SOME HISTORICAL FACTS In 1101, SOLENGEIUS : a Gallo-Roman man named after SOLLUMNIACUS. Selongey owes its name to a roman district situated in "Champs de Mars". Various relics which have been discovered testify to the existence of a large town There is a sanctuary dedicated to Minerve, whose statuette is preserved in the archaeological museum at Dijon

Gallo-roman age

In addition to prehistoric relics, many Gallo-Roman remains are to be seen in Selongey. A Roman way, called the "tin way" used to run from "l’Aube" (a county) and traversed the flat open country of Selongey. Another Gallic way linked Autun to Langres, crossing Selongey. In 1973, an aerial survey was carried out to establish the future route of the A 31 motorway and the "Villa des Tuillières", Gallo-Roman remains, composed of 5 buildings and covering one and a half hectare were discovered. The villa was built in II century AD. It was destroyed in a great fire between 256 and 268 AD, at the time of the first advancing hord of Barbarians. They broke through the Rhine frontier and flung themselves into Gaul using the lengthy ancient routes.

A few important dates

All those Barbarian invasions invasions pale into significance compared to what happened in the following centuries. Indeed, many important events occurred, we can specially remember :

Louis XI

1432 : Philippe the Good, to put an end to the attacks of "Sir de Grancey", took Selongey and destroyed the part of the village which was located above "La Roche",  1437 : With the help of Guillaume de Châteauvillain’s soldiers, the inhabitants of Selongey repulsed the "flayers", whose headquarters were in Auxois.  1473 : The army of Louis XI besieged Selongey whose Lord had sided with Charles the Reckless  1585 : The plague ravaged Selongey  1638 : The historical siege of Galla’s armies.

The inhabitants of Selongey recall the painful events which occurred that year.
On Ascension day 1638, the Burgundians were at war with the "Francs-Comtois". They feared the troops of the Austrian General Mathias Von galas who had first captured the nearby town of Saint Jean de Lone but who had then had to retreat, pillaging and devasting the land in their wake. In fact, a force of some 3 000 men did attack Selongey on that very day. Despite their inadequate means of protection, the citizens of Selongey resisted successfully so that the pillaging mercenaries at last withdrew, leaving behind them a ruined village.
Consequently, every fifty years, the municipality commemorates its courageous ancestors by organizing appropriate festivities known as "Gallas festivities". The 350 th anniversary was celebrated in 1998. Therefore, the next such occasion is planned for 2038. Don’t miss it !

The "Gallas Festivities" of 1988

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