The Free City of

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 ...

was a self-governing free city surrounded by

Franche-Comté Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...

. After losing its status as a free imperial city within the

Holy Roman Empire The Holy Roman Empire, also known as the Holy Roman Empire of the German Nation after 1512, was a polity in Central and Western Europe, usually headed by the Holy Roman Emperor. It developed in the Early Middle Ages, and lasted for a millennium ...

in 1654, the City of Besançon refused to recognise the sovereignty of a new protector, whether the king of France or Spain, until

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 ...

dissolved the municipal government in 1676. The government comprised only a tiny area around the City of Besançon in the

, which meant that it had limited independence although it had considerable internal autonomy and still tried to claim neutrality.

History

Within the Holy Roman Empire

Besançon became part of the Holy Roman Empire in 1034 as the Archbishopric of Besançon, and in 1184 it gained autonomy as a free imperial city under

Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor Frederick Barbarossa (December 1122 – 10 June 1190), also known as Frederick I (; ), was the Holy Roman Emperor from 1155 until his death in 1190. He was elected King of Germany in Frankfurt am Main, Frankfurt on 4 March 1152 and crowned in Aa ...

. The town slowly sought the protection of a number of outside protectors, or captains, such as

Philip the Good Philip III the Good (; ; 31 July 1396 – 15 June 1467) ruled as Duke of Burgundy from 1419 until his death in 1467. He was a member of a cadet line of the Valois dynasty, to which all 15th-century kings of France belonged. During his reign, ...

Duke of Burgundy Duke of Burgundy () was a title used by the rulers of the Duchy of Burgundy, from its establishment in 843 to its annexation by the Crown lands of France, French crown in 1477, and later by members of the House of Habsburg, including Holy Roman E ...

. After the marriage of

Mary of Burgundy Mary of Burgundy (; ; 13 February 1457 – 27 March 1482), nicknamed the Rich, was a member of the House of Valois-Burgundy who ruled the Burgundian lands, comprising the Duchy of Burgundy, Duchy and Free County of Burgundy, County of Burgundy a ...

Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor Maximilian I (22 March 1459 – 12 January 1519) was King of the Romans from 1486 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 until his death in 1519. He was never crowned by the Pope, as the journey to Rome was blocked by the Venetians. He proclaimed hi ...

in 1477, the city treated the Habsburgs as its protectors. When Franche-Comté passed to

Philip II of Spain Philip II (21 May 152713 September 1598), sometimes known in Spain as Philip the Prudent (), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from 1580, and King of Naples and List of Sicilian monarchs, Sicily from 1554 until his death in 1598. He ...

in 1555, Besançon remained a free imperial city.

Loss of Imperial status

The city lost its status as a free imperial city in 1651 as a reparation for other losses that the Spanish had suffered in 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 ...

. After some resistance, this was finally confirmed by Besançon in 1654, although the city kept a high degree of internal autonomy.

Disputes with France

In 1667

claimed Franche-Comté as a consequence of his marriage to Marie-Thérèse of Spain. As part of the

War of Devolution The War of Devolution took place from May 1667 to May 1668. In the course of the war, Kingdom of France, France occupied large parts of the Spanish Netherlands and County of Burgundy, Franche-Comté, both then provinces of the Holy Roman Empire ...

, French troops arrived in the area in 1688. The town authorities tried to argue that it was neutral in any hostilities as it was an Imperial City, something that the French commander, the Prince de Conde, rejected as archaic. The French agreed to very generous surrender terms with the town authorities, which included transferring the

university A university () is an educational institution, institution of tertiary education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. ''University'' is derived from the Latin phrase , which roughly ...

from the then still recalcitrant Dole. There were also rumours that the regional

Parlement Under the French Ancien Régime, a ''parlement'' () was a provincial appellate court of the Kingdom of France. In 1789, France had 13 ''parlements'', the original and most important of which was the ''Parlement'' of Paris. Though both th ...

may be transferred from Dole. The City also laid down that it would be left the

relic In religion, a relic is an object or article of religious significance from the past. It usually consists of the physical remains or personal effects of a saint or other person preserved for the purpose of veneration as a tangible memorial. Reli ...

of a fragment of the holy winding sheet, and that

Protestants Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...

should not have liberty of conscience in the same way as they then had in the rest of France. While the city was in French hands, the famed

military engineer Military engineering is loosely defined as the art, science, and practice of designing and building military works and maintaining lines of military transport and military communications. Military engineers are also responsible for logistics ...

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban Sébastien is a common French given name. It is a French form of the Latin name ''Sebastianus'' meaning "from Sebaste". Sebaste was a common placename in classical Antiquity, derived from the Greek word ''σεβαστος'', or ''sebastos'', mea ...

visited Besançon and drew up plans for its fortification. The Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle returned the city to Spain within a matter of months, in return for the town of

Frankenthal Frankenthal (Pfalz) (; ) is a town in southwestern Germany, in the state of Rhineland-Palatinate. History Frankenthal was first mentioned in 772. In 1119 an Augustinians, Augustinian monastery was built here, the ruins of which — known, aft ...

. The Spaniards built the main centre point of the city's defences, " la Citadelle", siting it on Mont St. Etiene, which closes the neck of the bend in the river that encloses the old city. In their construction, they followed Vauban's designs. From this time onwards, a large pro-French faction grew among some of the city.

Surrender to the French

The city was to finally lose its autonomy as a result of the

Franco-Dutch War The Franco-Dutch War, 1672 to 1678, was primarily fought by Kingdom of France, France and the Dutch Republic, with both sides backed at different times by a variety of allies. Related conflicts include the 1672 to 1674 Third Anglo-Dutch War and ...

starting in 1672, where the Habsburgs took the side of the Dutch and so were to lose control of Franche-Comté and Besançon. After a siege of the city, French troops occupied the city in 1674, although they agreed to allow Besançon to keep its privileges. In 1676 the French authorities wound up the magistracy, the democratic form of government of Besançon, on the instructions of Louis XIV. A baillarge court was set up in its stead. As compensation for losing its self-government, the city became the administrative centre for Franche-Comté, with the Parlement of Besançon administering the area, replacing the Parlement of Dôle. French control was confirmed in 1678 by the Treaty of Nijmegen.

Institutions

Unlike most Free Imperial Cities which gradually became

oligarchies Oligarchy (; ) is a form of government in which power rests with a small number of people. Members of this group, called oligarchs, generally hold usually hard, but sometimes soft power through nobility, fame, wealth, or education; or thr ...

, Besançon had a very democratic form of government and municipal institutions. The government consisted of 28 councillors elected every year by the seven

parishes A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or ...

. These, in turn, chose 14 ''governors'', who dealt with the day-to-day business. The main business was dealt with by both councillors and governors sitting together. There was also a provision for a general assembly of citizens in very important cases. The protector — first the Dukes of Burgundy and then the Austrian and Spanish Habsburgs, and for two years the King of France — had the right to appoint a president for the governors and the commander of the soldiers who guarded the ramparts. The protector was never recognised as sovereign.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Besancon Free Former countries in French history 1130s establishments in the Holy Roman Empire 1134 establishments in Europe