History of the Territory of Belfort

Prehistory

At the end of the last glaciation, there are 8 with 10 000 years, the landscape was rather to make think of current Siberia. Later, towards -4500 years, the Neolithic man is present in the area as the vestiges discovered at the end of the 19th century in the funerary cave known as attest some of Cravanche. The material put at the day at the time of the excavations which followed the discovery of the cave is with the Historical Museum of the town of Belfort.

Other Neolithic sites were studied around Belfort. That of the High-of-Mount, near to the cave of Cravanche, seems to have been a workshop of axes in Aphanite, considering the number of glares which were put at the day. This particular rock did not exist on the spot, the raw material could be transported since Chagey. This site, in edge of plate and strengthened, is connected with that of Collar-of-Bramont which is other side of Tasty the, on the peak where is drawn up the Tour of Miotte . It is there too about an enclosure protecting a habitat and which can be used as park with cattle.

In the south of the department, close to Beaucourt, the plate of Grammont was chosen by our distances ancestors to establish a strengthened enclosure of approximately two hectares in which were excavated at the end of the XIXe century of many burials (trunks under tumulus)

The Gallo-Roman period

Before the Roman conquest, the part Is Territory of Belfort belonged to Rauracie, the country of the Rauraques, whose seat was in Augusta-Rauracorum (Augst, close to Basle) then in Basle. Belfort and the other localities (Giromagny, Lime…) belonged to the Séquanie. In 58 before JC, Arioviste and its Germains, which dominated our area, was beaten in a place which the historians do not manage to locate, in spite of description that in fact Jules César in his Commentaires on the war of Gaules . It could be besides in the plain occupied by Belfort. Under the Roman domination, Belfort Gap, crossing point between the basin of the the Rhone and the valley of the the Rhine, is crossed by two important Roman ways. More to the south passes by Mandeure, Delle, Florimont in direction of the Rhine, while more in north (Langres - Strasbourg) curves with the foot of the the Vosges. Secondary ways square current Territoire of Belfort and one of them connects Mandeure, Bavilliers, Belfort, Offemont, Errues and joined the Langres-Strasbourg way towards Rougemont-the-Castle or Leval.

The Middle Ages

For the period of the invasions (250-500) the area of Belfort lives to pass many people: Frank, Vandals, Alamans, Burgondes… the south of Alsace, spaces border between the kingdoms burgonde and alaman hardly knew peace before Charlemagne does not restore the order which had disappeared with the Roman Empire. The successive parcellings out of the Empire of Charlemagne made fall the area successively with Lothaire Ier, Lothaire II, Louis Germanic the (+ 876) and Charles the Large. In 923, Henri the Bird-catcher, king de Germanie take again the Alsace with the Kingdom of France.

About the middle of the 11th century, Louis de Mousson and of Bar was the first count de Montbéliard and of Ferrette. Its grandchildren shared the area: Thierry II became count de Montbéliard and Frederic II count de Ferrette. Our department was then cut into two, the part is (seigniories of Rougemont, of Rosemont, Florimont) belonging to the field of Ferrette. The two counts did not get along as well as possible since Frederic made build on the height of Miotte the castle of Montfort (whose “Miotte” would be a “crumb”) opposite the castle of Belfort-on-the-Rock. Fortunately, the treaty signed in 1226 with Grandvillars and the marriage between Thierry, oldest son of Richard of Montbeliard, and Alix, girl of Frederic de Ferrette put an end to the argument.

At the time of the stamping from the city, in 1307, the seigniory of Belfort included/understood three districts cut out in town halls, each district having a court which returned justice in the name of the lord:

Prévôté of Belfort: Bavilliers, Belfort, Botans, Buc, Cravanche, Offemont, Lagrange and Perugia.
Base: Andelnans, part of Bessoncourt, Chévremont, Danjoutin, Dorans, Fontenelle, Leuppe, Moval, Petit-Croix, Sévenans and Trétudans.
Prévôté d' Angeot: Angeot, Autrage, Eschêne, Larivière, Novillard, Rechotte, Saint-Cosme and Vauthiermont.

At the beginning of the 14th century, the six principal seigniories are: Belfort, Delle, Florimont, Montreux, Rougemont and the Seigniory of Rosemont. They are not long in gathering. Delle increases of Florimont and Montreux before being attached, as well as Rosemont, in Belfort. At the end of the century there remains nothing any more but Rougemont and Belfort.

The Austrian period

What will become a French department is initially divided between the county of Montbeliard and that of Ferrette. Renaud of Burgundy, count de Montbéliard, sought to preserve its independence with respect to the Saint Empire, going until being joined king de France, Philippe Beautiful the. His/her daughter, Jeanne of Montbeliard, married Ulrich de Ferrette then the oldest daughter of the latter, Jeannette of Ferrette, while marrying with the Archduke of Austria Albert I (count of Habsbourg), brought to the house of Austria the field of the Rosemont which she had inherited. Belfort and its castle constituted a bastion then marking the limits of the Empire vis-a-vis in Burgundy and the French power thereafter.

In 1425, serfdom practically disappeared but as “a Door of Burgundy” and Austrian ground, the future Territory of Belfort had still to undergo, during the 14th century and 15th century, the plague of 1349, the misdeeds of the bands of truck drivers (1365 with 1375) and of Écorcheurs (1439 and 1444 - 1445), of the Bourguignons (1424 with 1431), Suisse S (1468).

Of 1469 with 1474, Alsace is temporarily sold with Charles Bold the, duke of Burgundy. The Guerre Thirty Year old, which lasted here of 1610 until the Traités of Westphalia in 1648, was one period of misery, armed robbery, epidemics (plague towards 1628) of various troop movements: Swedish, French, Lorraine, Croatian, Imperial, Swedish again and finally French. The latter set out again more about it.

Fastening in France

Louis XIV made gift of the stronghold of Rosemont to the Count of Suze then, in 1659, with the Cardinal of Mazarin. In 1792, at the time of the confiscation of the goods of the emigrants, the owner was Honore-Maurice Grimaldi, Count de Valentinois.

The area of Belfort was then integrated into the Alsatian department of the Haut-Rhin, whose prefecture was Colmar forming a district then a Arrondissement.

First Empire

1813 - 1814 Since the end of the War Thirty Year old, Belfort had not had any more to undergo of seat. The backward flow of the Large army after the retirement of Russia was followed arrival in front of Belfort of an Austrian division which invests the place of Belfort ordered by Jean Legrand. The city resisted during 113 days under conditions very testing for the inhabitants.

The return of Napoleon of the Isle of Elba again caused raised shields on behalf of the Allies and in 1815 the area had to undergo a new invasion. This time it is Claude Jacques Lecourbe which, as a commander of the 1st body of observation of the Jura, directed resistance. Arrived at Belfort on May 1st, 1815, it started by making reinforce defenses in front of the fortifications while making build a belt of fear placed well on the heights:

Miotte
Justice
the Poles
Bellevue (road of Lyon)

supplemented by others defending the access by the main roads:

Road of Paris (towards the west, with the entry of Essert)
Road of Basle, with Perugia

In spite of one crushing numerical inferiority, the troops of Lecourbe step by step defended the ground while being based on the place of Belfort, organized in fortified camp.

starting from June 27th: confrontations with Dannemarie
June 29th: Foussemagne, Chavannes-on-the Pond, Bourogne, Sochaux
July 1st: Sévenans, Chèvremont, Montbeliard, Roppe
July 4th: Bavilliers, Giromagny, Lime, Danjoutin, Perugia, Offemont, Giromagny,
July 5th: Essert

June 22nd, Napoleon had abdicated for the second time. Austrians, the goal was reached and measuring the enormous sacrifices which would be necessary to come to end from the firmly cut off French, agreed on July 8th to sign a suspension of fighting with Lecourbe. This cease-fire was transformed into armistice with Bavilliers on July 11th. July 27th, as a disciplined soldier, the Lecourbe general made hoist the white flag of the Second Restoration.

Defensive installations of Lecourbe were used as a basis for the work of fortification undertaken by Haxo in the years which followed and which made of Belfort a frightening fortified camp. The city is girdled of fortifications set up for the majority as from 1871 and intended to close the Belfort Gap to the invaders.

The 19th century and the 20th century

The 19th century saw the town of Belfort developing as a military place, and the construction of road main roads and ways converging towards the city. The city was then the Chef-lieu of a Arrondissement of the Haut-Rhin including/understanding the towns of Cernay, Dannemarie, Delle, Giromagny, Masevaux, Saint-Amarin and Thann.

During the War of 1870, the city is besieged by the Germans. The lieutenant colonel Denfert-Rochereau held head with the Prussians during 103 days. Because of this heroic resistance, and because the district of Belfort was French-speaking, the south-western half of the district (with Belfort, Delle and Giromagny, but without Cernay, Dannemarie, Masevaux, Saint-Amarin and Thann) was not annexed by Germany, contrary to the remainder of the department of Haut-Rhin: the Germans left the city in 1873.

The future Territory of Belfort kept after 1871 the name of district of Belfort, officially inside Haut-Rhin, and thus had a special statute until the recovery of Alsace by France after the First World War. After 1918 however, it was not reinstated in Haut-Rhin. It became department with whole share only in 1922, and then took the name of Territory of Belfort, preferred with the denominations of " Savoureuse" or " Terrible" mount;.

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