Many buildings in whose stone the history of the region is written are still standing today: Forts and fortifications, religious and industrial edifices; fruit of the imagination of famous architects have been preserved with the utmost care and open their doors wide to welcome the visitor.
Traces of Roman times and of the Middle Ages
The past can be read in the architectural heritage of the Franche-Comté, but the passage of time and wars have effaced quite a number of historical sites. It is thus difficult today to imagine Vesontio, the ancient Roman city upon which Besançon now stands. Only the «Porte Noire» (Black Gate) and some relics of aqueducts remain as testimony to the past. Similarly, at Mandeure and Villards-d'Héria, where one can explore the remains of a vast theatre and systems of running water which continue to puzzle archaeologists. The Middle Ages have also left their imprint on the region in the form of churches and ancient châteaux (a thousand of these can be counted while only a quarter can be visited) similar to those at Oricourt and Frontenay. Built for strategic purposes, most of these châteaux would be equipped with new defences as of the 16th century.
Vauban, the genius of strategy
Considered the most outstanding of builders of fortifications, Vauban has left the mark of his genius on the region in the shape of four principal sites. The most remarkable are the citadels of Belfort and of Besançon, which are both in an excellent state of repair. They illustrate the principles of town planning and defence as conceived by Vauban. Not only a builder of citadels, other works by Vauban can be found dotted around the Franche-Comté landscape. For example the château de Joux, symbol of the struggle against slavery and once the state prison where Toussaint-Louverture and Mirabeau made a stay. Furthermore, the Fort Saint André, overlooking Salins-les-Bains and today converted into an accommodation centre.
Industry and modernity
The architecture of the region boasts some other more unusual monuments of which La Saline Royale d'Arc-et-Senans, a salt refinery designed in the 18th century by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, is a fine example. Included in the UNESCO listings of world cultural heritage, it is the illustration of a futurist vision of an ideal worker's city. The Forges de Syam, in the Jura, relic of the steel industry, are still functioning and make use of some of the original equipment. Finally, the original Chapelle Notre-Dame-du-Haut in Ronchamp is a trace left by the famous Swiss French architect, Le Corbusier, and one of the foremost examples of contemporary sacred art.
