Franche-Comté
The
Franche-Comté (the former "Free County" of
Burgundy, as distinct from the neighbouring Duchy) is a
region of eastern
France. The principal cities are
Besançon (the historic capital of the region)
Belfort and
Montbéliard (Aire Urbaine Belfort-Montbéliard-Héricourt-Delle.
A territory of Burgundy from
888, the province became subject to the
Holy Roman Empire in
1034 and was definitively separated from the neighbouring
duchy of Burgundy upon the latter's incorporation into France in
1477. Transferred to
Spain in
1556, the Franche-Comté was occupied by the French in
1668 but handed back at the subsequent peace; conquered a second time in
1674, it was finally ceded to France in
1678.
The region's population fell by a fifth between the censuses of
1851 and
1946, reflecting low French natural growth and migration to more urbanised parts of the country. Most of the decline occurred in Haute-Saône and Jura, which remain among the country's more agriculture-dependent areas.
\n\n\n
