Belfort

Belfort
France-90-Belfort-Belvedere ouest.jpg
Belfort is located in France
Belfort
Administration
Country France
Region Franche-Comté
Department Territoire de Belfort
Arrondissement Belfort
Canton Cantons of Belfort-Centre, Belfort-Est, Belfort-Nord, Belfort-Ouest, and Belfort-Sud
Intercommunality Belfortaine
Mayor Étienne Butzbach
(2008–2014)
Statistics
Elevation 354–650 m (1,161–2,130 ft)
(avg. 358 m/1,175 ft)
Land area1 17.10 km2 (6.60 sq mi)
Population2 52,342  (2006)
 - Density 3,061 /km2 (7,930 /sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code 90010/ 90000
Dialling code 0384
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population sans doubles comptes: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Belfort (German: Beffert) 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 (Trouée de Belfort) or Burgundian Gate (Porte de Bourgogne).

Contents

History

Belfort's strategic location, in a natural gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement and made it a target for armies.

The site of Belfort was inhabited in Gallo-Roman times and was subsequently recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of Montbéliard, who granted it a charter in 1307.

Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), that ended the Thirty Years' War. The town's fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for Louis XIV.

Until 1871, Belfort was part of the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace. The Siege of Belfort, between 3 November 1870 and 18 February 1871, was successfully resisted until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and Prussia. Because this part of Alsace was French speaking, while the rest of Alsace was German speaking, the area around Belfort was not annexed by the Prussians. It formed, as it still does, the Territoire de Belfort. The siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Frédéric Bartholdi.

Alsatians who sought a new French home in Belfort made a significant contribution to its industry.

The town was bombarded by the Germans in World War I and occupied by them in World War II. In November 1944 the retreating German army held the French First Army before the town until French Commandos made a successful night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November.

Economy

Belfort is a trading centre for wine and grain and its industries include chemicals, engineering, plastics and textiles. Belfort is also the hometown of Alstom where the first TGVs (Trains Grande Vitesse) were produced. As well as of the GE Energy European headquarter and centre of excellence for the manufacturing of gas turbines.

Transport

The Gare de Belfort railway station offers connections to Dijon, Mulhouse, Paris, Besançon, Nancy and several regional destinations.

Sights

Lion of Belfort

Culture

FIMU

Belfort is also well known for organizing a large-scale music festival in May each year. The Festival International de Musique Universitaire[2] (FIMU) is home to nearly 2500 musicians, most of them students, from many different countries. The musicians give more than 250 concerts in the course of the 3-day festival in a wide variety of styles (classical, jazz, traditional, experimental, etc.). All of the concerts are free of charge and are performed at 14 different locations in the old city (the vieille ville) of Belfort. In 2004 more than 60,000 people attended the festival. In 2005 the festival was held on 14–16 May. This should not be confused with the Eurockeenes festival held there in July each year.

Events

Personalities

Births

Belfort was the birthplace of:

Deaths

International relations

Twin towns — Sister cities

Belfort is twinned with[4]:

See also

References

  1. ↑ La Citadelle de la Liberté, a new way of visiting Belfort's magnificent citadel (French)
  2. ↑ FIMU Music festival website (French)
  3. ↑ Belfort Tattoo Convention, Official Website (French)
  4. ↑ Twinnings, Belfort townhall website (French)

External links