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Doubs (department)

Doubs (Arpitan : Dubs) is a department in eastern France named after the Doubs River. Its pronunciation is /du/ (the last two letters are silent).

History

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 Arpitan language. Both languages co-existed with French, the official language of law and commerce, and continued to be spoken frequently in rural areas into the 20th century. They are both still spoken today but not on a daily basis.

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

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

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

Geography

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

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