Everything about Franche Comt totally explained
Franche-Comté (
Franc-Comtois:
Fràntche-Comté;
Franco-Provençal:
Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of
Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring
Duchy, is an
administrative region and a
traditional province of eastern
France. It is composed of the modern
departments of
Doubs,
Jura,
Haute-Saône and
Territoire de Belfort and has a population (2006) of 1,146,000.
The principal cities are
Besançon (the historical and modern capital of the region),
Belfort, and
Montbéliard (Aire Urbaine Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle). Other important cities are
Dole (capital before the region was conquered by
Louis XIV in the late 17th century),
Vesoul (capital of Haute-Saône),
Arbois (the "wine capital" of the Jura), and
Lons-le-Saunier (capital of Jura).
History
The region has been inhabited since the
Paleolithic age and was occupied by the
Gauls. Little touched by the
Germanic migrations, it was part of the territory of the
Alamanni in the 5th century, then the
Kingdom of Burgundy from 457 to 534. It was
Christianized through the influence of
St. Columbanus, who founded several
monasteries there. In 534, it became part of the
Frankish kingdom. In 561 it was included in the Merovingian Kingdom of Burgundy, under
Guntram, the third son of
Clotaire I. In 613,
Clotaire II 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 didn't officially appear until 1366. It had been a territory of the
County of Burgundy from 888, the province becoming subject to the
Holy Roman Empire in 1034. It was definitively separated from the neighboring
Duchy of Burgundy upon the latter's incorporation into France in 1477. It was transferred to
Austria in 1481 and to
Spain in 1556. Franche-Comté was captured by France in 1668 but returned under the
Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle. It was conquered a second time in 1674, and was finally ceded to France in the
Treaty of Nijmegen (1678).
During both
World War One and
World War Two it was taken by the Germans and subsequently retaken in both wars. During the
Second World War it was subjected to the
SS extermination squads though how badly it was hit is unknown.
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. It is one of the 26 regions of France.
Culture
Among the
regional languages,
Franc-Comtois, is a term that refers to 2 different dialects of 2 languages. Franc-Comtois is used to describe both the dialect of
Langue d'Oïl spoken by people in the northern part of the region and the dialect of
Franco-Provençal 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
Further Information
Get more info on 'Franche Comt'.
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