Arbois
Encyclopedia
Arbois is a commune in the Jura department in Franche-Comté
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...

 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...

. The Cuisance River passes through the town, which has some pretty streets lined with ancient houses. The town centers on an arcaded central square where one can sample the local wines.

History

As part of the Duchy of Burgundy
Duchy 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...

, Arbois endured seven sieges, including sackings by Charles I d'Amboise (in 1479 while he was governor of Franche-Comté under Louis XI), Henry IV
Henry IV of France
Henry IV , Henri-Quatre, was King of France from 1589 to 1610 and King of Navarre from 1572 to 1610. He was the first monarch of the Bourbon branch of the Capetian dynasty in France....

 (when the town held out for three weeks against the King's 25,000 troops), and Louis XIV. It has a castle erected in 1270, some vestiges of which survived the dismantlement that Louis XIV ordered in 1678. There are stretches of wall, pierced for archers, three round towers, and the square Gloriette tower.

In 1834 when the republic was proclaimed at Lyon
Lyon
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....

s, the town joined the revolt against the government, which promptly sent a small force of grenadiers, cavalry, and a battery of artillery to subdue it.

In September 1944, the U.S. 36th Infantry Division
U.S. 36th Infantry Division
-Pre 2 October 1941 Square Organization:*HHC, 36th Infantry Division, TXARNG**36th Military Police Platoon**36th Signal Company**111th Ordnance Company**111th Engineer Regiment , TXARNG**111th Medical Regiment**111th Quartermaster Regiment...

 captured Arbois as it moved up the Rhone
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...

 towards Besançon
Besançon
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...

 and then on to the Moselle
Moselle
Moselle is a department in the east of France named after the river Moselle.- History :Moselle is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790...

.

Wine

The area produces some of the best Jura wine
Jura wine
Jura wine, is French wine produced in the Jura département. Located between Burgundy and Switzerland, this cool climate wine region produces wines with some similarity to Burgundy and Swiss wine. Jura wines are distinctive and unusual wines, the most famous being vin jaune, which is made by a...

s, including vin jaune
Vin jaune
Vin jaune is a special and characteristic type of white wine made in the Jura wine region in eastern France. It is similar to dry fino Sherry and gets its character from being matured in a barrel under a film of yeast, known as the voile, on the wine's surface...

(yellow wine) and vin de Paille (straw wine
Straw wine
Straw wine, or raisin wine, is a wine made from grapes that have been dried to concentrate their juice. The result is similar to that of the ice wine process, but suitable for warmer climates. The classic method dries clusters of grapes on mats of straw in the sun, but some regions dry them under...

), in the Arbois AOC.

Sights

Tourist attractions include:
  • Tour Gloriette (the Gloriette Tower) was built in the 13th century together with the Tour Velfaux (Vellefaux), and integrated into the Château Pécauld (Pecaud). The Gloriette was one of the principle elements of the city's ramparts, which stretched some 1200 meters. It was badly damaged in 1503 when the Cuisance overflowed its banks. With a height of 17 meters and a square base, 11 meters on each side, the current tower was restored at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Although the city was attacked by several armies, the tower itself was never attacked.
  • Château Pécauld, built in the twelfth and fourteenth centuries, and which once belonged to the Dukes of Burgundy, now houses a small museum dedicated to wine growing and production. By the thirteenth century it was part the defenses of the city. Its large circular tower is known as the Tour de Velfaux after the tower's owner, Guillaume de Velfaux, who sold it to Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle
    Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle
    Nicolas Perrenot de Granvelle was a French politician who served Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as Minister of Justice, and a close trusted adviser. He was made suzerain of the imperial city of Besançon and held an influential position in the Netherlands. From 1530 until his death he was one of the...

    , the father of Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
    Antoine Perrenot de Granvelle
    Antoine 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...

    . De Grenvelle added to the house proper at the beginning of the sixteenth century, at the end of which the Pecauld family acquired it. During the French revolution
    French Revolution
    The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...

     the house was nationalized and sold in 1826 to the city of Arbois. Later, the Institute of the Wines of Jura restored it.
  • Saint Just church with its twelfth. century nave, thirteenth century vaulting, sixteenth century chancel, and seventeenth century and 1715 church tower. The organ is rated as a historic monument and was restored in 1985.
  • Pasteur Museum
  • The cave of Les Planches (Grotte des Planches) (5 km away)

Notable people

Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur
Louis Pasteur was a French chemist and microbiologist born in Dole. He is remembered for his remarkable breakthroughs in the causes and preventions of diseases. His discoveries reduced mortality from puerperal fever, and he created the first vaccine for rabies and anthrax. His experiments...

, born in nearby 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 ....

, was raised in Arbois and conducted various experiments related to fermentation in his home, which is now a museum.

External links

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