Besançon, city, eastern France, capital of Doubs Department, on the Doubs River. It is a farm-trade, cultural, and manufacturing center, noted for the production of timepieces; other manufactures include processed food and textiles. Points of interest in the city include Roman ruins (notably of a triumphal arch and an amphitheater), the Cathedral of Saint Jean (mainly 12th-16th century), and several buildings in the Spanish Renaissance style. Besançon is the seat of the University of Franche-Comté, moved here from Dôle in 1691.
An important Gallic center, Besançon later became (1st century BC) a Roman military outpost. It was made an archiepiscopal see in the 2nd century AD and became a free imperial city in 1184. Besançon passed, with Franche-Comté, to the French crown in the 1670s. It is the birthplace of the writer Victor Hugo. Population (1999) 117,733.Microsoft® Encarta® Online Encyclopedia 2001
http://encarta.msn.com © 1997-2001 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. Besancon Information info
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