La Vineuse sur Fregande is a town in Saône-et-Loire, in Burgundy, Franche-Comté, within 10 km northwest of Cluny.
It was formally established on 1 January 2017 following the merger of La Vineuse, its seat (287 inhabitants), Donzy-le-National (200 inhabitants), Massy (62 people) and Vitry-lès-Cluny (76 inhabitants) so now counting some 650 inhabitants.
Its name was chosen by combining one of the most populated locality in a neologism, "Fregande" which is the contraction of the names of two rivers, the Frenille and Gande, crossing its territory.
It is vast 35 square kilometers and appears typical of Cluny, between the plain of the Saône to the east, the granite hills of Beaujolais in the south and the foothills west of Charolais.
The relief is discretely marked, between 213 and 540 m, and the green, rural landscape. Despite its name, the town no longer retains only a few plots of vines on the slopes of the hills colored "ocher" and agriculture is now more focused on cattle (Charolais).
Its heritage of Romanesque origin, preserved environment and its proximity course Cluny with one hand and major wine regions of Burgundy on the other hand, makes a pleasant stop La Vineuse sur Fregande.
A discovery tour of the locality logically begins with its headquarters, the village of La Vineuse. Excavations have shown that the site was already busy and active during antiquity. A Roman camp had even been built on a small hill south of the present town. Treasures (coins buried in pots and amphorae) were excavated.
It's his church dedicated to Our Lady, which is the heritage jewel of La Vineuse. It dates from the eleventh century, and then under the cathedral of Macon. The nave was redesigned and rebuilt in the nineteenth century in a Romanesque Revival style, the imposing tower is however original (or at least the twelfth). It is considered one of the finest of Cluny. Note the presence of Lombard arches and carved capitals capping the columns berries. The upper floor is the rest with triple copy bays resting on double columns topped with capitals. The second floor is more sober and has on each side two undecorated windows. Inside, it will be observed for tail pieces carved especially the wooden altar of the eighteenth century from the Abbey of Cluny, saved and stored in this place to escape the Revolution damage.
From the front of the church which dominates the village, you can enjoy a beautiful view of the mountains of Charolais and a viewpoint has also been installed.
Another building of interest in this town again, the tithe barn which is also facing the church: under the old regime, the peasants had to pay them their tax in kind, filing a tenth of their crops...
Then direction the village of Donzy. We observe the church are St. Mary Magdalene, built in the twelfth century. The choir, the apse (with its beautiful capitals) and tower (with twin bays) are Romanesque.
Note that for a break, a picnic area is set in the hamlet of Mollières.
Then at the village of Massy, besides several wash houses, including that of the hamlet of Zublé (1865) will be observed on the same hamlet bordering the RD 980, a high sandstone menhir of 2.45 m. He seems to have been transported from the Mont-Saint-Vincent and we notice post-Magdalenian registrations (post 12 000 BCE), ie what amounts to an ox and an idol with long hair.
Finally, the Church of Massy, dedicated to St. Denis, was built in the eleventh century on the site of an older church. Historic Monument, style typical novel of the Cluny area, it was partially renovated in the eighteenth century.
The last stage of this circuit, Vitry-lès-Cluny, you can admire in its Romanesque church dedicated to St. Blaise a magnificent altarpiece of the eighteenth century polychrome and gilded, which has four statuettes. Protected as historical monuments, it was renovated in 2005.
In addition to beautiful old houses in the village, yet we see the remains of an ancient castle and the hamlet of Bezornay, an ancient fortified priory of the abbey of Cluny currently the subject of a campaign restoration.
On the last level of nature activities, many hiking routes are possible on the locality and include for some inroads towards Cluny and its heritage and spiritual treasures, or Taizé other religious site, northeast of the town. Maps and information +33 3 85 59 05 34.