The Hospices de Beaune or Hôtel-Dieu de Beaune is a former charitable almshouse in Beaune in the Burgundy region. It was founded in 1443 by Nicolas Rolin, chancellor of Burgundy, as a hospital for the poor and needy. The original hospital building, the Hôtel-Dieu, one of the finest examples of French fifteenth-century architecture, is now a museum. Services for patients are now provided in modern hospital buildings.
The Hospices de Beaune received the first patient on 1 January 1452. Elderly, disabled and sick people, with orphans, women about to give birth and the destitute have all been uninterruptedly welcomed for treatment and refuge, from the Middle Ages until today.
The charity auction been arranged annually in November since 1851, taking place on the third Sunday in November amid a three day festival devoted to the food and wines of Burgundy called Les Trois Glorieuses. The charity is preceded by a black tie dinner at the Clos de Vougeot on day one and followed by the lunch La Paulée de Meursault on day three. The Domaine des Hospices de Beaune is a non-profit organisation which owns around 61 hectares (150 acres) of donated vineyard land, much of this classified Grand and Premier cru. With bidding by professional and private buyers, the barrels, from 31 cuvées of red wine and 13 of white wine, attain prices usually well in excess of the current commercial values, although the results give some indication of the trend in expected bulk wine prices for the vintage from the rest of the region.
The auction has been organised by Christie’s since 2005, setting a record total figure at the 149th auction in 2009 when 799 barrels were up for sale, and 40% bids by telephone, internet or fax connecting some 500 participants from around the world, the auction has in recent years evolved from a wholesale market to a retail market.[
[responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]The presidency of the Council of the European Union is responsible for the functioning of the Council of the European Union, the upper house of the EU legislature. It rotates among the member states of the EU every six months. The presidency is not an individual, but rather the position is held by a national government. It is sometimes incorrectly referred to as the "president of the European Union". The presidency's function is to chair meetings of the Council, determine its agendas, set a work programme and fa...
[caption id="attachment_165597" align="aligncenter" width="535"] Vincent van Gogh signature[/caption][responsivevoice_button voice="UK English Female" buttontext="Listen to this Post"]Vincent Willem van Gogh was a Dutch Post-Impressionist painter who is among the most famous and influential figures in the history of Western art. In just over a decade he created about 2,100 artworks, including around 860 oil paintings, most of them in the last two years of his life in France, where he died. They include landscapes, still lifes, portraits and self-portraits, and are characterised by bold colours...