The town of Pouilly-en-Auxois, situated originally on a hill-top, gradually built up lower down in the valley from the 16th century onwards, when the castle and surrounding walls built by the Dukes of Burgundy was no longer needed. Unfortunately, there are no castle remains to be seen. On the hill named St Pierre, the “Chapelle de Notre Dame Trouvée” (Chapel of Our Lady Found), built in the 13th and 14th century, was the spiritual centre of the village until 1868 when the St Pierre church was built in the centre. The word ‘found’ in the name of the chapel comes from the legend that a black statue of Our Lady was found in the rubble of a building destroyed by the Normands. This valuable statue from the 12th century was stolen in 1980. From the 12th century, Pouilly was a centre for agricultural markets, for wheat mainly. Just before the Revolution Pouilly became the property of the Royal House of St Cyr after having belonged to the Beauffremont, the Chabot and the d’Harcourt families. In 1818, the economy of Pouilly depended on wheat, hemp, oils, skins, wool and sheep. Hat-making was also an activity. In 1847 there were cattle and horse markets, and cement quarries.