Belfort
Encyclopedia : B : BE : BEL : Belfort
Belfort View of the western part of Belfort | |
|---|---|
| Country | |
| Région | Franche-Comté |
| Départment | Territoire de Belfort (préfecture) |
| Arrondissement | Belfort |
| Canton | Chief town of 5 cantons |
| INSEE | 90010 |
| Postal Code | 90000 |
| Mayor Current Term | Jean-Pierre Chevènement 2001-2008 |
| Intercommunality | Communauté d'agglomération de Belfort |
| Longitude | 06° 51' 00" E |
| Latitude | 47° 38' 30" N |
| Altitudes | average : 358 m minimum : 354 m maximum : 650 m |
| Area | 17.10 km² |
| Population without double-counting | 50,417 inhab. (1999) |
| Population Density | 2,948 inhab./km² |
Belfort is a town and commune of northeastern France, préfecture (capital) of the Territoire de Belfort département in the Franche-Comté région. Population (1999): 50,417. Approximately 80,000 including suburbs.
History
Belfort was the site of the Siege of Belfort from November 3, 1870 to February 18, 1871.
Sights
Belfort is the home of The Lion of Belfort, a sculpture by Frédéric Bartholdi expressing people's resistance against the siege in the Franco-Prussian War (1870). [Belfort Cathedral:[link]]
FIMU
Belfort is also well known for organizing a large-scale music festival in May each year. The Festival International de Musique Universitaire (FIMU) is home to nearly 2500 musicians, most of them students, from many different countries. The musicians give more than 250 concerts in the course of the 3-day festival in a wide variety of styles (classical, jazz, traditional, experimental, etc.). All of the concerts are free of charge and are performed at 14 different locations in the old city (the vieille ville) of Belfort. In 2004 more than 60,000 people attended the festival. In 2005 the festival was held on 14–16th May.
Miscellaneous
Births
Belfort was the birthplace of:
- François Joseph Heim (1787-1865), painter
- Captain Jules Brunet (1838-1911), a member of the first French military mission to be sent to the Empire of Japan in order to help modernize the armies of the shogunate
- Louis-Gabriel-Charles Vicaire (1848-1900), poet
- Jean-Pierre Chevènement (born 1939), politician
Twin towns
Belfort is twinned with:
- Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine
- Leonberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany
- Lobenstein, Thuringia, Germany
- Skikda, Algeria
Belfort Family
Not directly related to the Irish descendant Belfort family estabelished in early 1700 and grown to be the most renowned family in Northern Brazil.
External links
- [City council website] (in French)
- [Tourist office website]
- [FIMU Music festival, Belfort]
- [Visiting Belfort]
- [Webpage about the fortifications]
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