Some history
The origins of Noyers are not so clear. It was founded by the king of Sequane people, just before the Roman conquest, or by a contemporary with Julius Caesar called "Lucidorius". He would have given the city its first name Lucida.
| There is one thing we are
sure of : on and after the twelfth century the city became the seat of a
mighty family. It gave famous men to France. Gui de Noyers, bishop of Sens,
crowned Philippe Auguste in 1180. In the name of the king of France, Miles X
(field-marshal in 1303) was in command of the French knighthood in Crécy ;
the English infantrymen won the battle.
At the end of the twelfth century, Hugues de Noyers, bishop of Auxerre, built "one of the most famous castles of France". It was beleaguered by Blanche de Castille’s troops in 1217 ; but it did resist… |
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In 1419, at the end of the Miles dynasty, Noyers became the property of the dukes of Burgundy. The prince of Condé became count of Noyers. He made a Huguenot place of the city and took refuge in it after the defeat of Amboise conspiracy in 1568. But Catherine de Médicis dislodged him and the garnison surrendered.
Later the castle was dismantled by Henry IV in 1599. After a long time of lethargy the city revived in 1710 when the duke of Luynes married the last descendant of the Condé family.
"Place du marché au blé, place et rue de la petite étape aux vins " (corn market square, wines street and wines square). These are names that tell us the agricultural vocation of the city. Wine and grain trade were prosperous. A lot of documents attest there were plenty of vines, walnut-trees and cherry-trees over the hills all around Noyers. Till the beginning of the twentieth century a great part of local craftsmen was represented by cartwrights, harness-makers, coopers, farriers and shoe makers. In 1861 there were 128 vine-growers and 25 tillage-farmers. Today they are not so many but farmers are still keeping their places. In fact, Noyers is a rural city turned towards future.
A view of the remaining ramparts.