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Franche-Comté (Franc-Comtois
Franc-Comtois language

Franc-Comtois is a term that identifies two separate language dialect groups with different linguistic origins spoken by a minority of people in the Franche-Comt? and the northwestern edge of the Romandy....
: Fràntche-Comté; Franco-Provençal
Franco-Provençal language

Franco-Proven?al or Arpitan is a Romance languages with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from O?l languages and Occitan language....
: Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of Burgundy
County of Burgundy

The Free County of Burgundy, in German Freigrafschaft Burgund, was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comt?, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf ....
, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy
Duchy of Burgundy

The Duchy of Burgundy was a feudal territory once existing within the France in the Middle Ages. It roughly conforms to the modern Bourgogne. Existing between 843 and 1477, the Duchy was ruled by a succession of Duke of Burgundy, whose extinction with the death of Charles the Bold in 1477 led to the Duchy being absorbed into the French crown...
, is an administrative region
Régions of France

France is divided into 26 regions or r?gions , of which 21 are in continental metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, and four lie overseas....
 and a traditional province
Provinces of France

The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the d?partement in France system superseded provinces....
 of eastern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône
Haute-Saône

Haute-Sa?ne is a France departments of France of the Franche-Comt? R?gions in France, named after the Sa?ne River....
 and Territoire de Belfort
Territoire de Belfort

The Territoire de Belfort is a departments of France in the Franche-Comt? regions of France of eastern France....
 and has a population of 1,159,000 (2008).

The principal cities are Besançon
Besançon

Besan?on , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comt? Regions of France in eastern France, with approximately 220,000 inhabitants in the aire urbaine in 1999....
 (a historical city and the modern era capital of the region), Belfort
Belfort

Belfort is a town and commune in France of northeastern France, pr?fecture of the Territoire de Belfort d?partement in France in the Franche-Comt? r?gion in France....
, and Montbéliard
Montbéliard

Montb?liard is a communes of France in the Doubs Departments of France in the Franche-Comt? Regions of France in eastern France. It is one of the two Subprefectures in France of the department....
 (Aire Urbaine Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle).






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Franche-Comté (Franc-Comtois
Franc-Comtois language

Franc-Comtois is a term that identifies two separate language dialect groups with different linguistic origins spoken by a minority of people in the Franche-Comt? and the northwestern edge of the Romandy....
: Fràntche-Comté; Franco-Provençal
Franco-Provençal language

Franco-Proven?al or Arpitan is a Romance languages with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from O?l languages and Occitan language....
: Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of Burgundy
County of Burgundy

The Free County of Burgundy, in German Freigrafschaft Burgund, was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comt?, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf ....
, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy
Duchy of Burgundy

The Duchy of Burgundy was a feudal territory once existing within the France in the Middle Ages. It roughly conforms to the modern Bourgogne. Existing between 843 and 1477, the Duchy was ruled by a succession of Duke of Burgundy, whose extinction with the death of Charles the Bold in 1477 led to the Duchy being absorbed into the French crown...
, is an administrative region
Régions of France

France is divided into 26 regions or r?gions , of which 21 are in continental metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, and four lie overseas....
 and a traditional province
Provinces of France

The Kingdom of France was organised into provinces until March 4, 1790, when the establishment of the d?partement in France system superseded provinces....
 of eastern France
France

France , officially the French Republic , is a country whose Metropolitan France is located in Western Europe and that also comprises various Overseas departments and territories of France....
. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, Jura, Haute-Saône
Haute-Saône

Haute-Sa?ne is a France departments of France of the Franche-Comt? R?gions in France, named after the Sa?ne River....
 and Territoire de Belfort
Territoire de Belfort

The Territoire de Belfort is a departments of France in the Franche-Comt? regions of France of eastern France....
 and has a population of 1,159,000 (2008).

The principal cities are Besançon
Besançon

Besan?on , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comt? Regions of France in eastern France, with approximately 220,000 inhabitants in the aire urbaine in 1999....
 (a historical city and the modern era capital of the region), Belfort
Belfort

Belfort is a town and commune in France of northeastern France, pr?fecture of the Territoire de Belfort d?partement in France in the Franche-Comt? r?gion in France....
, and Montbéliard
Montbéliard

Montb?liard is a communes of France in the Doubs Departments of France in the Franche-Comt? Regions of France in eastern France. It is one of the two Subprefectures in France of the department....
 (Aire Urbaine Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle). Other important cities are Dole
Dole, Jura

Dole is a Communes of France in the Jura Departments of France in Franche-Comt? in eastern France, of which it is a sub-prefecture....
 (capital before the region was conquered by Louis XIV
Louis XIV of France

Louis XIV ruled as List of French monarchs and of King of Navarre. He ascended the throne a few months before his fifth birthday, but did not assume actual personal control of the government until the death of his prime minister , the Italians Jules Cardinal Mazarin, in 1661....
 in the late 17th century), Vesoul
Vesoul

Vesoul is a France town and communes of France located in the Haute-Sa?ne departments of France. The town is the Prefectures in France of the d?partement....
 (capital of Haute-Saône), Arbois
Arbois

Arbois is a commune in France in the Jura Departments of France in Franche-Comt? in eastern France...
 (the "wine capital" of the Jura), and Lons-le-Saunier
Lons-le-Saunier

Lons-le-Saunier is a Communes of France and capital of the Jura Departments of France in Franche-Comt? in eastern France....
 (capital of Jura).

History


The region has been inhabited since the Paleolithic age and was occupied by the Gauls
Gauls

The Gauls were a Continental Celtic Celts people of Classical Antiquity, the inhabitants of Gaul , and speakers of the Gaulish language.Archaeologically, they were the bearers of the La T?ne culture ....
. Little touched by the Germanic migrations, it was part of the territory of the Alamanni
Alamanni

The Alamanni, Allemanni, or Alemanni were originally an alliance of Germanic languagess located around the upper Main river . One of the earliest references to them is the cognomen Alamannicus assumed by Caracalla, who ruled the Roman Empire from 211?17 and claimed thereby to be their defeater....
 in the 5th century, then the Kingdom of Burgundy
Burgundians

File:Roman Empire 125.svgThe Burgundians were an East Germanic language Germanic tribes which may have emigrated from mainland Scandinavia to the island of Bornholm, whose old form in Old Norse still was Burgundarholmr , and from there to mainland Europe....
 from 457 to 534. It was Christianized
Christianity

Christianity is a Monotheistic religion #Christian view religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus as New Testament view on Jesus' life....
 through the influence of St. Columbanus, who founded several monasteries
Monastery

Monastery , a term derived from the Greek language word ???ast?????, neut. of ???ast????? - monasterios denotes the building, or complex of buildings, that houses a room reserved for prayer as well as the domestic quarters and workplace of Monk, whether monks or nuns, and whether living in Cenobium or alone ....
 there. In 534, it became part of the Frankish
Franks

The Franks or Frankish people were a West Germanic ethnic group first identified in the 3rd century as living north and east of the Lower Rhine River....
 kingdom. In 561 it was included in the Merovingian Kingdom of Burgundy, under Guntram
Guntram

Saint Guntram was the king of Kingdom of Burgundy from 561 to 592. He was a son of Chlothar I and Ingunda. On his father's death , he became king of a fourth of the kingdom of the Franks, and made his capital at Orl?ans....
, the third son of Clotaire I
Clotaire I

Chlothar I , called the Old , King of the Franks, was one of the four sons of Clovis I. He was born about 497 in Soissons .On the death of his father in 511, he received, as his share of the kingdom, the town of Soissons, which he made his capital; the cities of Laon, Noyon, Cambrai, and Maastricht; and the lower course of the Meuse...
. In 613, Clotaire II
Clotaire II

File:Clothaire II 584 628.jpgChlothar II , called the Great or the Young , King of Neustria, and, from 613 to 629, King of the Franks, was not yet born when his father, King Chilperic I died in 584....
 reunited the Frankish Kingdom under his rule and the region remained a part of the Kingdom of Burgundy under the later Merovingians and Carolingians.

The name Franche-Comté (, or literally "Free County") did not officially appear until 1366. It had been a territory of the County of Burgundy
County of Burgundy

The Free County of Burgundy, in German Freigrafschaft Burgund, was a medieval county , within the traditional province and modern French region Franche-Comt?, whose very French name is still reminiscent of the unusual title of its count: Freigraf ....
 from 888, the province becoming subject to the Holy Roman Empire
Holy Roman Empire

The Holy Roman Empire was a union of territories in Central Europe during the Middle Ages and the Early modern Europe under a Holy Roman Emperor....
 in 1034. It was definitively separated from the neighboring Duchy of Burgundy
Duke of Burgundy

Duke of Burgundy was a title borne by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, a small portion of traditional lands of Burgundians west of river Sa?ne which in 843 was allotted to Charles the Bald's West Franks....
 upon the latter's incorporation into France in 1477. That year at the Battle of Nancy
Battle of Nancy

The Battle of Nancy was the final and decisive war of the Burgundian Wars, fought outside the walls of Nancy, France on 5 January 1477 between Charles the Bold, Duke of Duchy of Burgundy, and Ren? II, Duke of Lorraine, Duke of Lorraine ....
 during the Burgundian Wars
Burgundian Wars

The Burgundian Wars were a conflict between the Duchy of Burgundy and the Valois Dynasty, later involving the Old Swiss Confederacy, which would play a decisive role....
 the last duke Charles the Bold was killed in battle. It was transferred to Austria
Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It borders both Germany and the Czech Republic to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the west....
 in 1481 and to Spain
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 in 1556. Franche-Comté was captured by France in 1668 but returned under 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 conquered a second time in 1674, and was finally ceded to France in the Treaty of Nijmegen (1678).

The region's population fell by a fifth from 1851 to 1946, reflecting low French natural growth and migration to more urbanized parts of the country. Most of the decline occurred in Haute-Saône and Jura, which remain among the country's more agriculture-dependent areas.

Language

Among the regional language
Regional language

A regional language is a language spoken in an area of a nation state, whether it be a small area, a Federalism state or province, or some wider area....
s of France the term Franc-Comtois refers to two dialects of two different languages. Franc-Comtois is the name of both the dialect of Langue d'Oïl spoken by people in the northern part of the region and the dialect of Franco-Provençal language
Franco-Provençal language

Franco-Proven?al or Arpitan is a Romance languages with several distinct dialects that form a linguistic sub-group separate from O?l languages and Occitan language....
 spoken in its southern part since as early as the 13th century (the southern two-thirds of Jura and the southern third of Doubs). Both languages are recognized as Languages of France.

Major communities

  • Audincourt
    Audincourt

    Audincourt is a Communes of France in the Doubs Departments of France in the Regions of France of Franche-Comt? in eastern France....
  • Belfort
    Belfort

    Belfort is a town and commune in France of northeastern France, pr?fecture of the Territoire de Belfort d?partement in France in the Franche-Comt? r?gion in France....
  • Besançon
    Besançon

    Besan?on , is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comt? Regions of France in eastern France, with approximately 220,000 inhabitants in the aire urbaine in 1999....
  • Dole
    Dole, Jura

    Dole is a Communes of France in the Jura Departments of France in Franche-Comt? in eastern France, of which it is a sub-prefecture....
  • Lons-le-Saunier
    Lons-le-Saunier

    Lons-le-Saunier is a Communes of France and capital of the Jura Departments of France in Franche-Comt? in eastern France....
  • Montbéliard
    Montbéliard

    Montb?liard is a communes of France in the Doubs Departments of France in the Franche-Comt? Regions of France in eastern France. It is one of the two Subprefectures in France of the department....
  • Pontarlier
    Pontarlier

    Pontarlier is a commune in France and one of the two sub-prefectures of the Doubs Departments of France in the Franche-Comt? r?gion in France in eastern France....
  • Vesoul
    Vesoul

    Vesoul is a France town and communes of France located in the Haute-Sa?ne departments of France. The town is the Prefectures in France of the d?partement....


External links

  • Official website


Footnotes