Besançon

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Besançon is a city in France. It was the capital of the former Free County (Franche-Comté) region. It is the prefecture of the Doubs department. Its population is around 117,600 (2008).

Besançon

Motto: Plût A Dieu ("If God wills") or Utinam

Besancon boucle Doubs.jpg
The old city of Besançon
in the oxbow of the Doubs River.
Flag of Besançon
Coat of arms of Besançon
Administration
Country France
Region Free County
Department Doubs
Intercommunality Grand Besançon
Mayor Jean-Louis Fousseret (PS)
(2014–2020)
Statistics
Land area1 65.05 km2 (25.12 sq mi)
Population2 117,599  (2008)
 - Ranking 29th in France
 - Density 1,808/km2 (4,680/sq mi)
Urban area 122 km2 (47 sq mi) (1999)
 - Population 134,376 (1999)
Metro area 1,652 km2 (638 sq mi) (1999)
 - Population 222,381 (1999)
Website http://www.besancon.fr/
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.
2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

History

Besançon is an old city. It is discovered in 58 BC and Julius Caesar writes about it in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico where it is called Vesontio. The etymology (origin of the word) is not certain. It could have a Celtic origin. The Celtic word wes means mountain. In the 4th century, the letter B became V. The city name changed to Besontio or Bisontion. It became Besançon in 1243. In 1871 the city is going through a revolutionary period, known as Besançon Commune.

The city has a Renaissance citadel. It was later used by the Nazis during World War II.

 
The Doubs (river), the Tour de la Pelote and the Quai Vauban.
 
The citadelle in Besançon

Climate

Besançon has an oceanic climate and a continental climate. The average temperature is 10.2 °C (50 °F). The warmest month of the year is July (18.9 °C or 66 °F) and the coldest month is January (1.6 °C or 35 °F). Besançon receives about 1108 mm (44 inches) of precipitation per year. The wettest month is May (111.4 mm or 4.4 in); the driest is July (80.5 mm or 3.2 in). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 31 July 1983, was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F), and the lowest was a −20.7 °C (−5.3 °F) reached on 1 January 1985.

Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Avg temperature °C (°F) 1.6 (35) 3.3 (38) 6.1 (43) 9.4 (49) 13.3 (56) 16.5 (62) 18.9 (66) 18.3 (65) 15.7 (60) 11.3 (52) 5.6 (42) 2.1 (36) 10.2 (50)
Avg rainfall mm (in) 91.1 (3.6) 81.8 (3.2) 83.5 (3.3) 91.6 (3.6) 111.4 (4.4) 100.1 (3.9) 80.5 (3.2) 86.9 (3.4) 93.2 (3.7) 85.8 (3.4) 103.7 (4.1) 99.0 (3.9) 1108 (43.6)
Source: Météo France

Monuments

Éducation

Sister cities

Besançon is twinned with:



Besançon Media