The first Saturday of July, the city offers its Garden-guinguette festival with musical entertainment and other festivities.
In July and August, place at the Nuits Maillotines, show tours organized once a week.
The harvest festival and its animations are held in October.
Ensemble/Zusammen
- From 6 to 27 april 2024
- 49 Rue Gabriel Cortel, Espace ABI
- At Espace ABI from 6 to 27 April, "Ensemble/Zusammen" exhibition. - To celebrate 60 years of friendship between the town of Joigny and the town of Mayen, three artists from Mayen and three artists from Joigny have created works for this event on the theme of Ensemble. Each artist has tried to represent in their work what Ensemble/Zusammen means to them. - Hannelore Spitzley - Barbara Bertsch - Christina Weise - Nathalie Godinou - Pakej - Véronique Fanti - Espace ABI will be open on Wednesday and Friday from 3 pm to 6.30 pm and on Saturday from 10 am to 6.30 pm.
Ensemble Vers 2024
- On 11 may 2024
- The "Together towards 2024" days organised by the 14 intercommunal bodies in the Yonne, the Comité Départemental Olympique et Sportif de l'Yonne and the Conseil Départemental de l'Yonne are an opportunity to showcase the associative, sporting and economic fabric of our regions. They will also be an opportunity to bring together large numbers of people around the values of sport and Olympism, and to discover new disciplines through a wide range of introductory courses. Last but not least, these events will be free of charge and will enable everyone to share a convivial moment in a festive atmosphere in the run-up to the Paris 2024 Olympic Games !
1336, Paroles de Fralib
- On 25 may 2024
- Le Café Perché, Rue Gabriel Cortel
- For the 50th anniversary of the Germinal cooperative. Reading and performance of testimonies about the five-year struggle of the Fralib workers. To save their factory and their jobs, and 40 years after Lip, they embarked on a new experiment in self-management to put people at the heart of the company. They used to make Eléphant tea bags and infusions, and now they're creating their own brand : " ? 1336", the number of days of struggle that enabled them to launch their cooperative.
Exposition des Peintures de Marie Mativet
- From 6 to 30 june 2024
- 49 Rue Gabriel Cortel, Espace ABI
- Nature inspires Marie Mativet. - The artist likes to work from life, and her paintings are the fruit of long observation of the natural world around her. Marie Mativet's paintings are both figurative and abstract.
Festival La Reverdie - Présentation du Ukulélé-Basse par Emmanuel Bonnardot
- On 8 june 2024
- 24 Rue Saint-Jacques, Conservatoire
- Since its first edition in the spring of 2019, the REVERDIE Spring Festival has been taking its singular and multifaceted music to the countryside of Burgundy Franche-Comté, because "short circuits" also make sense in the arts ! - The ensemble Obsidienne and its guests invite you right to your doorstep ! - La Reverdie 2024 is a Renaissance organ, a bass ukulele, a piano, a didgeridoo, a rebec and a psaltery, all singing along with Têtes de chiens and Têtes de trouvères, and meeting under the sun or on the moon, at the top of a music tree, in the shape of a pear, amidst Mauvaises Herbes and Acanthes to whistle hypocras, taste darioles and Graines de lumière and whistle Airs du temps … - La Reverdie 2024 is a group of artists who take to the Burgundy Maquis in complete freedom… A thousand years of music and song, in cafés, churches, gardens, libraries, village halls, artists' studios, barns or theatres, for a concert, a stroll, an aperitif or a night out, with only one limit : the joy of sharing.
Regine Lacour Expose ses Peintures à l'Espace ABI
- From 6 to 28 july 2024
- 49 Rue Gabriel Cortel, Espace ABI
- Régine Lacour's exhibition at Espace ABI from 6 to 27 July. Régine lacour paints on canvas, using acrylics and mixed techniques, watercolours, poscas and inks, and for some months now has been working with collages. All her work evokes the emergence of a vital process in gestation in an imaginary nature. It lies somewhere between representation, abstraction and fantasy.
Raphaël Feuillâtre - Visages Baroques et au-Delà
- On 9 july 2024
- 61, rue Saint Jacques, Salle Claude Debussy
- Considered the new face of classical guitar worldwide, Raphaël Feuillâtre fascinates audiences and critics alike with the depth of his interpretations, his dazzling virtuosity and the richness of his repertoire.
