Besançon is a city in France. It was the capital of the former Free County (Franche-Comté) region. It is the prefecture of the Doubs department. Its population is around 117,600 (2008).
History
Besançon is an old city. It is discovered in 58 BC and Julius Caesar writes about it in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico where it is called Vesontio. The etymology (origin of the word) is not certain. It could have a Celtic origin. The Celtic word wes means mountain. In the 4th century, the letter B became V. The city name changed to Besontio or Bisontion. It became Besançon in 1243. In 1871 the city is going through a revolutionary period, known as Besançon Commune.
The city has a Renaissance citadel. It was later used by the Nazis during World War II.
Climate
Besançon has an oceanic climate and a continental climate. The average temperature is 10.2 °C (50 °F). The warmest month of the year is July (18.9 °C or 66 °F) and the coldest month is January (1.6 °C or 35 °F). Besançon receives about 1108 mm (44 inches) of precipitation per year. The wettest month is May (111.4 mm or 4.4 in); the driest is July (80.5 mm or 3.2 in). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 31 July 1983, was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F), and the lowest was a −20.7 °C (−5.3 °F) reached on 1 January 1985.
Monuments
Besançon Cathedral
Synagogue of Besançon
Jewish cemetery of Besançon
Éducation
École nationale supérieure de mécanique et des microtechniques
Sister cities
Besançon is twinned with: Tver, Russia Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany Kuopio, Finland Huddersfield – Kirklees, United Kingdom Bielsko-Biała, Poland Neuchâtel, Switzerland Bistriţa, Romania Pavia, Italy Hadera, Israel Douroula, Burkina Faso Man, Côte d'Ivoire Charlottesville – Virginia, United States