Doubs

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Template:Infobox Department of France Doubs is a département in eastern France named after the Doubs River. Its pronunciation is /du/ (the last two letters are silent).

1 History
2 Geography
3 Demographics
4 Tourism
5 See also
6 External links

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History

See main article on the Free County of Burgundy.

As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke the Franc-Comtois language, a dialect of Langue d'Oïl. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect of the Franco-Provençal language. Both languages co-existed with French, the official language of law and commerce, and continued to be spoken in rural areas into the 20th century.

Doubs was important as a portal to Switzerland through the pass at Joux. Many famous people, including Mirabeau, Toussaint Louverture and Heinrich von Kleist, were imprisoned in the Château de Joux.

Doubs was one of the original 83 départements created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Franche-Comté. The préfecture (capital) is Besançon.

In 1793, the republic of Mandeure was added to the département, and in 1816 the principality of Montbéliard.

Victor Hugo and Auguste and Louis Lumière are among the famous people born in Doubs.

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Geography

Doubs is part of the current region of Franche-Comté and is surrounded by the French départements of Jura, Haute-Saône, and Territoire de Belfort, and the Swiss cantons of Vaud, Neuchâtel, and Jura.

The département is dominated by the Jura mountains, which rise east of Besançon.

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