Tonnerre (French pronunciation: [tɔnɛʁ] ⓘ) is a commune in the Yonne department in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in north-central France.

Straddling the Canal de Bourgogne, the commune is situated at the following crossroads: During the Roman era, Tonnerre was known as Tornodurum, which was derived from the Lingone word for "fortress".

Here, in the valley of the Armançon, the County of Tonnerre was created, which served as a point of passage between Paris and Dijon, during a time when the King of France had designs on the Duchy of Burgundy.

Three etymologies of Tonnerre are rooted in the Celtic era: it is derived from Torn, an obscure local deity; others claim it is from Douros, meaning fortress; yet others say it is connected to a place near the torrent.

It is equally likely that the three solutions are one: In 2005, research at a place called Les Petits Ovis revealed that the site was occupied by a necropolis dating to the end of the Bronze Age.

An oppidum dating to the La Tène period developed on the high part of the City of Tonnerre.

Under the law, this meant that the owner of the county had rights to other land as well, which imposes the establishment of a viscount (the same problem arose in Joigny in 1080).

The marriage of his younger sister to a son of the Count of Brienne provoked the definitive separation of Tonnerre from the County of Bar-sur-Seine.

Around 1170, the counts attempted to reassert control of their powerful feudal lords, but only had limited success: they imposed an inheritance tax.

Copying an institution in place in royal domains since 1184, the count divided his dominion into two bailiwicks, both administered by the same bailey.

As a prelude to the second phase of the Hundred Years' War, the Count of Tonnerre removed a lady-in-waiting from the court of the Duchess of Burgundy.

Filmmaker Guillaume Brac shot his homonymic film Tonnerre in 2013, starring Vincent Macaigne, Solène Rigot and Bernard Menez.