town, capital of Yonne département, Bourgogne ( Burgundy) région, central France, on the Yonne River. The town, which flourished in pre-Roman and Roman days, became the seat of a bishop and a civitas (provincial capital) in the 3rd century. It was united to France by Louis XI in the 1400s. Auxerre's most notable landmark, the Cathedral of Saint-Étienne (13th–16th-century Gothic), has three sculptured doorways and a rose window on the west front. A massive tower rises in the northwest corner. The early Gothic choir and the apsidal chapel contain some of the best 13th-century stained glass in France. The Church of Saint-Eusèbe (founded 7th century) shows styles from the 12th to the 16th century. Below the Church of Saint-Germain, crypts of the 9th century contain tombs of the bishops of Auxerre.