Battant (Besançon)

Battant is one of the oldest parts of Besançon, Doubs, France, and has been under architectural protection since 1964. It is situated on the right bank of the river Doubs, north of the ox-bow that encircles the center of the city. A bridge across the Doubs joins the two quarters, Battant and the La Boucle (The Oxbow), via the Vauban quay and Jouffroy d'Abbans Place.

Today, Battant has become a popular district with a diverse population, numbering about 4,200 people. It is one of the more lively quarters of the city because of its numerous small shops, its nightlife, and its market.

The quarter's name appears to have come from the Mouillère, a small brook also known as the fons batenti (river of the beater) because the water from the brook drove a cloth-beating device. The name came to be applied to a nearby street, and then by extension to the entire quarter. The inhabitants of Battant are known as Bousbots, which recalls the resistance that the grape growers of the district gave to the attempted seizure of the city by the Hugenots of Montbéliard on the night of 20–21 June 1575.

History

For centuries, a Roman bridge between Battant and Besançon provided the only access to the city proper. Consequently, since Gallo-Roman times a faubourg developed around the Battant end of the bridge. By the twelfth century the quarter came to have its own wall. The population of the quarter consisted of grape growers, workers, and washerwomen, though grape growing remained the principal economic activity in the quarter until the end of the nineteenth century.

Monuments

The quarter has a rich architectural history. Since 1964 some 31 hectares have been under an architectural protection order.

• Pont Battant: Originally this was an ancient Roman stone bridge with three arches, which unfortunately was destroyed during World War II. The replacement bridge, built in 1953 in concrete, has only a single arch, the design being intended to reduce the risk of flooding. The bridge is often the site of an informal market where one may buy things from Sub-Saharan Africa.
• Remains of a Roman arena: The Romans constructed the arena in the first century (CE) for the town of Vesontio (now Besançon), just as they constructed comparable arenas in Arles and Nîmes. The arena could seat 24,000 people, and measured 130 by 106 meters, with a height of 21 meters. Little remains of the arena as during the Middle Ages and after it served as a virtual quarry for the growing town. The Church of the Madeleine, the twelfth century Hôpital Saint-Jacques, as well as Besançon's Vauban fortifications all were built in part of stone from the arena.

• Pelote (Pelotte) Tower: This stone tower dates to 1475 and was part of the city of Besançon's fortifications. It sits on the Strasbourg Quay at the point where the Mouillère meets the Doubs. The tower owes its name to Pierre Pillot, Seigneur de Chenecey, who bought the land on which the tower sits. When Vauban received the commission to improve the city's defenses, he decided to incorporate the tower, after extensive modification, into his design, rather than destroy it. In 1942 the tower was declared a historical monument. It now houses a restaurant.
• Montmart Tower: The tower is also known as the Battant Tower and the Square Tower. It was built in 1526. As in the case of the Pelote Tower, Vauban decided to incorporate the Montmart Tower into the city's fortifications.

• Ramparts constructed by Vauban
• The House of the Wood Beams dates to the 15th century and is reputed to be the oldest house in Besançon.
• Fort Griffon
• Hôtel de Champagney and its interior court
• Église Sainte-Madeleine
• The Bacchus Fountain, which the municipality erected in 1457. The statue of Bacchus dates to 1579 and is the work of the sculptor Lullier.
• Hôtel de Jouffroy. From the sixteenth century, this was the home of the ancestors of Jouffroy d'Abbans, inventor of steam navigation.
• Besancon's synagogue: This dates to 1860 and is constructed in a Moorish style.
• Former public baths in the Art Deco style, dating to 1911
• A wine grower's house, dating from the fifteenth to the seventeenth century.

Transport

• Bus, number 3, 5, 31, 32.