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2. The film
"Chocolat" in Flavigny
The excellent film " Chocolat
" with Julie Binoche, in the role of the chocolatière is not
only a reflection of life in the villages of France but is also
a very moving human story.
Flavigny sur Ozerain, a
mediaeval fortified village not far from Dijon was the chosen
location
Arriving in the village
there are no reminders of this episode which will probably
remain hidden within the rich historic past of this village.
Neither is there a sign leading visitors to the house which was
transformed into a chocolate shop for filming.

Choco-Story, the Bruges chocolate Museum went in search of the
village and the house.
The story of Flavigny
begins at the time of Julius Caesar who came here in 52 BC to
put an end to the revolt by Vercingetorix and his men and to lay
siege to Alesia, on the opposite bank of the Ozerain
By the Gallo-Roman period,
Flaviniacum was growing in importance. It got its name from
Flavinius, the local landowner.
By the eighth century,
Flavigny had become an ecclesiastical fiefdom which established
its jurisdiction and financial administration. The Abbots
exercised both temporal and political power which often came
before their religious mission. It was an important trading area
and the nobles in the region built their residences here.
But craftsmen and
merchants lived here too, hence the rich architectural heritage
to which the large number of buildings constructed between the
12th and 18th centuries continue to bear witness
Flavigny was alive with a
large and active population. Along its streets and squares were
not only to be found tanners, oil merchants, tinkers,
stonemasons, glass makers and weavers, but also notaries,
lawyers, doctors, apothecaries and other bourgeoisie, not
forgetting the wine growers, peasants and the ecclesiastical
world
But phylloxera put an end
to the winegrowing. After the liberation the gendarmerie,
magistrate and all the other authorities were transferred to
Venarey les Laumes. The village began to empty of people
In recent years, though,
the phenomenon has been reversed. A younger population is
settling in and starting new ventures including tourism
activities
Chocolat could make its
contribution. But now the locals must really make the most of
it.

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