Discover the historic town of Belfort

If you are visiting Franche-Comté or Alsace, the Belfort with its history and its massive fortifications, makes an ideal day trip. The town takes pride in having given France more generals (20 in total within a century) than any other French town. Read more about the troubled history of the ‘Cité du Lion’ and discover its main monuments, including the Citadel and the monumental Lion.

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Where is Belfort located?

Belfort is located at the border of the Rhine and the Rhône basins, in a strategic pass which the army named “Trouée de Belfort” (Belfort Gap). For geographers, the area is called 

• Burgundy Gate (Porte de Bourgogne) or 
• Alsace Gate (Porte d’Alsace).

It depends on whether one looks to the West or to the East.

The Belfort Gap stretches over 30 km between the Vosges and the Jura. The exact location of the pass lies 14 km East of Belfort, at Valdieu-Lutran, in the Sundgau.

A Germanic-styled old town

This strategic position is evident from the architectural features displayed in the town:

• a Germanic-style old centre and
• a definite French influence in its “faubourgs” or immediate districts.

The site of Belfort’s old town is quite impressive when viewed from the West. The city extends from beneath a cliff, from which stands a monumental stone lion. At the top of the cliff, a castle (or citadel) still watches over the town.

The Savoureuse, rather a ravishing name for a river, marks the limits between the old town and the “nouveaux faubourgs”. The latter are the new districts built between 1871 and 1914, during the rapid demographic growth of Belfort.

Belfort : an Austrian outpost

During most of the Middle-Ages, Belfort was an Austrian town. The Habsburgs possessed it as part of the neighbouring region of Sundgau. In a way, Belfort was an outpost bastion of Austria. Indeed it marked the most western post of the Vorderösterreich (Anterior Austria) during three centuries, between 1360 and 1648.

The rivalry between the counts of Montbéliard and Ferrette

In the 12th century, Thierry II, Count of Montbéliard, had a castle built at the top of a steep hill above the Savoureuse River. He named this castle “Belfort”.

The territory of its rival, Frederic I, Count of Ferrette, extended to the hill, facing the Belfort Castle.

Frederic in turn decided to edify his own castle which he named “Montfort”, on the current site of the “Tower of Miotte”. This ancient tower is held very dear to the people of Belfort who considered themselves as “Miottains” – children of the Miotte. They used to pick up a stone from around the tower to take as a talisman for when they were travelling far away from the city. The Miotte has been destroyed many times, in 1870-71 and 1940, but has always been rebuilt.

From this point onwards the two related families shared a long common history of both happy events and conflicts, until the Treaty of Grandvillars.

The Treaty of Grandvillars (1226) mentioned the name of the Belfort for the first time, presumably referring to its castle which may have been strong and impressive. Today, the well and the “Tour des Bourgeois” are the only medieval elements untouched by the successive restorations of the castle.

Belfort: an Austrian bastion

By legal succession, Belfort and its surroundings became an entirely Austrian territory around 1360 and remained so until 1648.

Belfort quickly became a Habsburg bastion at the western limits of their growing empire.

By becoming entirely Austrian, the people of Belfort (les Belfortains) were not safe from the attentions of Austria’s powerful enemies:

• the influential duchy of Burgundy,
• the fierce Swiss Confederates and
• the distant kingdom of France.

The frequent passage of enemy armies, due to the strategic position of Belfort between the North and Mediterranean Seas, and between the two rivals, Paris and Vienna, did it more harm than good.

In 1365, the Holy Roman Empire – whose emperors were from the Habsburg dynasty – decided to base 400 soldiers in Belfort.

A catholic stronghold

Later, in the 16th century, Belfort found itself surrounded by powerful Protestant cities:

• Mulhouse and Basel to the East,
• and Montbéliard to the South.

The Habsburgs took a very firm stance against all attempts to introduce the Reformation in Belfort and in the Sundgau.

Subsequently, the dynasty was the spearhead of the Counter Reformation, encouraging the introduction of anti-reformist works (particularly monasteries and Jewish schools) in the region.

However, after the Peace of Augsburg in 1555, Protestantism continued to make progress in Europe. The Protestant princes of Bohemia refused to recognise the authority of the emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (HRE), Ferdinand II (who himself was a Habsburg).

War erupted in 1618 due to the extreme tension between Catholics and Protestants, and the emperor and Protestant princes.

Belfort becomes French

The political situation was further complicated by the intervention by France, which had long been hostile to the ambitions of the House of Austria in Europe. During the Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648), Belfort was coveted by each side and was thus considered a sort of strategic “Gibraltar of the East“.

The troubled years of the 1630s

In 1632, the Swedish army besieged Belfort. The city surrendered in January 1633. Different warmongers took and retook the town which suffered devastation for the next 3 years. On the 28th June 1636, the French definitively took the town. Fighting in the name of the King of France, Louis de Champagne, Count of Suze, seized the fortified town in the middle of the night in an incredible act of boldness. The Count of Suze’s motto was made famous for its brief but tenacious message: “Never surrender!” (Ne capitulez jamais).

The King of France’s victories forced the Habsburgs to surrender Upper Alsace to him.

The Habsburgs withdrew from the other side of the Rhine and made Freiburg-im-Breisgau the new capital of the rest of their possessions in Anterior Austria.

On the 24th October, 1648 the Habsburgs signed the Treaty of Westphalia, which stipulated the transfer of Belfort and the Sundgau to France.

From the Treaty of Westphalia (1648) to 1789

From 1648 King of France, Louis XIV ruled over Belfort. In 1679, the military engineer Vauban visited the town and designed plans for new fortifications to be built. You can still see his work when driving around Belfort, and particularly from the viewing platform of the castle.

The Gate of Breisach

The fortifications designed by Vauban included two gates, the Breisach Gate and the France Gate (destroyed in 1892).

Each gate was protected by a demi-lune (or ravelin), a triangular fortification in front of the innerworks of the Belfort fortress. The Breisach Gate’s ravelin is linked to the bastion by a bridge spanning the trenches. More than just a military construction, the Breisach Gate of Belfort was designed in a way to bring glory to the King of France, Louis XIV.

Several ornamental embellishments still testify to this endeavour: fleurs-de-lis surmounted by the royal crown, and engraved in the pediment, the sun (emblem of King Louis XIV, the Sun King) and his Latin motto “nec pluribus impar” (none can be compared to him). Notice the date – 1687 – engraved in roman numerals just under the pediment.

The Gate of Breisach (Porte de Brisach), built in 1687, is particularly impressive and worth a visit.

To appreciate the appeal of Vauban, a ride along the Avenue du Capitaine de la Laurencie, reveals the impressive set of ramparts built by Vauban, as the street was traced in between the walls.

The Saint-Christophe church

In the old town, the Cathedral Saint-Christophe was built in pink sandstone from the Vosges between 1727 and 1750 in a classical style by Henri Schuller from the designs of Jacques Mareschal. The wrought-iron railings inside the church which encircle the choir stalls are covered in gold-leaves. They were influenced by those of Place Stanislas in Nancy. The magnificent organ, listed as a historic monument, dates back to 1752 and is from Joseph Valtrin. Initially an abbatial church, the building only became a cathedral in 1979, when the bishopric of Belfort-Montbéliard was created.

The old town

Until the end of the 19th century, the old town of Belfort was completely surrounded by the fortifications designed by Vauban. The old town is relatively small but it has been entirely restored, making an enjoyable stroll, particularly in summer. From the cliff of the castle to the banks of the Savoureuse River, the old town alternates between picturesque streets, small lanes and squares. The steep roofs of the old town are best viewed from the terrace of the castle, and at a simple glance, share similarities with houses of neighbouring towns of Delle, Altkirch, Ferrette or even Porrentruy (Switzerland).

Belfort from the French Revolution to 1870

During the French Revolution (1789), the Province of Alsace, to which Belfort belonged, was administratively restructured. From December 1789 to February 1790, the Constituante completely reorganised the French administration. The former provinces (Lorraine, Normandy, Alsace, Burgundy, etc.) gave way to départements, which were themselves divided into several districts (or arrondissements). The province of Alsace was thus divided into two départements: the Bas-Rhin to the north and the Haut-Rhin to the south, with their respective administrative centres of Strasbourg and Colmar. Belfort, Mulhouse and Altkirch became the three sub-prefectures of the Haut-Rhin.

The Haxo fortifications

Under the Bourbon Restoration and the July Monarchy, General Haxo commissioned the modernisation of the fortification system of Belfort, transforming the place as a truly entrenched camp, defended by the castle itself, and by two new bastions: the Miotte and the Justice. All these military forts were connected together and linked to the castle. Haxo also modernised the fortifications of the castle itself by digging two ditches and building two new lines of walls. At the entrance to the castle is a small cour d’honneur bordered by the Haxo casemates which have since been transformed into exhibition halls and cafés. In one of them, a well dating back to the medieval castle, is 67 metres deep.

The great design by Haxo can be seen at its best from the panoramic terrace on top of the castle. From there, the view extends from the Jura Mountains to the hills of Salbert and the Hautes-Vosges (Ballon de Servance, Ballon d’Alsace, Baerenkopf and Rossberg).

Visit of the citadel

Since July 2007, a section of the citadel has been opened to the public along the moats and the big underpass of the citadel. The trail includes a spectacular sound and light show in the great underground grotto which has been totally redesigned for it. This original journey is named “La Citadelle de la Liberté” (Citadel of Liberty).

The citadel houses the Musée d’Art et d’Histoire (Museum of Arts and History) which displays paintings of Dürer and Doré, alongside other local artefacts and exhibits on the town’s former military heroes.

The siege of Belfort (1870-71)

1871 was a year that would go down in Belfort’s history. Indeed it symbolises the defeat of the French army by the Prussians. And – most importantly – Belfort’s memorable resistance which lasted 103 days.

In November 1870, the Prussian army (40,000 soldiers) started to besiege Belfort and occupied all its surrounding villages. For 73 consecutive days, 3,500 French soldiers and over 14,000 inexperienced local fighters endured Prussian bombing in the midst of winter. The Prussian enemy set up 200 big guns which fired more than 5,000 shells per day.

On the 13th February 1871, 21 days after the signature of the armistice between the French and the Prussians in Versailles, the French Government  ordered the commander of the French army, Colonel Denfert-Rochereau to capitulate. In doing this, French Head of State Adolphe Thiers was hoping to keep Bismarck from annexing Belfort. The Prussian statesman had wanted to bring the whole of Alsace – including Belfort – into the new German Empire.

The Belfort resistance echoed all around France. It exemplified French courage and honour. Unlike Paris, the Prussian army never took Belfort in military action. Only the French government ordered its capitulation while the Reich Empire was proclaimed in the Palace of Versailles.

The Lion of Belfort

Auguste Bartholdi designed a monumental statue to symbolise the heroic siege. You will find it below the castle: this is the Lion of Belfort.

Belfort is separated from Alsace

If Belfort was historically part of Alsace, the vast majority of the local population will tell you that it is nonsense to call their beloved city “Alsatian”.

Since 1871, the ‘Cité du Lion’ has been separated from the département of Haut-Rhin. Only a few would know of the pre-Franco-Prussian war territorial division. Furthermore, the town has always been a French speaking town, even during the long era when the city was Austrian. This did not particularly bother the Habsburgs, as it was strategically placed in the Burgundy Gate.

Why the town is not part of Alsace anymore?

The French were obliged to surrender the territories with German culture and language (north-east Lorraine and Alsace) to the victors. However they somehow managed to keep Belfort and its immediate surroundings. The preliminaries of the French-Prussian Treaty (Treaty of Frankfurt) which was signed on 26 February, 1871, set the new border to the west of the Haut-Rhin département. However Article 1 stipulated that:

“On the other hand, the town of Belfort and its fortifications will remain French with a radius which will be determined later…”

A difficult negotiation

Thiers and Bismarck had difficulty negotiating the drawing up of the Frankfurt Treaty. Letting the heroic city of Belfort become Prussian hurt the French patriotism of many Republicans. The Prussian state officers were pleased with France’s proposal to exchange twelve iron-rich Lorraine villages for Belfort and 105 communes of the Haut-Rhin. As soon as it was announced, the idea was accepted by the Prussians. The French National Assembly confirmed it later.

Metz and the département of Moselle were thus given to the Prussians, in exchange for Belfort and its Alsatian-part district. The detached part of the Haut-Rhin which remained French was not immediately called “Territoire de Belfort” (Belfort Territory), but rather “French District of the Haut-Rhin”. It was only in 1922 that the Belfort Territory – “the temporary entity waiting for the return of the Haut-Rhin to France” – became an official département as such.

Despite the Haut-Rhin being returned to republican France in 1918, the French authorities were not keen to have the territory returned to the département as constituted in 1789. From that point onwards, Belfort and its territory were no longer considered part of Alsace.

Belfort during the Belle Époque

Until the Franco-Prussian war, the demographic growth of the town increased only slightly, despite the arrival of railways in 1858.

A demographic boom

However, after the war, Belfort went through a dramatic rise in its population during the years 1870-1914, from 8,030 to over 40,000 inhabitants. In the same way as Nancy in Lorraine, Belfort welcomed a flow of Alsatians who opted to keep their French nationalities, thus compelling them to immigrate outside Alsace.

Many industrialists from nearby Mulhouse or Colmar choose to live in Belfort. They contributed to its growth and influence in the region. The wealthy newcomers were bringing capital which was used to create new companies. A famous example is that of the SACM (Société Alsacienne de Constructions Mécaniques) . Originally based in Mulhouse it moved to Belfort in the 1870s. Today, the SACM is known as “Alstom”, famous for its TGV trains, some of the fastest in the world.

The city grew outside the limits of Vauban’s fortifications. It spread across the other side of the Savoureuse River. Unlike its neighbour Mulhouse, buildings from the Belle Époque are reminiscent of what was built in Paris, such as Haussmann architecture, thus contrasting with the more Germanic style of the old town.

How to get there

• Belfort is easily accessible by car from Alsace’s main cities Strasbourg, Colmar, and Mulhouse, as well as from Montbéliard and Besançon in Franche-Comté.
• If you travel from Australia, NZ or America you could either take a flight to Paris Charles de Gaulle, Zurich or Frankfurt Airports and rent a car from there. The nearest airport is the Euroairport near Basel.
• The TGV Rhin-Rhône from Paris-Gare de Lyon takes 2.15 hours to the new Belfort-Montbéliard-TGV railway station.

More info about the ‘Cité du Lion’

• Our article about the Lion of Belfort
• The Lion’s replica in Place Denfert-Rochereau in Paris
• The history of the Sundgau
• Read more about the Lion of Belfort on our French blog!
• The official website of the Tourist Board of Belfort.

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