Doubs
Coat of arms of the Doubs department
Location
Administration
Department number:	25
Region:	Franche-Comté
Prefecture:	Besançon
Subprefectures:	Montbéliard Pontarlier
Arrondissements:	3
Cantons:	35
Communes:	594
President of the General Council:	Claude Jeannerot PS
Statistics
Population	Ranked 51st
-1999	499,062
Population density:	95/km²
Land area¹:	5234 km²
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². The term administration, as used in the context of Government, differs according to Jurisdiction. In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division France is divided into 26 regions or régions (in French of which 21 are in continental Metropolitan France, one is the island of Corsica, Franche-Comté ( Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté; Franco-Provençal: Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of Burgundy A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' Besançon (bəzɑ̃ˈsɔ̃ in French and Arpitan; German: Bisanz) is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté Subprefectures (sous-préfectures are the administrative towns of arrondissements in France that do not contain the prefecture for its department. Montbéliard (archaic Mömpelgard is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France Pontarlier ( Latin: Ariolica) is a commune and one of the two Sub-prefectures of the Doubs department in the The 100 French departments are divided into 342 arrondissements, which may be translated into English as districts. The 3 arrondissements of the Doubs department are Arrondissement of Besançon, ( prefecture of the Doubs department The cantons of France are territorial subdivisions of the French Republic's 341 arrondissements and 100 departments. The following is a list of the 35 cantons of the Doubs department, in France, sorted by arrondissement: Arrondissement The commune is the lowest level of administrative division in the French Republic. The following is a list of the 594 communes of the Doubs département in France. In France, the President of the General Council (French Président du conseil général) is the locally-elected head of the General Council, the assembly The Socialist Party ( Parti Socialiste, PS is the largest left-wing political party in France. As of January 1, 2008, 64473140 people live in the French Republic. To help compare Orders of magnitude of different geographical regions we list here areas between 1000 km2 and 10000 km2 An estuary is a semi-enclosed Coastal body of Water with one or more Rivers or Streams flowing into it and with a free connection to the open

Doubs (Arpitan : Dubs) is a department in eastern France named after the Doubs River. Franco-Provençal ( Francoprovençal) or Arpitan ( Vernacular: frp francoprovençâl arpitan patouès; francoprovenzale arpitano dialetto In the context of the political and geographic organization of France and many of its former colonies a department (département depaʁtǝmɑ̃ is an Administrative division This article is about the country For a topic outline on this subject see List of basic France topics. The Doubs is a 453 km long River in eastern France and western Switzerland, left tributary of the Saône. Its pronunciation is /du/ (the last two letters are silent). See also French language This article mainly discusses the phonological system of standard French based on the Parisian dialect

History

Main article: 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. The Free County of Burgundy, in German Freigrafschaft Burgund, was a Medieval County (from 867 to 1678 AD within the traditional province and modern French Franc-Comtois is a term that identifies two separate language dialect groups with different linguistic origins spoken by a minority of people in the Franche-Comté and the northwestern Langues d'oïl is the linguistic and historical designation of the Gallo-Romance languages originating from the northern territories of Roman Gaul, Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect of the Arpitan language. Franco-Provençal ( Francoprovençal) or Arpitan ( Vernacular: frp francoprovençâl arpitan patouès; francoprovenzale arpitano dialetto 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. French ( français,) is a Romance language spoken around the world by 118 million people as a native language and by about 180 to 260 million people They are both still spoken today but not on an everyday basis like before.

Doubs was important as a portal to Switzerland through the pass at Joux. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation Joux is a Village and commune of the Rhône department of France. Many famous people, including Mirabeau, Toussaint Louverture and Heinrich von Kleist, were imprisoned in the Château de Joux. François-Dominique Toussaint Louverture Bernd Heinrich Wilhelm von Kleist ( October 18, 1777 &ndash November 21, 1811) was a German Poet, Dramatist, The Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a Castle, transformed into a Fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux, in the Doubs département

Doubs is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. The French Revolution (1789–1799 was a period of political and social upheaval in the History of France, during which the French governmental structure previously an Events 51 - Nero, later to become Roman Emperor, is given the title Princeps iuventutis (head of the youth Year 1790 ( MDCCXC) was a Common year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year It was created from part of the former province of Franche-Comté. Franche-Comté ( Franc-Comtois: Fràntche-Comté; Franco-Provençal: Franche-Comtât) the former "Free County" of Burgundy The prefecture (capital) is Besançon. A prefecture ( préfecture) in France can refer to: the Chef-lieu de département, the town in which the administration of a ''département'' Besançon (bəzɑ̃ˈsɔ̃ in French and Arpitan; German: Bisanz) is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté

In 1793, the republic of Mandeure was added to the department, and in 1816 the principality of Montbéliard. Mandeure is a commune in the Doubs department in the region of Franche-Comté in eastern France. Montbéliard (archaic Mömpelgard is a commune in the Doubs department in the Franche-Comté region in eastern France

Victor Hugo and Auguste and Louis Lumière are among the famous people born in Doubs. Victor-Marie Hugo ( ( February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) was a French Poet, Playwright, Novelist

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. Jura is a department in the east of France named after the Jura mountains (not to be confused with the Swiss canton of Jura Haute-Saône ( Hiôta-Sona in Arpitan language is a French department of the Franche-Comté ( Franche-Comtât The Territoire de Belfort is a department in the Franche-Comté region of eastern France. Switzerland (English pronunciation; Schweiz Swiss German: Schwyz or Schwiiz Suisse Svizzera Svizra officially the Swiss Confederation The 26 cantons of Switzerland are the states of the Federal state of Switzerland. The Canton of Vaud ( French pronunciation) is one of the 26 cantons of Switzerland and is located in Romandy, the southwestern part of the Neuchâtel (Canton de Neuchâtel Kanton Neuenburg is a canton of western Switzerland. The Republic and Canton of the Jura (République et Canton du Jura also known as the Canton of Jura or Canton Jura, is one of the Cantons of Switzerland

The department is dominated by the Jura mountains, which rise east of Besançon. The Jura Mountains are a small Mountain range located north of the Alps, separating the Rhine and Rhone rivers and forming part of Besançon (bəzɑ̃ˈsɔ̃ in French and Arpitan; German: Bisanz) is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté

Demographics

The inhabitants of the department are called Doubistes.

Tourism

The castles at Joux and Besançon are important tourist destinations. The Fort de Joux or Château de Joux is a Castle, transformed into a Fort, located in La Cluse-et-Mijoux, in the Doubs département Besançon (bəzɑ̃ˈsɔ̃ in French and Arpitan; German: Bisanz) is the capital and principal city of the Franche-Comté

See also

• Cantons of the Doubs department
• Communes of the Doubs department
• Arrondissements of the Doubs department

External links

• (French) Prefecture website
• (French) General council website
• (English) Doubs Tourism Guide