Besançon
Encyclopedia
Besançon is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté
region in eastern France
. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area
in 2008. Located close to the border with Switzerland, it is the capital of the department of Doubs
.
Once proclaimed first green city of France, it has been labeled a 'Town of Art and History
' since 1986, and has been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 2008.
's Commentarii de Bello Gallico
. The etymology of Vesontio is uncertain. The most common explanation is that the name is of Celtic origin, derivated from wes, meaning 'mountain'. During the 4th century, the letter B took the place of the V, and the city name changed to Besontio or Bisontion and then underwent several transformation to become Besançon in 1243.
(a tributary of the Rhône River
); a mountain closes the fourth side. During the Bronze Age
, c.1500 BCE, tribes of Gauls settled the oxbow.
From the 1st century BC through the modern era, the town had a significant military importance because the Alps rise abruptly to its immediate south, presenting a significant natural barrier. In historic times the town was first recorded in the journals of Julius Caesar
, in his commentaries detailing his conquest of Gaul
, as the largest town of the Sequani
, a smaller Gaul
ic tribe; Caesar gave the name of the town as Vesontio (possibly Latin
ized), and mentions that a wooden palisade surrounded it.
Over the centuries, the name permutated to become Besantio, Besontion, Bisanz in Middle High German
and gradually arrived at the modern French Besançon. The locals retain their ancient heritage referring to themselves as Bisontins (feminine: Bisontine).
It has been an archbishopric since the 4th century.
In 843, the Treaty of Verdun
divided up Charlemagne
's empire. Besançon became part of Lotharingie, under the Duke of Burgundy.
As part of the Holy Roman Empire
since 1034, the city became the Archbishopric of Besançon, and became the Free Imperial City of Besançon
(an autonomous city-state under the Holy Roman Emperor
) in 1184. In 1157, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa held the Diet of Besançon. There, Cardinal Orlando Bandinelli (the future Pope Alexander III, then adviser of Pope Adrian IV
) openly asserted before the Emperor that the Imperial dignity was a Papal beneficium (in the more general sense of favour, not the strict feudal sense of fief), which incurred the wrath of the German princes. He would have fallen on the spot under the battle-axe of his life-long foe, Otto of Wittelsbach, had Frederick not intervened. The Imperial Chancellor Rainald of Dassel
then inaugurated a German policy that insisted upon the rights and the power of the German kings, the strengthening of the Church in the German Empire, the lordship of Italy and the humiliation of the Papacy. The Archbishops were elevated to Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
in 1288. The close connection to the Empire is reflected in the city's coat of arms.
In 1290, after a century of fighting against the power of the archbishops, the Emperor granted Besançon its independence.
. After the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
, the city was in effect a Habsburg
fief. In 1519 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
, King of Spain, became the Holy Roman Emperor. This made him master of Franche-Comté and Besançon, a francophone German city. In 1526 the city obtained the right to mint coins, which it continued to strike until 1673. Nevertheless, all coins bore the name of Charles V.
When Charles V abdicated in 1555, he gave Franche-Comté to his son, Philip II
, King of Spain. Besançon remained a free imperial city under the protection of the King of Spain. In 1598, Philip II gave the province to his daughter on her marriage to an Austrian archduke. It remained formally a portion of the Empire until its cession at the peace of Westphalia in 1648. Spain regained control of Franche-Comté and the city lost its status as a free city. Then in 1667, Louis XIV claimed the province as a consequence of his marriage to Marie-Thérèse of Spain.
Louis conquered the city for the first time in 1668, but the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
returned it to Spain within a matter of months. While it was in French hands, the famed military engineer
Vauban
visited the city and drew up plans for its fortification. The Spaniards built the main centre point of the city's defences, "la Citadelle", siting it on Mont St. Etiene, which closes the neck of the bend in the river that encloses the old city. In their construction, they followed Vauban's designs.
In 1674, French troops again took the city, which the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678) then awarded to France. At this time the city became the administrative centre for Franche-Comté, with the Parlement of Besançon
, replacing Dole
.
As a result of control passing to France, Vauban returned to working on the citadel's fortifications, and those of the city, a process that took some 30 years, until 1711. Walls built in that era surround the city. Between the train station and the central city there is a complex moat system that now serves road traffic. Numerous forts, some of which date back to the time and that incorporate Vauban's designs elements, sit on the six hills that surround the city: Fort de Trois Châtels, Fort Chaudanne, Fort du Petit Chaudanne, Fort Griffon, Fort des Justices, Fort Beauregard and Fort de Brégille. The citadel itself has two dry moats, with an outer and inner court. In the evenings, the Citadelle is illuminated and stands above the city as a landmark and a testament to Vauban's genius as a military engineer
.
of 1870–71.
The Nazis
occupied the citadel during World War II. Between 1940 and 1944, the Germans executed some one hundred French resistance
fighters there. However, Besançon saw little action during the war. The railway complex was bombed in 1943 and the next year the Germans resisted the U.S. advance for four days. In 1959, the French Army turned the citadel over to the city of Besançon, which turned it into a museum.
The forts of Brégille and Beauregard sit across the Doubs from the town. In 1913, a private company built a funicular
to the Brégille Heights. The funicular passed from private ownership to the SNCF
, who finally closed it in 1987. The funicular's tracks, stations and even road signs remain in place to this day.
. It is about 325 km (215 mi) east of the national capital of Paris, 100 km (60 mi) east of Dijon
in Burgundy, 125 km (75 mi) northwest of Lausanne
in Switzerland, and 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Belfort
in Franche-Comté. It is located at the edge of the Jura Mountains
.
(or oxbow loop) of the Doubs River
with a diameter of almost 1 km (3,281 ft). The flat inner loop has an elevation of about 250 m (820 ft) and is bounded to the south by a hill called Mont Saint-Étienne, which has a maximum height of 371 m (1,217 ft). The city is surrounded by six other hills which range in elevation from 400 m (1,312 ft) to 500 m (1,640 ft): Brégille, Griffon, Planoise
, Chaudanne, Montfaucon, and Montboucon. (There is a barge canal that cuts through rock under Mont Saint-Étienne, short-cutting the meander.)
(notable precipitations in quantity as much as in frequency) and a continental climate
with hard winters (snow, frost) and warm and dry summers. The year-round average is 11.5 °C (53 °F). The warmest month is July 20 °C (68 °F) and the coldest is January 2.1 °C (36 °F). Besançon receives about 1059 mm (41.7 inches) of precipitation
per year. The wettest month is May (108.4 mm or 4.3 in); the driest is August (76.9 mm or 3 in). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 28 July 1921, was 40.3 °C (105 °F), and the lowest was a -20.7 °C reached on 1 January 1985.
of 2008, the population of the City of Besançon was 117,599, lower than the historical peak of 120,315 in 1975. Grand Besançon covers 122 km² (47.1 sq mi), 11 municipalities
and has a population of 135,652. The metropolitan area covers 1652 km² (637.8 sq mi), 234 municipalities
and has 236,968 inhabitants. It is the thirty-seventh of France. It increased by 6.6% between 1999 and 2008.
région of France, a région including the four départements of Doubs, Haute-Saône
, Jura and Territoire de Belfort
. As such, it is the seat of the Franche-Comté regional council, and the regional préfecture (government offices).
Mayor of the City of Besançon is Jean-Louis Fousseret.
and watch industries. It is host of the biannual Micronora trade fair, one of Europe's major events in the field of microtechnologies. The city has a little-known specialty, automatic ticketing machines for car parking, airports, date stamping etc.
The watch industry, for which Besançon remains the French capital, endured a major crisis in the 1970s when the advent of quartz watches from Asia knocked out the traditional watch industry in the space of just a few years. The famous "Lip" affair
epitomizes the industrial crisis. LIP is to this day the name of one of Besançon's most prestigious brands of watches. Refusing to let their factory close, the workers set up a cooperative
to run it. The action produced a lot of notoriety and sympathy for the workers but also resulted in branding Besançon as a city of the radical left. It also did nothing to help revive the watch industry; the cooperative went out of business a short while later. The city took a long time to recover from the collapse of the watch industry and its other major industry of the industrial age, artificial textiles.
Since the 1980s, Besançon's watch industry has clawed its way back on the basis of its historic reputation and quartz watches, establishing itself in a number of niche markets including customized watches, high quality watches, and fashion articles. Since the 1990s, the town has developed a reputation as one of France's leading centres of technology in all fields, including telecommunications and biotechnology.
field. The city is also home of the École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques
(ENSMM), a technological school with a strong reputation in the fields of microtechnology
and mechanics
and the worldwide famous Centre for Applied Linguistics which teaches ten languages to non-native speakers (French, Arabic, Chinese, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish) and any other known language on request and which welcomes more than students every year from all over the world.
, "la Boucle", encircles the old town, while Vauban
's imposing Citadelle blocks off the neck. The historic center presents a remarkable ensemble of classic stone buildings, some dating back to the Middle Ages
and others to the Spanish Renaissance. Among the most visited historic monuments are:
The Roman remains consist primarily of the Porte Noire, a 2nd century CE triumphal arch
at the foot of the hill on which the citadel stands, and the Square Castan
, a semi-circular amphitheater. The Porte Noire may commemorate the victories of Marcus Aurelius over the Germans in 167 CE. It was partly rebuilt in 1820.
From 1534 to 1540, Cardinal Granvelle, chancellor to the Habsburg
emperor Charles V
, built the Palais Granvelle, in the heart of the town. It consists of arcades that surround an interior court, and is the most interesting of the secular buildings. The Palais contains a set of seven wool and silk blend tapestries from Bruges
that were woven circa 1635 and that celebrate seven milestones in Charles V's life. These tapestries remained in Spain until 1888, when they were transferred to France. In 1950 they were transferred to the Palais.
UNESCO
added the citadel, the city walls and Fort Griffon to its list of World Heritage Sites in 2008, as part of the "Fortifications of Vauban
" group. Some older military architecture has also survived. There is a cylindrical, 15th century tower near the Porte Notre-Dame, the southern gate of the city. The Porte Rivotte, a 16th century gate, has two round towers. The citadel houses the Museum of the French Resistance
and Deportation
.
The Cathedral, which dates largely from the 12th century though construction continued into the 14th century, contains the most remarkable of the city's masterpieces, a massive Virgin and saints altarpiece
by the Italian Renaissance painter Fra Bartolomeo. It also houses a noteworthy 19th century astronomical clock
. The Cathedral has two apses, with the eastern apse and the tower dating from the reign of Louis XV.
Attractive quays border the old city, and in places there are shady promenades. On the right bank there is a bathing establishment in the Mouillere quarter that draws its water from the saline springs of Miserey-Salines
.
Besançon also has one of the finest city art galleries in France outside Paris. The Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology
has a collection whose origins date to 1694, and which a remarkable series of bequests have augmented over time. In the 1960s the architect Luis Miquel, a pupil of Le Corbusier
, totally rebuilt the building. The building's interior takes the form of a gently rising concrete walkway that takes visitors up from classical antiquity to the modern age. Among the museum's treasures are a fine collection of classical antiquities and ancient Egyptian artifacts, as well as a very rich collection of paintings including works by Bellini
, Bronzino, Tintoretto
, Titian
, Rubens, Jordaens, Ruysdael
, Cranach
, Zurbarán, Goya, Philippe de Champaigne
, Fragonard
, Boucher
, David
, Ingres
, Géricault, Courbet
, Constable
, Bonnard
, Matisse, Picasso and many others.
As well as being famed as one of France's finest "villes d'art" (art cities), Besançon is the seat of one of France's older universities, of France's National School of Mechanics and Micromechanics, and one of the best known French language schools in France, the CLA. It is also reputed to be France's most environmentally-friendly city, with a public transport network that has often been cited as a model. On account of the topography, the historic city centre lies at the edge of the modern city, and hiking tracks lead straight from the centre and up into the surrounding hills. The city council has been in the hands of the Socialists and parties of the left since the Second World War. Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands
is also the Lady of Besançon.
The Christmas carol "Berger, Secoue Ton Sommeil Profond", known in English as "Shepherds, Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep" originated in Besançon in the 17th century.
, which takes place in September; it is one of the oldest and most prestigious Classical music festivals. Besançon hosts other music festivals such as the Herbe en Zik Festival (French rock and variety) in May, the Jazz en Franche-Comté Festival in June, the Franch Country Festival (country music) in August, and the Musiques de Rues Festival
(street music) in October.
and basketball. The city's soccer club, called Besançon Racing Club plays in the French fourth division.
Besançon also had a fairly successful hockey
team in the early 21st century. The Séquanes, named after an ancient gallic tribe, reached the French Cup final in 2002 (which the city hosted) and briefly played in the country's top league, then called Super 16.
However the Séquanes' free spending policy soon backfired. The team folded in the middle of the 2002/03 season due to financial problems. Today, senior hockey subsists in Besançon in the form of a low level amateur team.
The town also had a good Canoe-Kayak Club, Sport Nautique Bisontin, one of the oldest in France.
and southwest Europe, and the N-S route linking northern France and the Netherlands with Switzerland. A key staging post on the Strasbourg-Lyon (Germany-Spain) route, it also has direct high-speed train (TGV
) links with Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Lille
from its Gare de Besançon-Viotte
. Unusually for a town of its size, it does not have a commercial airport, though two international airports, EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
and Lyon Saint-Exupéry International Airport
, can be reached in about 2 hours. Ginko is the bus company which runs the urban transport of Besançon
Besançon was the birthplace of:
Balzac's novel Albert Savaron takes place in Besançon.
Colonel Sainte-Hermine, the fictional hero of Alexandre Dumas' The Last Cavalier
, is a native of Besançon.
(Russia) Freiburg im Breisgau
(Germany) Kuopio
(Finland) Huddersfield
– Kirklees
(United Kingdom) Bielsko-Biala
(Poland) Neuchâtel (Switzerland) Bistriţa
(Romania) Pavia
(Italy) Hadera
(Israel) Douroula
(Burkina Faso) Man
(Côte d'Ivoire) Charlottesville – Virginia
(United States)
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
region in eastern France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
. It had a population of about 237,000 inhabitants in the metropolitan area
Aire urbaine
The aire urbaine is a statistical region created by the INSEE that comprises a commuter belt surrounding a contiguous urban core...
in 2008. Located close to the border with Switzerland, it is the capital of the department of Doubs
Doubs
Doubs is a department the Franche-Comté region of eastern France named after the Doubs River.-History:As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect...
.
Once proclaimed first green city of France, it has been labeled a 'Town of Art and History
French towns and lands of Art and History
Since 1985, the French Ministry of Culture and Communication has pursued a policy of preserving and promoting France's heritage. Historic towns and districts have been designated Villes et Pays d'Art et d'Histoire ....
' since 1986, and has been on the UNESCO world heritage list since 2008.
Toponymy
The city is first recorded in 58 BC as Vesontio in the Book I of Julius CaesarJulius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
's Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico
Commentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
. The etymology of Vesontio is uncertain. The most common explanation is that the name is of Celtic origin, derivated from wes, meaning 'mountain'. During the 4th century, the letter B took the place of the V, and the city name changed to Besontio or Bisontion and then underwent several transformation to become Besançon in 1243.
Ancient history
The city sits within an oxbow of the Doubs RiverDoubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
(a tributary of the Rhône River
Rhône
Rhone can refer to:* Rhone, one of the major rivers of Europe, running through Switzerland and France* Rhône Glacier, the source of the Rhone River and one of the primary contributors to Lake Geneva in the far eastern end of the canton of Valais in Switzerland...
); a mountain closes the fourth side. During the Bronze Age
Bronze Age
The Bronze Age is a period characterized by the use of copper and its alloy bronze as the chief hard materials in the manufacture of some implements and weapons. Chronologically, it stands between the Stone Age and Iron Age...
, c.1500 BCE, tribes of Gauls settled the oxbow.
From the 1st century BC through the modern era, the town had a significant military importance because the Alps rise abruptly to its immediate south, presenting a significant natural barrier. In historic times the town was first recorded in the journals of Julius Caesar
Julius Caesar
Gaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, in his commentaries detailing his conquest of Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
, as the largest town of the Sequani
Sequani
Sequani, in ancient geography, were a Gallic people who occupied the upper river basin of the Arar , the valley of the Doubs and the Jura Mountains, their territory corresponding to Franche-Comté and part of Burgundy.-Etymology:...
, a smaller Gaul
Gaul
Gaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
ic tribe; Caesar gave the name of the town as Vesontio (possibly Latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
ized), and mentions that a wooden palisade surrounded it.
Over the centuries, the name permutated to become Besantio, Besontion, Bisanz in Middle High German
Middle High German
Middle High German , abbreviated MHG , is the term used for the period in the history of the German language between 1050 and 1350. It is preceded by Old High German and followed by Early New High German...
and gradually arrived at the modern French Besançon. The locals retain their ancient heritage referring to themselves as Bisontins (feminine: Bisontine).
It has been an archbishopric since the 4th century.
Middle Ages
Treaty of Verdun
The Treaty of Verdun was a treaty between the three surviving sons of Louis the Pious, the son and successor of Charlemagne, which divided the Carolingian Empire into three kingdoms...
divided up Charlemagne
Charlemagne
Charlemagne was King of the Franks from 768 and Emperor of the Romans from 800 to his death in 814. He expanded the Frankish kingdom into an empire that incorporated much of Western and Central Europe. During his reign, he conquered Italy and was crowned by Pope Leo III on 25 December 800...
's empire. Besançon became part of Lotharingie, under the Duke of Burgundy.
As part of the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire
The Holy Roman Empire was a realm that existed from 962 to 1806 in Central Europe.It was ruled by the Holy Roman Emperor. Its character changed during the Middle Ages and the Early Modern period, when the power of the emperor gradually weakened in favour of the princes...
since 1034, the city became the Archbishopric of Besançon, and became the Free Imperial City of Besançon
Free Imperial City of Besançon
The Imperial City of Besançon was a self-governing city that was part of the Holy Roman Empire.From 1184 until 1654 the City of Besançon was a free imperial city as shown by the coat of arms until today and called Bisanz. At first it was governed by the archbishop of Besançon, although later most...
(an autonomous city-state under the Holy Roman Emperor
Holy Roman Emperor
The Holy Roman Emperor is a term used by historians to denote a medieval ruler who, as German King, had also received the title of "Emperor of the Romans" from the Pope...
) in 1184. In 1157, Emperor Frederick Barbarossa held the Diet of Besançon. There, Cardinal Orlando Bandinelli (the future Pope Alexander III, then adviser of Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
) openly asserted before the Emperor that the Imperial dignity was a Papal beneficium (in the more general sense of favour, not the strict feudal sense of fief), which incurred the wrath of the German princes. He would have fallen on the spot under the battle-axe of his life-long foe, Otto of Wittelsbach, had Frederick not intervened. The Imperial Chancellor Rainald of Dassel
Rainald of Dassel
Rainald of Dassel was archbishop of Cologne from 1159 to 1167 and archchancellor of Italy. He was preceded as archbishop by Friedrich II of Berg and succeeded by Philip I von Heinsberg....
then inaugurated a German policy that insisted upon the rights and the power of the German kings, the strengthening of the Church in the German Empire, the lordship of Italy and the humiliation of the Papacy. The Archbishops were elevated to Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
Princes of the Holy Roman Empire
The term Prince of the Holy Roman Empire denoted a secular or ecclesiastical Imperial State, who ruled over an immediate fief directly assigned by the Holy Roman Emperor...
in 1288. The close connection to the Empire is reflected in the city's coat of arms.
In 1290, after a century of fighting against the power of the archbishops, the Emperor granted Besançon its independence.
Renaissance
In the 15th century, Besançon came under the influence of the dukes of BurgundyDuchy of Burgundy
The Duchy of Burgundy , was heir to an ancient and prestigious reputation and a large division of the lands of the Second Kingdom of Burgundy and in its own right was one of the geographically larger ducal territories in the emergence of Early Modern Europe from Medieval Europe.Even in that...
. After the marriage of Mary of Burgundy to Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor
Maximilian I , the son of Frederick III, Holy Roman Emperor and Eleanor of Portugal, was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1493 until his death, though he was never in fact crowned by the Pope, the journey to Rome always being too risky...
, the city was in effect a Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
fief. In 1519 Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, King of Spain, became the Holy Roman Emperor. This made him master of Franche-Comté and Besançon, a francophone German city. In 1526 the city obtained the right to mint coins, which it continued to strike until 1673. Nevertheless, all coins bore the name of Charles V.
When Charles V abdicated in 1555, he gave Franche-Comté to his son, Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, King of Spain. Besançon remained a free imperial city under the protection of the King of Spain. In 1598, Philip II gave the province to his daughter on her marriage to an Austrian archduke. It remained formally a portion of the Empire until its cession at the peace of Westphalia in 1648. Spain regained control of Franche-Comté and the city lost its status as a free city. Then in 1667, Louis XIV claimed the province as a consequence of his marriage to Marie-Thérèse of Spain.
Louis conquered the city for the first time in 1668, but the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1668)
The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle or Treaty of Aachen was signed on May 2, 1668 in Aachen. It ended the war of Devolution between France and Spain. It was mediated by the Triple Alliance of England, the Dutch Republic and Sweden at the first Congress of Aix-la-Chapelle...
returned it to Spain within a matter of months. While it was in French hands, the famed military engineer
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
visited the city and drew up plans for its fortification. The Spaniards built the main centre point of the city's defences, "la Citadelle", siting it on Mont St. Etiene, which closes the neck of the bend in the river that encloses the old city. In their construction, they followed Vauban's designs.
In 1674, French troops again took the city, which the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678) then awarded to France. At this time the city became the administrative centre for Franche-Comté, with the Parlement of Besançon
Parlement of Besançon
The Parlement of Besançon was the Ancien Regime Parlement that dealt with the Franche-Comté. It was created in 1676. The previous Parlement for much of the reason had been at Dôle, and had been created in 1422....
, replacing Dole
Dole, Jura
Dole is a commune in the Jura department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France, of which it is a subprefecture ....
.
Military engineer
In military science, engineering refers to the practice of designing, building, maintaining and dismantling military works, including offensive, defensive and logistical structures, to shape the physical operating environment in war...
.
Modern Europe
In 1814 the Austrians invested and bombarded the city. It also occupied an important position during the Franco-Prussian WarFranco-Prussian War
The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the 1870 War was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia. Prussia was aided by the North German Confederation, of which it was a member, and the South German states of Baden, Württemberg and...
of 1870–71.
The Nazis
Nazism
Nazism, the common short form name of National Socialism was the ideology and practice of the Nazi Party and of Nazi Germany...
occupied the citadel during World War II. Between 1940 and 1944, the Germans executed some one hundred French resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
fighters there. However, Besançon saw little action during the war. The railway complex was bombed in 1943 and the next year the Germans resisted the U.S. advance for four days. In 1959, the French Army turned the citadel over to the city of Besançon, which turned it into a museum.
The forts of Brégille and Beauregard sit across the Doubs from the town. In 1913, a private company built a funicular
Funicular
A funicular, also known as an inclined plane or cliff railway, is a cable railway in which a cable attached to a pair of tram-like vehicles on rails moves them up and down a steep slope; the ascending and descending vehicles counterbalance each other.-Operation:The basic principle of funicular...
to the Brégille Heights. The funicular passed from private ownership to the SNCF
SNCF
The SNCF , is France's national state-owned railway company. SNCF operates the country's national rail services, including the TGV, France's high-speed rail network...
, who finally closed it in 1987. The funicular's tracks, stations and even road signs remain in place to this day.
Geography
Location
Besançon is located in the north-east quarter of France on the Doubs RiverDoubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
. It is about 325 km (215 mi) east of the national capital of Paris, 100 km (60 mi) east of Dijon
Dijon
Dijon is a city in eastern France, the capital of the Côte-d'Or département and of the Burgundy region.Dijon is the historical capital of the region of Burgundy. Population : 151,576 within the city limits; 250,516 for the greater Dijon area....
in Burgundy, 125 km (75 mi) northwest of Lausanne
Lausanne
Lausanne is a city in Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland, and is the capital of the canton of Vaud. The seat of the district of Lausanne, the city is situated on the shores of Lake Geneva . It faces the French town of Évian-les-Bains, with the Jura mountains to its north-west...
in Switzerland, and 100 km (60 mi) southwest of Belfort
Belfort
Belfort is a commune in the Territoire de Belfort department in Franche-Comté in northeastern France and is the prefecture of the department. It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate .-...
in Franche-Comté. It is located at the edge of the Jura Mountains
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains are a small mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of the watershed of each...
.
Topography
The city initially developed in a natural meanderMeander
A meander in general is a bend in a sinuous watercourse. A meander is formed when the moving water in a stream erodes the outer banks and widens its valley. A stream of any volume may assume a meandering course, alternately eroding sediments from the outside of a bend and depositing them on the...
(or oxbow loop) of the Doubs River
Doubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
with a diameter of almost 1 km (3,281 ft). The flat inner loop has an elevation of about 250 m (820 ft) and is bounded to the south by a hill called Mont Saint-Étienne, which has a maximum height of 371 m (1,217 ft). The city is surrounded by six other hills which range in elevation from 400 m (1,312 ft) to 500 m (1,640 ft): Brégille, Griffon, Planoise
Planoise
Planoise is a fairly recently developed area of Besançon , built in the 1960s and located to the west of the city, between the hill of Planoise and the district of Hauts-de-Chazal. With 21,000 inhabitants it is the most populous district of the city...
, Chaudanne, Montfaucon, and Montboucon. (There is a barge canal that cuts through rock under Mont Saint-Étienne, short-cutting the meander.)
Climate
Besançon is under the influence of both an oceanic climateOceanic climate
An oceanic climate, also called marine west coast climate, maritime climate, Cascadian climate and British climate for Köppen climate classification Cfb and subtropical highland for Köppen Cfb or Cwb, is a type of climate typically found along the west coasts at the middle latitudes of some of the...
(notable precipitations in quantity as much as in frequency) and a continental climate
Continental climate
Continental climate is a climate characterized by important annual variation in temperature due to the lack of significant bodies of water nearby...
with hard winters (snow, frost) and warm and dry summers. The year-round average is 11.5 °C (53 °F). The warmest month is July 20 °C (68 °F) and the coldest is January 2.1 °C (36 °F). Besançon receives about 1059 mm (41.7 inches) of precipitation
Precipitation (meteorology)
In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation In meteorology, precipitation (also known as one of the classes of hydrometeors, which are atmospheric water phenomena is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapor that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation...
per year. The wettest month is May (108.4 mm or 4.3 in); the driest is August (76.9 mm or 3 in). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 28 July 1921, was 40.3 °C (105 °F), and the lowest was a -20.7 °C reached on 1 January 1985.
Districts
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- Center (the buckleet and Saint-Jean) – Chapelle des Buis
- BattantBattant (Besançon)Battant is one of the oldest parts of Besançon, Doubs, France, and has been under architectural protection since 1964. It is situated on the right bank of the river Doubs, north of the ox-bow that encircles the center of the city...
- Bregille
- VaitesVaitesVaites or the Vaites is a district of Besançon, located to the east of the city.A project of urbanization is under study, raising a protest from residents, which are manifested by creating an association and a community blog but by a visual "the vait see red "....
– Clairs-SoleilsClairs-SoleilsClairs-Soleils is a small area on Besançon's east side, near the quarters of Bregille and Orchamps. The quarter has about 3000 inhabitants.- History :Like Planoise, Clairs-Soleils was built in response Besançon's rapid population growth... - VelotteVelotte (Besançon)Velotte is a little area of Besançon, with 2000 inhabitants- Transports :* Bus, number 24...
- ButteButte (Besançon)- Geography :The area is located near the historical center, near Grette and Saint-Ferjeux- Education :* Public Kindergarten of Butte* Public Primary School of Butte* Lyceum of Jules Haag- Administrative Buildings :* Prison of Besançon...
– GretteGrette- Etymology :The name "Grette" comes from the verb "gratter", meaning "to scrape" and refers to the removal of stones from the ground before it can be cultivated.- History :... - ChapraisChapraisThe Chaprais or Chaprais is a district of Besançon, which was developed from the second half of the 19th century. Located in north-east of the historic center, it has 15 500 inhabitants which makes the second bigger area of the city-History:...
– CrasCras (Besançon)Cras is a district of Besançon located to the east of the city. Its name comes from the Franche-Comte "Cra" which means "crow."... - Palente – OrchampsOrchamps (Besançon)Orchamps is a neighbourhood in the south-east of the city of Besançon, France. Like nearby Clairs-Soleils and Planoise, to the west of the city, Orchamps was built in the late 1960s. It is situated close to Bregille....
– Combe SaragosseCombe SaragosseCombe Saragosse is a district of Besançon, capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté region in eastern France. One of the last urban area of Besançon, Combe Saragosse, is located in the northeast of the city, bordering the Orchamps and Palente.... - TilleroyesTilleroyesThe area of Tilleroyes is a litlle sector of Besançon located to the north of the city.- Toponymy :The term Tilleroyes is formed from lime and oye suffix that means a collection of plants...
- Montrapon – Montboucons – Fontaine-écuFontaine-écuMontrapon, with Fontaine-Écu is two sectors forming an area located in the north of Besançon . In 1990, they counted 10.000 inhabitants environ.- References :...
- PlanoisePlanoisePlanoise is a fairly recently developed area of Besançon , built in the 1960s and located to the west of the city, between the hill of Planoise and the district of Hauts-de-Chazal. With 21,000 inhabitants it is the most populous district of the city...
– ChâteaufarineChâteaufarineChâteaufarine is a recent area of Besançon located in the west of the city. This neighborhood is a famous commercial center, the biggest of Franche-Comté, and a part of Planoise, France.- History :... - Saint-ClaudeSaint-Claude (Besançon)- History :In 1965 was built the "City of Montarmots" in Saint-Claude, who has more than 30 dwellings. The primary purpose of these units was to host the Franco-Algerian rappatriés recently - Geography :...
– TorcolsTorcols- Geography:The Torcols is located south of Saint-Claude, between Battant and Cras.... - Saint-FerjeuxSaint-Ferjeux (Besançon)Saint-Ferjeux is a district of Besançon located to the west of the city- Geography :The sector is located to the west of the city, near Planoise, Tilleroyes and Grette- Transports :* Lines 1, 3, 10, 20 and 27 serve the area...
– RosemontRosemont (Besançon)Rosemont is a district of Besançon located to the west of the city- History :Nestled at the foot of Mont Rognon, the area was covered with vines before being reforested by the city from 1828 to 1847. It was renamed Mount Rose then took its final name of Rosemont... - ChailluzForest of ChailluzThe Forest of Chailluz is a wooded located in Besançon, in the Doubs, France. It is bisected by Highway A36. Its altitude ranges from around Thise to at the Fort de la Dame Blanche.- Economy :* Automatic wood heating...
Parks and gardens
- Jardin botanique de BesançonJardin botanique de BesançonThe Jardin botanique de Besançon , more formally the Jardin botanique de l'Université de Franche-Comté et de la Ville de Besançon, is a botanical garden located on the Place du Maréchal Leclerc, Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté, France...
- Parc Micaud
- Parc de la Gare d'Eau
- Parc de la Citadelle
- Promenade Granvelle
- Promenade Chamars
Demography
As of the French CensusCensus in France
From the mid-17th until the beginning of the 20th century, French censuses became increasingly more frequent and organized. This article focuses on the purposes of the first censuses , how the population was conceived of, and what variables were collected...
of 2008, the population of the City of Besançon was 117,599, lower than the historical peak of 120,315 in 1975. Grand Besançon covers 122 km² (47.1 sq mi), 11 municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and has a population of 135,652. The metropolitan area covers 1652 km² (637.8 sq mi), 234 municipalities
Municipality
A municipality is essentially an urban administrative division having corporate status and usually powers of self-government. It can also be used to mean the governing body of a municipality. A municipality is a general-purpose administrative subdivision, as opposed to a special-purpose district...
and has 236,968 inhabitants. It is the thirty-seventh of France. It increased by 6.6% between 1999 and 2008.
Government and politics
Besançon is the capital of the Franche-ComtéFranche-Comté
Franche-Comté the former "Free County" of Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy, is an administrative region and a traditional province of eastern France...
région of France, a région including the four départements of Doubs, Haute-Saône
Haute-Saône
Haute-Saône is a French department of the Franche-Comté région, named after the Saône River.- History :The department was created in the early years of the French Revolution through the application of a law dated 22 December 1789, from part of the former province of Franche-Comté...
, Jura and Territoire de Belfort
Territoire de Belfort
The Territoire de Belfort is a department in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France.-Administration:Its departmental code is 90, and its prefecture is Belfort...
. As such, it is the seat of the Franche-Comté regional council, and the regional préfecture (government offices).
Mayor of the City of Besançon is Jean-Louis Fousseret.
Economy
The city is famous for its microtechnologyMicrotechnology
Microtechnology is technology with features near one micrometre .In the 1960s, scientists learned that by arraying large numbers of microscopic transistors on a single chip, microelectronic circuits could be built that dramatically improved performance, functionality, and reliability, all while...
and watch industries. It is host of the biannual Micronora trade fair, one of Europe's major events in the field of microtechnologies. The city has a little-known specialty, automatic ticketing machines for car parking, airports, date stamping etc.
The watch industry, for which Besançon remains the French capital, endured a major crisis in the 1970s when the advent of quartz watches from Asia knocked out the traditional watch industry in the space of just a few years. The famous "Lip" affair
LIP (clockwork company)
LIP is a French watch and clock company whose turmoil became emblematic of the conflicts between workers and management in France.The LIP factory, based in Besançon in eastern France, was having financial problems in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and management decided to try to close it...
epitomizes the industrial crisis. LIP is to this day the name of one of Besançon's most prestigious brands of watches. Refusing to let their factory close, the workers set up a cooperative
Worker cooperative
A worker cooperative is a cooperative owned and democratically managed by its worker-owners. This control may be exercised in a number of ways. A cooperative enterprise may mean a firm where every worker-owner participates in decision making in a democratic fashion, or it may refer to one in which...
to run it. The action produced a lot of notoriety and sympathy for the workers but also resulted in branding Besançon as a city of the radical left. It also did nothing to help revive the watch industry; the cooperative went out of business a short while later. The city took a long time to recover from the collapse of the watch industry and its other major industry of the industrial age, artificial textiles.
Since the 1980s, Besançon's watch industry has clawed its way back on the basis of its historic reputation and quartz watches, establishing itself in a number of niche markets including customized watches, high quality watches, and fashion articles. Since the 1990s, the town has developed a reputation as one of France's leading centres of technology in all fields, including telecommunications and biotechnology.
Education
Besançon is the seat of the Université de Franche-Comté. As of 2006, there were approximately students enrolled at the university, including around foreign students. The Institut Supérieur d'Ingénieurs de Franche-Comté (ISIFC), part of the Université de Franche-Comté, is the first school created in the country specifically for the Biomedical engineeringBiomedical engineering
Biomedical Engineering is the application of engineering principles and design concepts to medicine and biology. This field seeks to close the gap between engineering and medicine: It combines the design and problem solving skills of engineering with medical and biological sciences to improve...
field. The city is also home of the École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques
École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques
The École Nationale Supérieure de Mécanique et des Microtechniques is a French school of engineering. It is part of Polyméca, a network of schools focusing on mechanical engineering.- History :...
(ENSMM), a technological school with a strong reputation in the fields of microtechnology
Microtechnology
Microtechnology is technology with features near one micrometre .In the 1960s, scientists learned that by arraying large numbers of microscopic transistors on a single chip, microelectronic circuits could be built that dramatically improved performance, functionality, and reliability, all while...
and mechanics
Mechanics
Mechanics is the branch of physics concerned with the behavior of physical bodies when subjected to forces or displacements, and the subsequent effects of the bodies on their environment....
and the worldwide famous Centre for Applied Linguistics which teaches ten languages to non-native speakers (French, Arabic, Chinese, English, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish) and any other known language on request and which welcomes more than students every year from all over the world.
Culture
Sites of interest
The city has one of the most beautiful historic centers of any major town in France. A broad horse-shoe of the river DoubsDoubs River
The Doubs is a 453 km long river in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its source is near Mouthe in the western Jura mountains....
, "la Boucle", encircles the old town, while Vauban
Vauban
Sébastien Le Prestre, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban , commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them...
's imposing Citadelle blocks off the neck. The historic center presents a remarkable ensemble of classic stone buildings, some dating back to the Middle Ages
Middle Ages
The Middle Ages is a periodization of European history from the 5th century to the 15th century. The Middle Ages follows the fall of the Western Roman Empire in 476 and precedes the Early Modern Era. It is the middle period of a three-period division of Western history: Classic, Medieval and Modern...
and others to the Spanish Renaissance. Among the most visited historic monuments are:
- several Roman remains,
- the 16th century Palais Granvelle,
- Vauban's citadel (Citadel of BesançonCitadel of BesançonThe Citadel of Besançon in Franche-Comté, France, is one of the military architect Vauban's masterpieces. The Citadel occupies eleven hectares on Mount Saint-Etienne, one of the seven hills that protect Besançon, the capital of Franche-Comté...
) - the Cathedral of St. Jean,
- several Spanish Renaissance-style buildings
- the Église de la MadeleineÉglise de la Madeleine (Besançon)The église Sainte-Madeleine is a neoclassical 18th century hall church in the Battant district of Besançon, France, dedicated to Saint Mary Magdalene. Antoine-Pierre II de Grammont, the archbishop of Besançon, had it built from 1746 to 1766 to plans by the architect Nicolas Nicole....
, and - the river frontage.
The Roman remains consist primarily of the Porte Noire, a 2nd century CE triumphal arch
Triumphal arch
A triumphal arch is a monumental structure in the shape of an archway with one or more arched passageways, often designed to span a road. In its simplest form a triumphal arch consists of two massive piers connected by an arch, crowned with a flat entablature or attic on which a statue might be...
at the foot of the hill on which the citadel stands, and the Square Castan
Square Castan
The Square Castan is a set of archaeological remains from the antique Gallo-Roman city of Vesontio, which is presently the French city of Besançon.-Description:The square is a vast unidentified semi-circular set, probably from the 2nd or 3rd century...
, a semi-circular amphitheater. The Porte Noire may commemorate the victories of Marcus Aurelius over the Germans in 167 CE. It was partly rebuilt in 1820.
From 1534 to 1540, Cardinal Granvelle, chancellor to the Habsburg
Habsburg
The House of Habsburg , also found as Hapsburg, and also known as House of Austria is one of the most important royal houses of Europe and is best known for being an origin of all of the formally elected Holy Roman Emperors between 1438 and 1740, as well as rulers of the Austrian Empire and...
emperor Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, built the Palais Granvelle, in the heart of the town. It consists of arcades that surround an interior court, and is the most interesting of the secular buildings. The Palais contains a set of seven wool and silk blend tapestries from Bruges
Bruges
Bruges is the capital and largest city of the province of West Flanders in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located in the northwest of the country....
that were woven circa 1635 and that celebrate seven milestones in Charles V's life. These tapestries remained in Spain until 1888, when they were transferred to France. In 1950 they were transferred to the Palais.
UNESCO
UNESCO
The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations...
added the citadel, the city walls and Fort Griffon to its list of World Heritage Sites in 2008, as part of the "Fortifications of Vauban
Fortifications of Vauban
Fortifications of Vauban consists of 12 groups of fortified buildings and sites along the western, northern and eastern borders of France. They were designed by Vauban , and were added in 2008 to the list of UNESCO World Heritage Sites....
" group. Some older military architecture has also survived. There is a cylindrical, 15th century tower near the Porte Notre-Dame, the southern gate of the city. The Porte Rivotte, a 16th century gate, has two round towers. The citadel houses the Museum of the French Resistance
French Resistance
The French Resistance is the name used to denote the collection of French resistance movements that fought against the Nazi German occupation of France and against the collaborationist Vichy régime during World War II...
and Deportation
Deportation
Deportation means the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. Today it often refers to the expulsion of foreign nationals whereas the expulsion of nationals is called banishment, exile, or penal transportation...
.
The Cathedral, which dates largely from the 12th century though construction continued into the 14th century, contains the most remarkable of the city's masterpieces, a massive Virgin and saints altarpiece
Altarpiece
An altarpiece is a picture or relief representing a religious subject and suspended in a frame behind the altar of a church. The altarpiece is often made up of two or more separate panels created using a technique known as panel painting. It is then called a diptych, triptych or polyptych for two,...
by the Italian Renaissance painter Fra Bartolomeo. It also houses a noteworthy 19th century astronomical clock
Astronomical clock (Besançon)
The astronomical clock of Besançon is housed in Besançon Cathedral. Besançon's present astronomical clock, made in 1860 by Auguste-Lucien Vérité of Beauvais to replace an earlier and unsatisfactory one made by Bernardin in the 1850s, differs from those in Strasbourg, Lyon and Beauvais...
. The Cathedral has two apses, with the eastern apse and the tower dating from the reign of Louis XV.
Attractive quays border the old city, and in places there are shady promenades. On the right bank there is a bathing establishment in the Mouillere quarter that draws its water from the saline springs of Miserey-Salines
Miserey-Salines
Miserey-Salines is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France.-Population:-External links:*...
.
Besançon also has one of the finest city art galleries in France outside Paris. The Museum of Fine Arts and Archeology
Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie de Besançon
The Musée des Beaux-Arts et d'archéologie in the French city of Besançon is the oldest public museum in France...
has a collection whose origins date to 1694, and which a remarkable series of bequests have augmented over time. In the 1960s the architect Luis Miquel, a pupil of Le Corbusier
Le Corbusier
Charles-Édouard Jeanneret, better known as Le Corbusier , was a Swiss-born French architect, designer, urbanist, writer and painter, famous for being one of the pioneers of what now is called modern architecture. He was born in Switzerland and became a French citizen in 1930...
, totally rebuilt the building. The building's interior takes the form of a gently rising concrete walkway that takes visitors up from classical antiquity to the modern age. Among the museum's treasures are a fine collection of classical antiquities and ancient Egyptian artifacts, as well as a very rich collection of paintings including works by Bellini
Giovanni Bellini
Giovanni Bellini was an Italian Renaissance painter, probably the best known of the Bellini family of Venetian painters. His father was Jacopo Bellini, his brother was Gentile Bellini, and his brother-in-law was Andrea Mantegna. He is considered to have revolutionized Venetian painting, moving it...
, Bronzino, Tintoretto
Tintoretto
Tintoretto , real name Jacopo Comin, was a Venetian painter and a notable exponent of the Renaissance school. For his phenomenal energy in painting he was termed Il Furioso...
, Titian
Titian
Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio Tiziano Vecelli or Tiziano Vecellio (c. 1488/1490 – 27 August 1576 better known as Titian was an Italian painter, the most important member of the 16th-century Venetian school. He was born in Pieve di Cadore, near...
, Rubens, Jordaens, Ruysdael
Jacob Isaakszoon van Ruysdael
Jacob Isaackszoon van Ruisdael was a Dutch landscape painter.-Life:A native of Haarlem, he appears to have studied under his father Isaak van Ruysdael, a landscape painter, though other authorities place him as the pupil of Berghem and of Allart van Everdingen...
, Cranach
Lucas Cranach the Elder
Lucas Cranach the Elder , was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving...
, Zurbarán, Goya, Philippe de Champaigne
Philippe de Champaigne
Philippe de Champaigne was a Flemish-born French Baroque era painter, a major exponent of the French school.-Early life:Born in Brussels of a poor family, Champaigne was a pupil of the landscape painter Jacques Fouquières...
, Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard
Jean-Honoré Fragonard was a French painter and printmaker whose late Rococo manner was distinguished by remarkable facility, exuberance, and hedonism. One of the most prolific artists active in the last decades of the Ancien Régime, Fragonard produced more than 550 paintings , of which only five...
, Boucher
François Boucher
François Boucher was a French painter, a proponent of Rococo taste, known for his idyllic and voluptuous paintings on classical themes, decorative allegories representing the arts or pastoral occupations, intended as a sort of two-dimensional furniture...
, David
Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David was an influential French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era...
, Ingres
Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres
Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres was a French Neoclassical painter. Although he considered himself to be a painter of history in the tradition of Nicolas Poussin and Jacques-Louis David, by the end of his life it was Ingres's portraits, both painted and drawn, that were recognized as his greatest...
, Géricault, Courbet
Gustave Courbet
Jean Désiré Gustave Courbet was a French painter who led the Realist movement in 19th-century French painting. The Realist movement bridged the Romantic movement , with the Barbizon School and the Impressionists...
, Constable
John Constable
John Constable was an English Romantic painter. Born in Suffolk, he is known principally for his landscape paintings of Dedham Vale, the area surrounding his home—now known as "Constable Country"—which he invested with an intensity of affection...
, Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
, Matisse, Picasso and many others.
Beatrix of the Netherlands
Beatrix is the Queen regnant of the Kingdom of the Netherlands comprising the Netherlands, Curaçao, Sint Maarten, and Aruba. She is the first daughter of Queen Juliana of the Netherlands and Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld. She studied law at Leiden University...
is also the Lady of Besançon.
The Christmas carol "Berger, Secoue Ton Sommeil Profond", known in English as "Shepherds, Shake Off Your Drowsy Sleep" originated in Besançon in the 17th century.
Other museums, aquariums, and zoos
- Museum of Time
- Museum of Franche-Comté
- Museum of Natural history, which contains a zoo, aquarium, insectarium, noctarium, and a climatology exhibit
Performing arts centers
- Opéra Théâtre: construit par Ledoux de 1778 à 1784
- Grand Kursaal
- Nouveau Théâtre – Centre Dramatique National
- Cirque Plume
- Théâtre Bacchus
- Théâtre de la Bouloie
- Théâtre de l'Espace
Annual cultural events and fairs
Several major events occur annually in Besançon. One of the best-known is the Besançon International Music FestivalBesançon International Music Festival
The Besançon International Music Festival is a one of the oldest festivals of classical music that takes place in the city of Besançon, northeastern France, over two weeks from around the middle of September...
, which takes place in September; it is one of the oldest and most prestigious Classical music festivals. Besançon hosts other music festivals such as the Herbe en Zik Festival (French rock and variety) in May, the Jazz en Franche-Comté Festival in June, the Franch Country Festival (country music) in August, and the Musiques de Rues Festival
Musiques de Rues Festival
The Musiques de Rues Festival is a festival of street music taking place in the city of Besançon, France, over four days around the first weekend of October....
(street music) in October.
Sports
The major sports in Besançon are handballTeam handball
Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team...
and basketball. The city's soccer club, called Besançon Racing Club plays in the French fourth division.
Besançon also had a fairly successful hockey
Ice hockey
Ice hockey, often referred to as hockey, is a team sport played on ice, in which skaters use wooden or composite sticks to shoot a hard rubber puck into their opponent's net. The game is played between two teams of six players each. Five members of each team skate up and down the ice trying to take...
team in the early 21st century. The Séquanes, named after an ancient gallic tribe, reached the French Cup final in 2002 (which the city hosted) and briefly played in the country's top league, then called Super 16.
However the Séquanes' free spending policy soon backfired. The team folded in the middle of the 2002/03 season due to financial problems. Today, senior hockey subsists in Besançon in the form of a low level amateur team.
The town also had a good Canoe-Kayak Club, Sport Nautique Bisontin, one of the oldest in France.
| Club | Sport | League | Stadium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Besançon Racing Club | Football | Championnat de France Amateurs Championnat de France Amateurs The Championnat de France amateur, commonly referred to as simply CFA and formerly known as National 2, is a football league competition. The league serves as the fourth division of the French football league system behind Ligue 1, Ligue 2, and the Championnat National... |
Stade Léo Lagrange Stade Léo Lagrange Stade Léo Lagrange is a stadium in Besançon, France. It is currently used for football matches and is the home stadium of Besançon RC. The stadium holds 10,500 spectators.-External links:*... |
| Entente Sportive Bisontine Masculin | Handball Team handball Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team... |
Nationale 1 | Gymnase des Montboucons |
| Entente Sportive Bisontine Feminin | Handball Team handball Handball is a team sport in which two teams of seven players each pass a ball to throw it into the goal of the other team... |
Division 1 (women's) | Palais des Sports Palais des Sports (Besançon) Palais des Sports is an indoor sports arena, located in Besançon, France. The capacity of the arena is 4,000 people. It is currently home to the Besançon Basket Comté Doubs basketball team.... |
Transport
Besançon is situated at the crossing of two major lines of communication, the NE-SW route, following the valley of the river Doubs, and linking Germany and North Europe with LyonLyon
Lyon , is a city in east-central France in the Rhône-Alpes region, situated between Paris and Marseille. Lyon is located at from Paris, from Marseille, from Geneva, from Turin, and from Barcelona. The residents of the city are called Lyonnais....
and southwest Europe, and the N-S route linking northern France and the Netherlands with Switzerland. A key staging post on the Strasbourg-Lyon (Germany-Spain) route, it also has direct high-speed train (TGV
TGV
The TGV is France's high-speed rail service, currently operated by SNCF Voyages, the long-distance rail branch of SNCF, the French national rail operator....
) links with Paris, Charles de Gaulle Airport, and Lille
Lille
Lille is a city in northern France . It is the principal city of the Lille Métropole, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the country behind those of Paris, Lyon and Marseille. Lille is situated on the Deûle River, near France's border with Belgium...
from its Gare de Besançon-Viotte
Gare de Besançon-Viotte
Gare de Besançon-Viotte is the main railway station serving the city Besançon, Doubs department, eastern France.-Services:-References:*...
. Unusually for a town of its size, it does not have a commercial airport, though two international airports, EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg
EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg is an international airport northwest of Basel , southeast of Mulhouse , and south of Freiburg . It is located in France, on the administrative territory of the commune of Saint-Louis near the Swiss and German borders...
and Lyon Saint-Exupéry International Airport
Saint-Exupéry International Airport
Lyon-Saint Exupéry Airport , formerly known as Lyon Satolas Airport, is one of the two airports located in the agglomeration of Lyon, France. The airport was named in 2000 in honour of the French writer and pilot Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, a native of Lyon, on the centenary of his birth.The...
, can be reached in about 2 hours. Ginko is the bus company which runs the urban transport of Besançon
Births
- Claude GoudimelClaude GoudimelClaude Goudimel was a French composer, music editor and publisher, and music theorist of the Renaissance.-Biography:...
(1510–1572) – Musician, Teacher of Palestrina. Composer of the music for Protestant hymns - Antoine Perrenot de GranvelleAntoine Perrenot de GranvelleAntoine Perrenot de Granvelle , Comte de La Baume Saint Amour, was a Burgundian statesman, made a cardinal, who followed his father as a leading minister of the Spanish Habsburgs, and was one of the most influential European politicians during the time which immediately followed the appearance of...
(1517–1586) – Cardinal, statesman and humanist. Counsellor of Charles V, Viceroy of Naples - Jean MairetJean MairetJean Mairet was a classical French dramatist who wrote both tragedies and comedies.- Life :He was born at Besançon, and went to Paris to study at the Collège des Grassins about 1625. In that year he produced his first piece Chryséide et Arimand...
(1604–1686) – Dramatist - Charles FourierCharles FourierFrançois Marie Charles Fourier was a French philosopher. An influential thinker, some of Fourier's social and moral views, held to be radical in his lifetime, have become main currents in modern society...
(1772–1837) – Inventor of socialist "phalansteries" (vast communal buildings surrounded by a highly cultivated agricultural area) - Charles NodierCharles NodierJean Charles Emmanuel Nodier , was a French author who introduced a younger generation of Romanticists to the conte fantastique, gothic literature, vampire tales, and the importance of dreams as part of literary creation, and whose career as a librarian is often underestimated by literary...
(1780–1844) – Writer. Leader of the Romantic movement - Jean Claude Eugène PécletJean Claude Eugène PécletJean Claude Eugène Péclet was a French physicist.He was born in Besançon, France.Péclet became, in 1812, one of the first students of the École Normale in Paris with Gay-Lussac and Dulong being his professors. In 1816, he was elected professor at the Collège de Marseille and taught physical...
(1793–1857) – physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
, gave his name to the Péclet numberPéclet numberThe Péclet number is a dimensionless number relevant in the study of transport phenomena in fluid flows. It is named after the French physicist Jean Claude Eugène Péclet. It is defined to be the ratio of the rate of advection of a physical quantity by the flow to the rate of diffusion of the same... - Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
(1802–1885) – Writer and poet - Pierre-Joseph ProudhonPierre-Joseph ProudhonPierre-Joseph Proudhon was a French politician, mutualist philosopher and socialist. He was a member of the French Parliament, and he was the first person to call himself an "anarchist". He is considered among the most influential theorists and organisers of anarchism...
(1809–1865)- Journalist (Le Peuple) and author of world-renowned anarchist theories - Adolphe BraunAdolphe BraunAdolphe Braun was a French photographer, best known for his floral still-lifes, Parisian street scenes, and grand Alpine landscapes. One of the most influential French photographers of the 19th century, he used contemporary innovations in photographic reproduction to market his photographs...
(1812-1877) - Early photographer - Hilaire de ChardonnetHilaire de ChardonnetHilaire de Chardonnet , born Louis-Marie Hilaire Bernigaud de Chardonnet, was a French engineer and industrialist from Besançon, inventor of artificial silk....
(1838–1924) – Inventor of artificial silk - Louis-Jean RésalLouis-Jean RésalJean Résal was a chief engineer of Bridges. He was born October 22, 1854 in Besançon, who died in 1919. He is regarded as the greatest designer of metal bridges in the late nineteenth century....
(1854–1920) – Engineer who built the Pont MirabeauPont MirabeauThe pont Mirabeau was built between 1895 and 1897. It was listed a historical monument in 1975.-Geography:The bridge spans the Seine from the 15th arrondissement , to the 16th arrondissement. It links rue de la Convention and place Mirabeau, on the left bank, to rue de Rémusat. On the left side,...
and the Pont Alexandre IIIPont Alexandre IIIThe Pont Alexandre III is an arch bridge that spans the Seine, connecting the Champs-Élysées quarter and the Invalides and Eiffel Tower quarter, widely regarded as the most ornate, extravagant bridge in Paris...
in Paris - Auguste and Louis LumièreAuguste and Louis LumièreThe Lumière brothers, Auguste Marie Louis Nicolas and Louis Jean , were among the earliest filmmakers in history...
, (1862–1954) and (1864–1948) – Inventors of cinematography - Tristan BernardTristan BernardTristan Bernard was a French playwright, novelist, journalist and lawyer.-Life:Born Paul Bernard into a Jewish family in Besançon, Doubs, Franche-Comté, France, he was the son of an architect...
(1866–1947) – Journalist and Humorist - Albert SeitzAlbert SeitzAlbert Seitz was a French composer and viola player.Seitz was a violist with the Orchestre de la Société des Concerts du Conservatoire from 1900 to 1932.-Selected works:...
(1872–1937) – composer and violist - Ludovic ArrachartLudovic ArrachartLudovic Arrachart was a French officer aviator.He obtained records and raids which made him one of the pioneers of intercontinental aviation...
(1897–1933), aviator - Jean de GribaldyJean de GribaldyJean de Gribaldy was a French road cyclist and directeur sportif.-Biography:Born in Besançon, former professional racing cyclist from 1945 to 1954, Jean de Gribaldy began a successful career as a directeur sportif in the mid-1960s .Called le Vicomte , he discovered Sean Kelly, Joaquim Agostinho...
(1922–1987) – Professional racing cyclist and directeur sportifDirecteur sportifA directeur sportif is a person directing a cycling team during a road bicycle racing event... - Raymond BlancRaymond BlancRaymond Blanc OBE is a French chef, born in Besançon, France. Today he is one of the Britain's most respected chefs. Blanc is the owner and chef at Le Manoir aux Quat' Saisons, a hotel-restaurant in Great Milton, Oxfordshire, England. The restaurant has two Michelin stars and scored 9/10 in the...
(1949– ) – Chef - Morrade HakkarMorrade HakkarMorrade Hakkar is a French middleweight boxer of Algerian descent who has held a number of regional championship belts during his 11-year professional career...
(1972– ) – Boxer - Gaspard Augé (1979– ) – One half of electro group JusticeJustice (French band)Justice is a French electronic music duo consisting of Gaspard Augé and Xavier de Rosnay . The duo is one of the most successful groups on Ed Banger Records and is managed by the label's head, Pedro Winter...
- Cyril KaliCyril KaliCyril Kali is a French footballer who last played as a defender for Larissa in Betta Ethniki.-External links:* * *...
footballer - Yohann LasimantYohann LasimantYohann Lasimant is a French footballer. He currently plays for Ligue 2 club Grenoble.-Club career:Yohann began his career at his local club SC Clémenceau in Besançon. In 2002, he moved to the biggest club in the city, Besançon RC. He gained the attention of Rennes scouts during his time here and...
footballer - Lucien Laurent footballer
Popular culture
- Julius CaesarJulius CaesarGaius Julius Caesar was a Roman general and statesman and a distinguished writer of Latin prose. He played a critical role in the gradual transformation of the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire....
, in his account Commentarii de Bello GallicoCommentarii de Bello GallicoCommentarii de Bello Gallico is Julius Caesar's firsthand account of the Gallic Wars, written as a third-person narrative. In it Caesar describes the battles and intrigues that took place in the nine years he spent fighting local armies in Gaul that opposed Roman domination.The "Gaul" that Caesar...
gives a description of the antique city of Besançon, named Vesontio (first book, section 38):
-
- [1.38] When he had proceeded three days' journey, word was brought to him that Ariovistus was hastening with all his forces to seize on Vesontio, which is the largest town of the Sequani, and had advanced three days' journey from its territories. Caesar thought that he ought to take the greatest precautions lest this should happen, for there was in that town a most ample supply of every thing which was serviceable for war; and so fortified was it by the nature of the ground, as to afford a great facility for protracting the war, inasmuch as the river Doubs almost surrounds the whole town, as though it were traced round it with a pair of compasses. A mountain of great height shuts in the remaining space, which is not more than 600 feet (182.9 m), where the river leaves a gap, in such a manner that the roots of that mountain extend to the river's bank on either side. A wall thrown around it makes a citadel of this [mountain], and connects it with the town.
- Gary JenningsGary JenningsGary Jennings was an American author who wrote children's and adult novels. In 1980, after the successful novel Aztec, he specialized in writing adult historical fiction novels.-Biography:...
's novel "Raptor", which takes place in the 5th century AD, describes Vesontio lavishly. - In StendhalStendhalMarie-Henri Beyle , better known by his pen name Stendhal, was a 19th-century French writer. Known for his acute analysis of his characters' psychology, he is considered one of the earliest and foremost practitioners of realism in his two novels Le Rouge et le Noir and La Chartreuse de Parme...
's novel Le rouge et le noir, Julien Sorel, the main character, studies for a while at the Catholic seminarySeminaryA seminary, theological college, or divinity school is an institution of secondary or post-secondary education for educating students in theology, generally to prepare them for ordination as clergy or for other ministry...
at Besançon (first book, chapters 24 to 30):
- Gary Jennings
- Eventually he saw the white walls beyond the distant mountain; it was the citadel of Besançon. "What a difference", he said, sighing, "if I could come into this fine city as a sub-lieutenant of one of these regiments of the post." Besançon is not only one of the prettiest cities in France, but it abounds in brave and intelligent men. Julien, however, was only a little peasant, without any means of approaching distinguished personages.
- [1.38] When he had proceeded three days' journey, word was brought to him that Ariovistus was hastening with all his forces to seize on Vesontio, which is the largest town of the Sequani, and had advanced three days' journey from its territories. Caesar thought that he ought to take the greatest precautions lest this should happen, for there was in that town a most ample supply of every thing which was serviceable for war; and so fortified was it by the nature of the ground, as to afford a great facility for protracting the war, inasmuch as the river Doubs almost surrounds the whole town, as though it were traced round it with a pair of compasses. A mountain of great height shuts in the remaining space, which is not more than 600 feet (182.9 m), where the river leaves a gap, in such a manner that the roots of that mountain extend to the river's bank on either side. A wall thrown around it makes a citadel of this [mountain], and connects it with the town.
- In the poem This century was two years old (Les Feuilles d'automne; literally – "The Leaves of Autumn"), Victor HugoVictor HugoVictor-Marie Hugo was a Frenchpoet, playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human rights activist and exponent of the Romantic movement in France....
evokes his birth in Besançon:
-
- This century was two years old. Rome was replacing Sparta;
- Already Napoleon was emerging from under Bonaparte.
- And already the First Consul's tight mask
- Had been split in several places by the Emperor's brow.
- It was then that in Besançon, that old Spanish town,
- Cast like a seed into the flying wind,
- A child was born of mixed blood—Breton and Lorraine --
- Pallid, blind and mute,...
- That child, whom Life was scratching from its book,
- And who had not another day to live,
- Was me.
- Besançon is where the Touché! series, an Australian series of books that teaches people French, is set. The series is about an Australian boy called Nick, who moves to Besançon after his parents separate. He settles in a street called rue Cézanne where he befriends a French girl called Marianne. She introduces him to other residents of rue Cézanne, such as Ahmed, Annick, François Petitpain, Émile Mesquin, MonsieurMonsieur' is an honorific title that used to refer to or address the eldest living brother of the king in the French royal court. It is also a customary French title of respect and term of address for a French-speaking man, corresponding to such English titles as Mr...
Fric, Madame Boulin and MademoiselleMissMiss is an English language honorific traditionally used only for an unmarried woman . Originating in the 17th century, it is a contraction of mistress, which was used for all women. A period is not used to signify the contraction...
Moh. The first two books of the series take place in Besançon, whilst in the third, Nick visits his uncle in New CaledoniaNew CaledoniaNew Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
. In the fourth, Nick stays in QuebecQuebecQuebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
, Canada. After the fourth book, Nick returns to Besançon.
- Julian Barnes' novel A History of the World in 10½ Chapters features as chapter 3: "Wars of Religion"--a fictional manuscript reportedly from the Archives Municipales de Besançon.
Balzac's novel Albert Savaron takes place in Besançon.
Colonel Sainte-Hermine, the fictional hero of Alexandre Dumas' The Last Cavalier
The Knight of Sainte-Hermine
The Knight of Sainte-Hermine is an unfinished historical novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is believed to be Dumas' last major work, and the story was lost until 2005, when it was announced that an almost-complete copy had been found in the form of a newspaper serial...
, is a native of Besançon.
Twin cities
TverTver
Tver is a city and the administrative center of Tver Oblast, Russia. Population: 403,726 ; 408,903 ;...
(Russia) Freiburg im Breisgau
Freiburg
Freiburg im Breisgau is a city in Baden-Württemberg, Germany. In the extreme south-west of the country, it straddles the Dreisam river, at the foot of the Schlossberg. Historically, the city has acted as the hub of the Breisgau region on the western edge of the Black Forest in the Upper Rhine Plain...
(Germany) Kuopio
Kuopio
Kuopio is a city and a municipality located in the region of Northern Savonia, Finland. A population of makes it the ninth biggest city in the country. The city has a total area of , of which is water and half forest...
(Finland) Huddersfield
Huddersfield
Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....
– Kirklees
Kirklees
The Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees is a metropolitan borough of West Yorkshire, England. It has a population of 401,000 and includes the settlements of Batley, Birstall, Cleckheaton, Denby Dale, Dewsbury, Heckmondwike, Holmfirth, Huddersfield, Kirkburton, Marsden, Meltham, Mirfield and Slaithwaite...
(United Kingdom) Bielsko-Biala
Bielsko-Biala
-Economy and Industry:Nowadays Bielsko-Biała is one of the best-developed parts of Poland. It was ranked 2nd best city for business in that country by Forbes. About 5% of people are unemployed . Bielsko-Biała is famous for its textile, machine-building, and especially automotive industry...
(Poland) Neuchâtel (Switzerland) Bistriţa
Bistrita
Bistrița is the capital city of Bistriţa-Năsăud County, Transylvania, Romania. It is situated on the Bistriţa River. The city has a population of approximately 80,000 inhabitants, and it administers six villages: Ghinda, Sărata, Sigmir, Slătiniţa, Unirea and Viişoara.-History:The earliest sign of...
(Romania) Pavia
Pavia
Pavia , the ancient Ticinum, is a town and comune of south-western Lombardy, northern Italy, 35 km south of Milan on the lower Ticino river near its confluence with the Po. It is the capital of the province of Pavia. It has a population of c. 71,000...
(Italy) Hadera
Hadera
Hadera is a city located in the Haifa District of Israel approximately from the major cities of Tel Aviv and Haifa. The city is located along of the Israeli Mediterranean Coastal Plain...
(Israel) Douroula
Douroula
Douroula is a town in Burkina Faso. It is the county seat of Douroula Department in the province Mouhoun....
(Burkina Faso) Man
Man, Côte d'Ivoire
Man is a town in Man Department in the west of central Côte d'Ivoire. It is part of Dix-Huit Montagnes Region and is an important market town lying between mountains including Mount Toura and Mount Tonkoui, the two highest in the nation, and La Dent de Man, popular with hikers. The city lies near...
(Côte d'Ivoire) Charlottesville – Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
(United States)
External links
- City Council Website (in French)
- Besançon – All Events in Besançon, Real City Guide (in French)
- Besac.com: Online Média for Besançon: Events, Classifieds, Online Shops (in French)
- Unofficial Funicular Website (bilingual, French/English)
- Official Funicular Website (French only)
- Webpage about the Fortifications
- Besançon Hymn
- Besançon and around area directory search engine (in French)