Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in northeastern France, situated approximately from the Swiss border. It is the

prefecture A prefecture (from the Latin word, "''praefectura"'') is an administrative jurisdiction traditionally governed by an appointed prefect. This can be a regional or local government subdivision in various countries, or a subdivision in certain inter ...

of the

Territoire de Belfort The Territoire de Belfort (; "Territory of Belfort") is a department in the northeastern French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. In 2020 it had a population of 140,120.Savoureuse The Savoureuse () is the principal river running through the Territoire de Belfort. Its source is in the Ballon d'Alsace at 1190m altitude. From here, it runs through the city of Belfort to the town of Sochaux where it joins the Allan, a tributa ...

, on a strategically important natural route between the

Rhine The Rhine ( ) is one of the List of rivers of Europe, major rivers in Europe. The river begins in the Swiss canton of Graubünden in the southeastern Swiss Alps. It forms part of the Swiss-Liechtenstein border, then part of the Austria–Swit ...

and the

Rhône The Rhône ( , ; Occitan language, Occitan: ''Ròse''; Franco-Provençal, Arpitan: ''Rôno'') is a major river in France and Switzerland, rising in the Alps and flowing west and south through Lake Geneva and Southeastern France before dischargi ...

– the

Belfort Gap The Belfort Gap () or Burgundian Gate () is the area of relatively flat terrain in Eastern France between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura Mountains to the south. It marks the watershed between the drainage basins of the River Rhin ...

(''Trouée de Belfort'') or

Burgundian Gate The Belfort Gap () or Burgundian Gate () is the area of relatively flat terrain in Eastern France between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura Mountains to the south. It marks the watershed between the drainage basins of the River Rhi ...

(''Porte de Bourgogne''). It is located approximately south from the base of the

Ballon d'Alsace The Ballon d'Alsace (; , ) (el. 1247 m.), sometimes also called the Alsatian Belchen to distinguish it from other mountains named " Belchen") is a mountain at the border of Alsace, Lorraine, and Franche-Comté. From its top, views include the ...

mountain range, source of the

Savoureuse The Savoureuse () is the principal river running through the Territoire de Belfort. Its source is in the Ballon d'Alsace at 1190m altitude. From here, it runs through the city of Belfort to the town of Sochaux where it joins the Allan, a tributa ...

. The city of Belfort has 46,443 inhabitants (2019).Téléchargement du fichier d'ensemble des populations légales en 2019
INSEE Belfort is the centre of a larger functional area (metropolitan area) with 133,597 inhabitants (2018),Comparateur de territoire
INSEE, retrieved 20 June 2022. between the larger metropolitan areas of

Mulhouse Mulhouse (; ; Alsatian language, Alsatian: ''Mìlhüsa'' ; , meaning "Mill (grinding), mill house") is a France, French city of the European Collectivity of Alsace (Haut-Rhin department, in the Grand Est region of France). It is near the Fran ...

and

Montbéliard Montbéliard (; traditional ) is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department. History Montbéliard is ...

History

Early history

Belfort's strategic location, in a natural gap between the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single geomorphological unit and ...

and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement since Roman times, and has also made it a frequent target for invading armies many times in its history. The site of Belfort was inhabited in

Gallo-Roman Gallo-Roman culture was a consequence of the Romanization (cultural), Romanization of Gauls under the rule of the Roman Empire in Roman Gaul. It was characterized by the Gaulish adoption or adaptation of Roman culture, Roman culture, language ...

times. Later, it was heavily settled by

Germanic peoples The Germanic peoples were tribal groups who lived in Northern Europe in Classical antiquity and the Early Middle Ages. In modern scholarship, they typically include not only the Roman-era ''Germani'' who lived in both ''Germania'' and parts of ...

during the

Germanic migrations The Migration Period ( 300 to 600 AD), also known as the Barbarian Invasions, was a period in European history marked by large-scale migrations that saw the fall of the Western Roman Empire and subsequent settlement of its former territories ...

, most notably the

Burgundians The Burgundians were an early Germanic peoples, Germanic tribe or group of tribes. They appeared east in the middle Rhine region in the third century AD, and were later moved west into the Roman Empire, in Roman Gaul, Gaul. In the first and seco ...

, who settled in the region after the Gallo-Roman inhabitants had been displaced. It was subsequently recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of

, who granted it a charter in 1307. Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the

Treaty of Westphalia The Peace of Westphalia (, ) is the collective name for two Peace treaty, peace treaties signed in October 1648 in the Westphalian cities of Osnabrück and Münster. They ended the Thirty Years' War (1618–1648) and brought peace to the Holy R ...

(1648), which ended the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War, fought primarily in Central Europe between 1618 and 1648, was one of the most destructive conflicts in History of Europe, European history. An estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died from battle, famine ...

. The town's fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for

Louis XIV LouisXIV (Louis-Dieudonné; 5 September 16381 September 1715), also known as Louis the Great () or the Sun King (), was King of France from 1643 until his death in 1715. His verified reign of 72 years and 110 days is the List of longest-reign ...

. The Hôtel de Ville was completed in 1724.

Franco-Prussian War

Until 1871, Belfort was part of the ''

département In the administrative divisions of France, the department (, ) is one of the three levels of government under the national level (" territorial collectivities"), between the administrative regions and the communes. There are a total of 101 ...

'' of

Haut-Rhin Haut-Rhin (); Alsatian: ''Owerelsàss'' or '; , . is a department in the Grand Est region, France, bordering both Germany and Switzerland. It is named after the river Rhine; its name means Upper Rhine. Haut-Rhin is the smaller and less pop ...

, in

Alsace Alsace (, ; ) is a cultural region and a territorial collectivity in the Grand Est administrative region of northeastern France, on the west bank of the upper Rhine, next to Germany and Switzerland. In January 2021, it had a population of 1,9 ...

. The

Siege of Belfort The siege of Belfort (3 November 1870 – 18 February 1871) was a 103-day military assault and blockade of the city of Belfort, France by Prussian forces during the Franco-Prussian War. The French garrison held out until the January 1871 armi ...

(between 3 November 1870 and 18 February 1871) during the

Franco Prussian war The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

was successfully resisted by the French until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and

Prussia Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a Germans, German state centred on the North European Plain that originated from the 1525 secularization of the Prussia (region), Prussian part of the State of the Teutonic Order. For centuries, ...

ended the war. The region was not annexed by Prussia like the rest of Alsace was. It was exchanged for territories in the vicinity of Metz. It formed, as it still does, the

Territoire de Belfort The Territoire de Belfort (; "Territory of Belfort") is a department in the northeastern French region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. In 2020 it had a population of 140,120.Lion of Belfort The ''Lion of Belfort'', in Belfort, France, is an 1880 monumental sculpture by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). Overview Finished in 1880, it is made entirely of red san ...

, by

Frédéric Bartholdi Frédéric and Frédérick are the French versions of the common male given name Frederick. They may refer to: In artistry: * Frédéric Back, Canadian award-winning animator * Frédéric Bartholdi, French sculptor * Frédéric Bazille, Impr ...

. Alsatians not wanting to live under German rule in annexed Alsace and who wanted a French life and home in Belfort made a significant contribution to Belfort and French industry (see

Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques The Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques (the Alsatian Corporation of Mechanical Engineering), or SACM, is an engineering company with its headquarters in Mulhouse, Alsace, which produced railway locomotives, textile and printing ma ...

) after 1872.

1892 Paris-Belfort running race

On 5 June 1892, '' Le Petit Journal'' organised a foot-race from Paris to Belfort, a course of over , the first large-scale long-distance running race on record. Over 1,100 competitors registered for the event and over 800 started from the offices of ''Le Petit Journal'', at

Paris Opera The Paris Opera ( ) is the primary opera and ballet company of France. It was founded in 1669 by Louis XIV as the , and shortly thereafter was placed under the leadership of Jean-Baptiste Lully and officially renamed the , but continued to be kn ...

. This had also been the start point for the inaugural Paris–Brest–Paris cycle-race the previous year. The newspaper's circulation dramatically increased as the French public followed the progress of race participants, 380 of whom completed the course in under ten days. In ''Le Petit Journal'' on 18 June 1892,

Pierre Giffard Pierre Giffard (; 1 May 1853 – 21 January 1922) was a French journalist, a pioneer of modern political reporting, a newspaper publisher and a prolific sports organiser. In 1892, he was appointed ''Chevalier'' (Knight) of the Légion d'Honneur ...

praised the event as a model for the physical training of a nation faced by hostile neighbours. The event was won by Constant Ramoge in 100 hours, 5 minutes.Randonneurs Ontario, Profile of Pierre Giffard
/ref>

''Ère des attentats'' (1892-1894)

During the

repression of January and February 1894 The repression of January and February 1894 was an episode of the Ère des attentats (1892–1894), during which France engaged in significant Political repression, state repression against Anarchism, anarchists. The passage of the lois scélérat ...

, the police conducted raids targeting the

anarchists Anarchism is a political philosophy and movement that seeks to abolish all institutions that perpetuate authority, coercion, or hierarchy, primarily targeting the state and capitalism. Anarchism advocates for the replacement of the state w ...

living there, without much success.

World War One

The town was bombarded by the German Army during World War I. Before the war, the September Programme of German Imperial Chancellor

Theobald von Bethmann Hollweg Theobald Theodor Friedrich Alfred von Bethmann Hollweg (29 November 1856 – 1 January 1921) was a German politician who was chancellor of the German Empire, imperial chancellor of the German Empire from 1909 to 1917. He oversaw the German entry ...

, pressed for expansionist aims of French territory, specifically advocated the annexation of the Belfort region along with the western side of the

Vosges Mountains The Vosges ( , ; ; Franconian (linguistics), Franconian and ) is a range of medium mountains in Eastern France, near its France–Germany border, border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the bor ...

World War Two

After the 1940

Battle of France The Battle of France (; 10 May – 25 June 1940), also known as the Western Campaign (), the French Campaign (, ) and the Fall of France, during the Second World War was the Nazi Germany, German invasion of the Low Countries (Belgium, Luxembour ...

with the German victory, Belfort fell within the Nazi German occupation zone. In November 1944, the retreating

Wehrmacht The ''Wehrmacht'' (, ) were the unified armed forces of Nazi Germany from 1935 to 1945. It consisted of the German Army (1935–1945), ''Heer'' (army), the ''Kriegsmarine'' (navy) and the ''Luftwaffe'' (air force). The designation "''Wehrmac ...

held off the

French First Army The First Army () was a field army of France that fought during World War I and World War II. It was also active during the Cold War. World War I On mobilization in August 1914, General Auguste Dubail was put in the charge of the First Army, ...

outside the town until French Commandos made a successful night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November 1944. It is believed that

Adolf Hitler Adolf Hitler (20 April 1889 – 30 April 1945) was an Austrian-born German politician who was the dictator of Nazi Germany from 1933 until Death of Adolf Hitler, his suicide in 1945. Adolf Hitler's rise to power, He rose to power as the lea ...

intended to annex Belfort into the

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

Gau Baden–Alsace, but it never took place.

Geography

Climate

Belfort has an

oceanic climate An oceanic climate, also known as a marine climate or maritime climate, is the temperate climate sub-type in Köppen climate classification, Köppen classification represented as ''Cfb'', typical of west coasts in higher middle latitudes of co ...

(

Köppen climate classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

''Cfb''). The average annual temperature in Belfort is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Belfort was on 13 July 1949; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 10 February 1956.

Population

Economy

Belfort is a centre for heavy engineering industries, mostly dedicated to railways and turbines. Belfort is the hometown of

Alstom Alstom SA () is a French multinational rolling stock manufacturer which operates worldwide in rail transport markets. It is active in the fields of passenger transportation, signaling, and locomotives, producing high-speed, suburban, regional ...

where the first TGVs (Trains à Grande Vitesse, High Speed Trains) were produced, as well as hosting the

GE Power GE Power (formerly known as GE Energy) was an American energy technology company owned by General Electric (GE). In April 2024, GE completed the spin-off of GE Power into a separate company, GE Vernova. Following this, General Electric ceased t ...

European headquarters and a centre of excellence for the manufacturing of gas turbines.

Transport

Road

Belfort is located at a busy hub in the region's local and long-distance road network. Its proximity to the commercial port of Mulhouse-Rhin facilitates international trade. The motorway A36 from Beaune to Mulhouse follows a route to the south and east of the city, and forms the main axis linking Belfort to other French and European cities. Passing just south of town, N19 connects

Langres Langres () is a commune in France, commune in northeastern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Departments of France, department of Haute-Marne, in the Regions of France, region of Grand Est. History As the capital ...

(and thereby Paris and Troyes) to the Swiss canton of Jura.

Air

EuroAirport Basel-Mulhouse-Freiburg EuroAirport Basel Mulhouse Freiburg IATA airport 3-letter codes for the French area, the Swiss area, and the metropolitan area is an international airport in the administrative commune of Saint-Louis, in the French Alsace part of the Trination ...

is located about east of Belfort (1 hour drive).

Rail links

Belfort is well connected with the rest of France, with direct connections by train to major destinations such as

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

Dijon Dijon (, ; ; in Burgundian language (Oïl), Burgundian: ''Digion'') is a city in and the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Côte-d'Or Departments of France, department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region in eas ...

Besançon Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capi ...

Strasbourg Strasbourg ( , ; ; ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est Regions of France, region of Geography of France, eastern France, in the historic region of Alsace. It is the prefecture of the Bas-Rhin Departmen ...

Lyon Lyon (Franco-Provençal: ''Liyon'') is a city in France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of the French Alps, southeast of Paris, north of Marseille, southwest of Geneva, Switzerland, north ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

and

Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regions of France, region, the Prefectures in F ...

, including

high-speed trains High-speed rail (HSR) is a type of rail transport network utilising trains that run significantly faster than those of traditional rail, using an integrated system of specialised rolling stock and dedicated tracks. While there is no single def ...

. Some trains operate into Switzerland, such as

Basel Basel ( ; ), also known as Basle ( ), ; ; ; . is a city in northwestern Switzerland on the river Rhine (at the transition from the High Rhine, High to the Upper Rhine). Basel is Switzerland's List of cities in Switzerland, third-most-populo ...

and

Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...

stations. There is also a train service to

Frankfurt am Main Frankfurt am Main () is the most populous city in the States of Germany, German state of Hesse. Its 773,068 inhabitants as of 2022 make it the List of cities in Germany by population, fifth-most populous city in Germany. Located in the forela ...

in Germany. Regional services connect Belfort to

Vesoul Vesoul ( ) is a Communes of France, commune in the predominantly rural Haute-Saône department, of which it is the Prefectures in France, prefecture, or capital, in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern Franc ...

Épinal Épinal (; ; ) is a Communes of France, commune in northeastern France and the prefecture of the Vosges (department), Vosges Departments of France, department. Geography The commune has a land area of . It is situated on the river Moselle, so ...

and Nancy. * Belfort station is the main railway station in the centre of the city. *

Belfort – Montbéliard TGV station Belfort – Montbéliard TGV is a high speed railway station located in Meroux, Territoire de Belfort, eastern France. The station was opened in 2011 and is located on the LGV Rhin-Rhône connecting railway. The train services are operated by SN ...

is the high speed railway station, located south of the city. From 2017, regional trains will connect Belfort with Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station using the new Belfort–Delle railway link. This service links Belfort and the surrounding area to Switzerland, and the high-speed train link will connect Swiss towns such as

Delémont Delémont (; ; , ) is the capital of the Swiss canton of Jura. The city has approximately 12,000 inhabitants . History The area of the municipality was already settled in the middle Bronze Age. Fifteen urn burials have been discovered in the ...

Bern Bern (), or Berne (), ; ; ; . is the ''de facto'' Capital city, capital of Switzerland, referred to as the "federal city".; ; ; . According to the Swiss constitution, the Swiss Confederation intentionally has no "capital", but Bern has gov ...

Fribourg or is the capital of the Cantons of Switzerland, Swiss canton of Canton of Fribourg, Fribourg and district of Sarine (district), La Sarine. Located on both sides of the river Saane/Sarine, on the Swiss Plateau, it is a major economic, adminis ...

and

Lausanne Lausanne ( , ; ; ) is the capital and largest List of towns in Switzerland, city of the Swiss French-speaking Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Vaud, in Switzerland. It is a hilly city situated on the shores of Lake Geneva, about halfway bet ...

to Paris and other cities. Before 2020, the service

-Belfort will be electrified and modernized. This will allow a link between

LGV Est The Ligne à Grande Vitesse Est européenne (East European High Speed Line), typically shortened to LGV Est, is a French high-speed rail line that connects Vaires-sur-Marne (near Paris) and Vendenheim (near Strasbourg). The line halved the tra ...

and

LGV Rhin-Rhône The LGV Rhin-Rhône (French: ''Ligne à Grande Vitesse''; English: high-speed line) is a French high-speed rail line, the first in France to be presented as an inter-regional route rather than a link from the provinces to Paris, though it actuall ...

in Belfort-Montbéliard TGV station, opening new destinations like Nancy,

Metz Metz ( , , , then ) is a city in northeast France located at the confluence of the Moselle (river), Moselle and the Seille (Moselle), Seille rivers. Metz is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Moselle (department), Moselle Departments ...

and

Luxembourg Luxembourg, officially the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, is a landlocked country in Western Europe. It is bordered by Belgium to the west and north, Germany to the east, and France on the south. Its capital and most populous city, Luxembour ...

Sights

* Belfort is the home of the ''

Lion of Belfort The ''Lion of Belfort'', in Belfort, France, is an 1880 monumental sculpture by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, the sculptor of the Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''). Overview Finished in 1880, it is made entirely of red san ...

'', a sculpture (that expressed people's resistance against the siege in the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

(1870)) by

– who shortly afterwards built the

Statue of Liberty The Statue of Liberty (''Liberty Enlightening the World''; ) is a colossal neoclassical sculpture on Liberty Island in New York Harbor, within New York City. The copper-clad statue, a gift to the United States from the people of French Thir ...

in New York. * The Belfort Citadel – A unique example of '' Vauban'' pentagonal fortifications * The

Belfort Cathedral Belfort Cathedral, otherwise the Cathedral of Saint Christopher of Belfort (), is a Roman Catholic church located in Belfort, Territoire de Belfort, France. The cathedral has been a national monument since 1930. It was declared a minor basilica o ...

, 18th century * The Belfort Synagogue erected in 1857 * The old town * The Belfort city museums feature three main areas: ** History (from archeology to military) in the old barracks on the top of the citadel. ** Art (mainly from 16th to 19th century) in the Tour 41 ** Modern Art in the ''Donation Jardot'' * Since July 2007, the site of "''La Citadelle de la Liberté''", the citadel of Liberty has been open to the public – with a son et lumière animated trail in the moats and its big underground passage. * From the top of a tall building or going up the nearby mountains on a clear day, the ice-capped mountains of the Alps in Switzerland can be seen. * Grand souterrain de la citadelle de Belfort- the underground passage of Belfort Citadel.

Culture

Eurockéennes

Belfort's best known cultural event is the annual

Eurockéennes The Eurockéennes de Belfort (; ) is one of France's largest rock music festivals. The Eurockéennes, a play on words involving ''rock'' (rock music) and ''européennes'' (Europeans), is a festival based in a nature reserve beside Lac de Malsau ...

, one of France's largest rock music festivals.

FIMU

Belfort is also well known for hosting the annual ''Festival International de Musique Universitaire'' (FIMU)'' ''held in May each year. FIMU usually involves over 250 concerts at different locations around the city and around 2500 musicians, most of them students or amateur groups from countries across Europe and the rest of the world. Music styles performed are extremely diverse and include traditional, folk, rock, jazz, classical and experimental.

Notable people

Births

Belfort was the birthplace of: *

Joseph de La Porte Joseph de La Porte, (baptised 19 January 1714 in Belfort – died 19 December 1779) was an 18th-century French priest, literary critic, poet and playwright. A member of the Society of Jesus, abbot de La Porte first worked to some periodical publ ...

(1714–1779), 18th-century Jesuit, literary critic, poet and playwright. * Marie-Anne Françoise Brideau (1751–1794), Carmelite nun (Sœur Saint Louis), one of the sixteen

Martyrs of Compiègne The Martyrs of Compiègne were the 16 members of the Carmel of Compiègne, France: 11 Discalced Carmelite nuns, three lay sisters, and two externs (or tertiaries). They were executed by the guillotine towards the end of the Reign of Terror, at ...

* François Sébastien Christophe Laporte (1760–1823), French Revolutionary politician *

François Joseph Heim François Joseph Heim (16 December 1787 – 29 September 1865) was a French painter known especially for his history paintings and portraits. Biography He was born at Belfort. His father, Joseph Heim, was a drawing professor.Grunchec, Philippe ...

(1787–1865), painter * Marie-Anne Leroudier (1838-1908), embroiderer *

Jules Brunet Jules Brunet (2 January 1838 – 12 August 1911) was a French military officer who served the Tokugawa shogunate during the Boshin War in Japan. Originally sent to Japan as a horse artillery instructor with the French military mission of 1867, ...

(1838–1911), a member of the first French Military Mission to Japan in order to help modernize the armies of the

shogunate , officially , was the title of the military rulers of Japan during most of the period spanning from 1185 to 1868. Nominally appointed by the Emperor, shoguns were usually the de facto rulers of the country, except during parts of the Kamak ...

* Alexander Toponce (1839–1923),

American pioneer American pioneers, also known as American settlers, were European American,Asian American, and African American settlers who migrated westward from the British Thirteen Colonies and later the United States of America to settle and develop areas ...

* Louis-Gabriel-Charles Vicaire (1848–1900), poet *

Paul Faivre Paul Faivre (3 March 1886 – 5 March 1973) was a French actor. Selected filmography * '' The House Opposite'' (1937) * '' The Lady from Vittel'' (1937) * ''Cinderella'' (1937) * '' Behind the Facade'' (1939) * '' Vidocq'' (1939) * ''Moulin ...

(1886–1973), actor *

Pierre Macherey Pierre Macherey (; born 17 February 1938) is a French Marxist philosopher and literary critic at the University of Lille Nord de France. A former student of Louis Althusser and collaborator on the influential volume '' Reading Capital'', Mache ...

(1938– ), literary critic *

Jean-Pierre Chevènement Jean-Pierre Chevènement (; born 9 March 1939) ...

(1939– ), politician *

Raymond Forni Raymond Forni (; 20 May 1941 – 5 January 2008) was a French Socialist politician. Biography The son of an Italian immigrant from Piedmont, Forni was born in Belfort, in 1941. His father died when he was 11. At 17, he had to stop studying ...

(1941–2008), politician *

Gérard Grisey Gérard Henri Grisey (; ; 17 June 1946 – 11 November 1998) was a twentieth-century French composer of contemporary classical music. His work is often associated with the Spectralist Movement in music, of which he was a major pioneer. Biograp ...

(born 1946–1998), composer *

Tahar Rahim Tahar Rahim (born 4 July 1981) is a French actor. His breakthrough performance was in the 2009 French film '' A Prophet'', for which he won the César Award for Best Actor and Most Promising Actor. He then starred as FBI agent Ali Soufan in t ...

(1981– ), actor * Thomas Holbein (1983– ), professional footballer * Frederic Duplus, footballer * John Glele, footballer * Catherine Joly, classical pianist *

Fabrice Balanche Fabrice Balanche (born November 3, 1969, in Belfort, France) is a French geographer and specialist in the political geography and geopolitics of Syria, Lebanon, Iraq and the wider Middle East. He was described by the Carnegie Endowment for Inter ...

, geographer * Bruno Famin, automotive engineer, F1

International relations

Belfort is twinned with: *

, Switzerland *

Leonberg Leonberg (; ) is a town in the German federal state of Baden-Württemberg about to the west of Stuttgart, the state capital. About 45,000 people live in Leonberg, making it the third-largest borough in the rural district () of Böblingen (afte ...

, Germany *

Zaporizhzhia Zaporizhzhia, formerly known as Aleksandrovsk or Oleksandrivsk until 1921, is a city in southeast Ukraine, situated on the banks of the Dnieper, Dnieper River. It is the Capital city, administrative centre of Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Zaporizhzhia ...

, Ukraine *

Stafford Stafford () is a market town and the county town of Staffordshire, England. It is located about south of Stoke-on-Trent, north of Wolverhampton, and northwest of Birmingham. The town had a population of 71,673 at the 2021–2022 United Kingd ...

, England, United Kingdom * Tanghin-Dassouri, Burkina Faso

References

External links

City council website

La place forte de Belfort 1870–1914

Tourist office website

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Léon Delarbre Léon Delarbre (; 30 October 1889 – 20 May 1974) was a painter, museum curator, and World War II resistance fighter. After a career as a museum conservator and teacher in his hometown of Belfort, he joined the French resistance in 1941. Arres ...

Georges Vérez Georges Armand Vérez was born in Lille Lille (, ; ; ; ; ) is a city in the northern part of France, within French Flanders. Positioned along the Deûle river, near France's border with Belgium, it is the capital of the Hauts-de-France Regio ...

. Sculptor of Belfort War Memorial. {{Expand French, topic=geo, date=February 2016, Belfort Communes of the Territoire de Belfort Prefectures in France Territoire de Belfort communes articles needing translation from French Wikipedia Vauban fortifications in France