Belfort

[bel-fawr, bey-]

Belfort, city (1990 pop. 51,913), capital of the Territory of Belfort (a department), E France, in Alsace. An important industrial and transportation center, it has large cotton mills and metalworks. A major fortress town since the 17th cent., it commands the Belfort Gap, or Burgundy Gate, between the Vosges and the Jura mts., thus dominating the roads from France, Switzerland, and Germany. An Austrian possession, Belfort passed to France by the Peace of Westphalia (1648) and was fortified by Vauban. During the Franco-Prussian War (1870-71) the garrison withstood a siege of 108 days. Partly in acknowledgment of this heroism, the Germans left Belfort and the surrounding territory to France when they annexed the rest of Alsace. The many Alsatians who then took refuge in the town contributed significantly to its industrial growth. The siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Bartholdi.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Belfort

Belfort, Territory of, department (1990 pop. 134,400), E France, in Alsace, on the Swiss border. The city of Belfort is the capital.

The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia Copyright © 2004.
Licensed from Columbia University Press

Belfort

Belfort (Beffert) is a town and commune of northeastern France, préfecture (capital) of the Territoire de Belfort département in the Franche-Comté région. Population (1999): 50,417. Approximately 80,000 including suburbs.

It is located on the Savoureuse, on the strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône - the Belfort Gap (Trouée de Belfort) or Burgundian Gate (Porte de Bourgogne).

History

Belfort's strategic location, in a natural gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement and made it a target for armies.

The site of Belfort was inhabited in Gallo-Roman times and was subsequently recorded in the 13th century as a possession of the counts of Montbéliard, who granted it a charter in 1307.

Previously an Austrian possession, Belfort was transferred to France by the Treaty of Westphalia (1648), that ended the Thirty Years' War. The town's fortifications were extended and developed by the military architect Vauban for Louis XIV.

Until 1871, Belfort was part of the département of Haut-Rhin, in Alsace. The Siege of Belfort, between November 3, 1870 and February 18, 1871, was successfully resisted until the garrison was ordered to surrender 21 days after the armistice between France and Prussia. Because this part of Alsace was frenchspeaking in opposite to the rest of Alsace which was germanspeaking the area around Belfort was excluded from the annexation of Alsace and Lorraine by the Prussians. It formed, as it still does, the Territoire de Belfort. The siege is commemorated by a huge statue, the Lion of Belfort, by Frédéric Bartholdi.

Alsatians who sought a new French home in Belfort made a significant contribution to its industry.

The town was bombarded by the Germans in World War I and occupied by them in World War II. In November 1944 the retreating German army held the French First Army before the town until French Commandos made a successful night attack on the Salbert Fort. Belfort was liberated on 22 November.

Industry

Belfort is a trading centre for wine and grain and its industries include chemicals, engineering, plastics and textiles. Belfort is also the hometown of Alstom where the first TGVs (Trains Grande Vitesse) were produced. As well as GE Energy Gas turbine division.

Sights

Belfort is the home of the Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people's resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870) — who shortly afterwards built the Statue of Liberty in New York.
The Belfort Cathedral, 18th century
There are also plenty of other things to see in a city that is trying and showing better its heritage, mainly the citadel, the old town and its museographic riches:

In 2007, the Belfort city museums are to be completely restructured within three main poles: history (from archeology to military) in the old barracks on the top of the citadel, arts (mainly from 16th to 19th century) in the Tour 41 and modern arts in the Donation Jardot.
Since July of the same year, a new touristic sight of the citadel has been opened to the public - with a sound-, video- and light-animated trail in the ditches and the big underpass of the citadel. Its name: "La Citadelle de la Liberté" (Citadel of Liberty)

FIMU

Belfort is also well known for organizing a large-scale music festival in May each year. The Festival International de Musique Universitaire (FIMU) is home to nearly 2500 musicians, most of them students, from many different countries. The musicians give more than 250 concerts in the course of the 3-day festival in a wide variety of styles (classical, jazz, traditional, experimental, etc.). All of the concerts are free of charge and are performed at 14 different locations in the old city (the vieille ville) of Belfort. In 2004 more than 60,000 people attended the festival. In 2005 the festival was held on 14–16th May.