This articleneeds additional citations forverification.(September 2014) |
Franche-Comté(UK:/ˌfrɒ̃ʃkɒ̃ˈteɪ/,[2]US:/-koʊnˈ-/;[3][4]French:[fʁɑ̃ʃkɔ̃te];Frainc-Comtou:Fraintche-Comtè;Arpitan:Franche-Comtât;alsoGerman:Freigrafschaft;Spanish:Franco Condado;alllit. 'Free County') is a cultural andhistorical regionof eastern France. It is composed of the moderndepartmentsofDoubs,Jura,Haute-Saôneand theTerritoire de Belfort.In 2021, its population was 1,179,601.
Franche-Comté
| |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
| Motto(s): Comtois, rends-toi! Nenni, ma foi! Comtois, surrender! No, my faith! | |
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| Coordinates:47°00′N6°00′E/ 47.000°N 6.000°E | |
| Country |  France |
| Dissolved | 1 January 2016 |
| Prefecture | Besançon |
| Departments | 4
|
| Area | |
• Total | 16,202 km2(6,256 sq mi) |
| Population (1 January 2021) | |
• Total | 1,179,601 |
| • Density | 73/km2(190/sq mi) |
| Demonym | Comtois |
| GDP | |
| • Total | €34.772 billion (2022) |
| • Per capita | €29,500 (2022) |
| Time zone | UTC+1(CET) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC+2(CEST) |
| ISO 3166 code | FR-I |
| NUTS Region | FR43 |
| Website | www.franche-comte.fr (Redirects to www.bourgognefranchecomte.fr) |
From 1956 to 2015, the Franche-Comté was aFrench administrative region.Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new regionBourgogne-Franche-Comté.[5]
The region is named after theFranche Comté de Bourgogne(Free County of Burgundy), definitively separated from the region ofBurgundyproper in the fifteenth century. In 2016, these two-halves of the historicKingdom of Burgundywere reunited, as the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. It is also the 6th biggest region in France. The name "Franche-Comté" is feminine because the word "comté" in the past was generally feminine, although today it is masculine.
The principal cities are the capitalBesançon,BelfortandMontbéliard.Other important cities areDole(the capital before the region was conquered byLouis XIVin the late seventeenth century),Vesoul(capital of Haute-Saône),Arbois(the "wine capital" of the Jura), andLons-le-Saunier(the capital of Jura).
History
editThe region has been inhabited since thePaleolithic ageand was occupied by theGauls.It was then heavily settled byGermanic peoplesduring theGermanic migrations,most notably theBurgundians,who settled in the region after the Gauls had vacated the area. Later, it was part of the territory of theAlemanniin the fifth century, then theKingdom of Burgundyfrom 457 to 534. The Burgundians adoptedChalcedonian Christianity,Christianizingthe region. In 534, it became part of theFrankishkingdom. In 561 it was included in theMerovingianKingdom of Burgundy underGuntram,the third son ofClotaire I.In 613,Clotaire IIreunited the Frankish Kingdom under his rule, and the region remained a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy under the later Merovingians andCarolingians.
County of Burgundy
editThe nameFranche Comté de BourgogneorFreigrafschaft Burgundin German (Free County of Burgundy) did not appear officially until 1366. It had been a territory of theCounty of Burgundyfrom 888, the province becoming subject to theHoly Roman Empirein 1034. It was definitively separated from the neighboringDuchy of Burgundyupon the latter's incorporation into theKingdom of Francein 1477. That year at theBattle of Nancyduring theBurgundian Wars,the last duke,Charles the Bold,was killed in battle. Although the county, along with the Duchy, was seized by KingLouis XI of France,in 1492 his sonCharles VIIIceded it toPhilip of Austria,the grandson and heir of Charles the Bold. When Philip's son,Emperor Charles V,inherited the Spanish throne in 1516, the Franche-Comté, along with the rest of the Burgundian lands (except Burgundy itself), passed to the Spanish.
Province of the Kingdom of France
edit| Franche-Comté | |||||||||||||
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| Government ofKingdom of France | |||||||||||||
| 1668/1674–1790 | |||||||||||||
Coat of arms
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| History | |||||||||||||
• Established | 1668/1674 | ||||||||||||
• Disestablished | 1790 | ||||||||||||
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Franche-Comté was captured by France in 1668, but returned toSpainunder theTreaty of Aix-la-Chapelle.It was conquered a second time in 1674, and finally was ceded to France in theTreaty of Nijmegen(1678), leaving the Holy Roman Empire as a result. Enclaves such asMontbéliardremained outside French control.
The Franche-Comté was one of the last parts of France to haveserfdom.In 1784, half of the population consisted of serfs, accounting for 400,000 out of the 1 million French serfs. Landowners took one-twelfth of the sale's price if a serf (mainmortable) wanted to sell up. Serfs were not forced to stay on the land, but the lord could claimdroit de suite,whereby a peasant who died away from his holding left it to the lord, even if he had heirs. A runaway serf's land was forfeit after ten years.Louis XVIissued a decree banning these practices on 8 August 1779, but theParlement of Besançonblocked this until 1787.
After 1790
editThe population of the region fell by a fifth from 1851 to 1946, reflecting low French natural growth and migration to more urbanized parts of the country. Most of the decline occurred inHaute-SaôneandJura,which remain among the country's more agriculture-dependent areas.
Environment
editThis region borders Switzerland and shares much of its architecture, cuisine, and culture with its neighbour. Between the Vosges range of mountains to the north and theJura rangeto the south, the landscape consists of rolling cultivated fields, dense pine forest, and rampart-like mountains. Not so majestic as the Alps, the Jura mountains are more accessible and are France's first cross-country skiing area. It is also a superb place to hike, and there are some fine nature trails on the more gentle slopes. The Doubs and Loue valleys, with their timbered houses perched on stilts in the river, and the high valley of Ain, are popular visitor areas. TheRégion des Lacsis a land of gorges and waterfalls dotted with tiny villages, each with a domed belfry decorated with mosaic of tiles or slates or beaten from metal. The lakes are perfect for swimming in the warmer months. The summits of Haut Jura have wonderful views acrossLac Léman(Lake Geneva) and toward the Alps.
Forty percent of the region's GDP is dependent on manufacturing activities, and most of its production is exported. Construction of automobiles and their parts is one of the most buoyant industries there. Forestry exploitation is steadily growing, and 38% of the agriculture is dairy and 17% cattle farming. The region has a large and lucrative cheese-making industry, with 40 million tonnes of cheese produced here each year, much of which is made byfruitières(traditional cheese dairies of Franche-Comté); for instance,Comté cheesecomes from this region.
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Landscape, Franche-Comté -
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La Petite Montagne,a view fromMolard de la Justice -
Geology
editPrincipal cities
edit| City | Metropolitan area | Urban area | Municipality |
|---|---|---|---|
| Besançon | 250,563 | 135,448 | 116,676 |
| Montbéliard | 160,671 | 106,486 | 25,336 |
| Belfort | 114,445 | 81,651 | 49,519 |
| Dole | 65,400 | 29,916 | 23,373 |
| Vesoul | 59,262 | 28,707 | 15,058 |
| Lons-le-Saunier | 58,674 | 26,894 | 17,459 |
| Pontarlier | 30,895 | 21,760 | 17,140 |
| Gray | 17,295 | 9,470 | 5,484 |
| Luxeuil-les-Bains | 14,652 | 12,366 | 6,821 |
| Champagnole | 14,266 | 9,841 | 7,916 |
| Lure | 12,251 | 11,135 | 8,253 |
| Saint-Claude | 11,343 | 10,346 | 9,732 |
Language
editAmong theregional languagesof France, the termFranc-comtoisrefers to two dialects of two different languages. Franc-comtois is the name of the dialect ofLangue d'Oïlspoken by people in the northern part of the region. The dialect ofArpitanhas been spoken in its southern part since as early as the thirteenth century (the southern two-thirds ofJuraand the southern third ofDoubs). Both are recognized aslanguages of France.
Education
edit215,178 students were in school in Franche-Comté at the start of the 2018 school year. The region has potential in the research sector. We find in Besançon the National School of Mechanics and Microtechnology (ENSMM) or theUTBM,the University of Technology of Belfort-Montbéliard[6]inBelfortandMontbéliard.
TheUniversity of Franche-Comtéis mainly located in Besançon. It has 24,000 students spread over six training and research areas (UFR), including five in Besançon and one in Belfort and Montbéliard, two university institutes of technology (IUT) (Besançon-Vesoul and Nord Franche-Comté), 920 students engineers atENSMMand 2,550 students atUTBM.
People from Franche-Comté
edit- Raymond Blanc,chef
- Jean-Jacques Boissard,neo-Latin poet
- Paul de Casteljau,mathematician
- Gustave Courbet,painter
- Frank Darabont,filmmaker
- Charles Fourier,philosopher
- Salah Gaham,concierge
- Victor Hugo,poet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist
- Auguste and Louis Lumière,early filmmakers
- Jean Mairet,dramatist
- Jacques de Molay,last Grandmaster of the Knights Templar
- Charles Nodier,author
- Louis Pasteur,chemist and microbiologist
- Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle,Burgundian statesman, leading minister of the SpanishHabsburgs
- Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle,minister of justice underCharles V,Holy Roman Emperor
- Pierre-Joseph Proudhonphilosopher, socialist
- Jean Baptiste Alexandre Strolz
- Jean-Baptiste-Antoine Suard,journalist
- Hubert-Félix Thiéfaine,singer and songwriter
- Louis Vuitton,designer
- Arnaud Courlet de Vregille,painter
Typical regional products
edit- Wine:Vin jaune,Arbois
- Cheese:Cancoillotte,Bleu de Gex,Comté,Édel de Cléron,Metton,Morbier,Munster,Vacherin Mont d'Or
- Sausages: Saucisse de Montbéliard, saucisse de Morteau, Gendarme
See also
edit- Picolaton,imaginary bird of Franche-Comté folklore
References
edit- ^"EU regions by GDP, Eurostat".Retrieved18 September2023.
- ^"Franche-Comté".LexicoUK English Dictionary.Oxford University Press.[dead link]
- ^"Franche-Comté".The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language(5th ed.). HarperCollins.Retrieved30 August2019.
- ^"Burgundy".Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary.Merriam-Webster.Retrieved30 August2019.
- ^Loi n° 2015-29 du 16 janvier 2015 relative à la délimitation des régions, aux élections régionales et départementales et modifiant le calendrier électoral(in fr)
- ^Kroichvili, Nathalie, ed. (2023).Actions de revitalisation et territoires en devenir: Le Nord Franche-Comté industriel.Les Cahiers de la MSHE Ledoux (in French). Besançon: Presses universitaires de Franche-Comté.ISBN978-2-84867-999-0.
External links
edit
- Franche-Comté: land of contrasts- Official French website (in English)
- Conseil régional de Franche-ComtéOfficial website
- Franche-Comté directory search engine