[Édition [beau livre]]Burgundy and Franche-Comté, over time – Journal en direct

The first traces of occupation of the current Burgundy – Franche-Comté region date back half a million years. This is the starting point of a work constructed in the form of a chronological timeline, unfolding the long and fascinating history of the territory.

In the 1970s, a child’s canine aged 5 to 7 years old was discovered in Vergranne, in Doubs. Dated between -500,000 and -420,000 years ago, it is a trace of the occupation of the territory by A man from Heidelbergthe ancestor of Neanderthals, and one of the oldest testimonies of the presence of man in France.

This tiny tooth, which came from prehistory to us, marks the beginning of the work as a symbol. History(s) of Burgundy – Franche-Comté. Half a million years of history cannot be condensed into a book, even of nearly four hundred pages, even if richly illustrated. This is why the authors chose to evoke them by small chronological touchesthus composing a striking overview. More than a hundred specialists from various disciplines produced this historical fresco under the direction of Philippe Barral, teacher-researcher in archeology at the Marie and Louis Pasteur University, former director of the MSHE, and Thomas Charenton, chief heritage curator at the Burgundy-Franche-Comté region .

Highlights and short stories mingle throughout the pages of this work divided into six major chapters, each corresponding to a period: Prehistory and Protohistory, running until the battle of Alésia, in -52; Antiquity then, until 476, date of the fall of the Western Roman Empire; the Middle Ages, covering the following period until 1492 and the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus; the modern era, stopping at the French Revolution; the contemporary era, between 1789 and the end of the Second World War; present time, from 1945 to the present day. Territorial layout, economy, politics, religion, architecture, culture, etc., the different facets of human activities and the evolution of societies take place in complete freedom within this classically established framework.

Dates drawn over time

From the installation of the first men in -500,000 to the famous battle of Alésia in -52, which saw Vercingétorix surrender before Caesar, numerous traces account for the early occupation of a territory favorably located between the Paris basin, the Rhône valley and the Rhine axis. The three centuries following the integration of Gaul into the Roman Empire were a period of economic growth, against a backdrop of progressive romanization of the Gallic peoples punctuated by fratricidal struggles.
A May 68 (!), Vesontio (Besançon), geographically wedged between the peoples loyal to Nero and those opposing his administration, is the site of a battle which would have left 20,000 dead according to the writings of Plutarch. In 350, General Magnence proclaimed himself emperor in Autun (71) while he was passing through with his army, an insubordination which made him master of a part of the Roman West for three years that the history textbooks have forgotten. Long the capital of the Aedui, Autun represents one of the most documented testimonies of this period.

The IV^e century is marked by the advent of Christianity in Gaul. A few centuries later, the abbeys of Cluny (71) and Citeaux (21) were founded, respectively in 910 and 1098; they gave birth to religious orders which spread throughout Europe.
Their buildings are part of the important architectural heritage testifying to the human occupation of the region throughout the centuries.
The very well preserved remains of the lakeside villages of Chalain and Clairvaux (39) provide tremendous information on the organization of Neolithic habitat. The Black Gate of Besançon, erected around 180, is a triumphal arch for which several explanations are still in dispute. The theater of Mandeure (25) asserts itself as the largest in Roman Gaul. The Arc-et-Senans Saltworks, in 1774, imprinted an artistic style in an unprecedented way on buildings with an industrial vocation, according to plans that landscaping will be completed in 2022.

Crafts and industryleave numerous traces recounting the evolution of productive activities in the region.
Swords, spear points and other vestiges of the warrior register found in the Saône are examples of the work of bronze metallurgy, attested throughout Europe from -2300 to -850. The steel industry, established in Antiquity, developed in thousands of iron production workshops, until the modern era and after having benefited from the innovations of the Middle Ages. Exploitation of the coal deposit discovered at Le Creusot began in 1768 and lasted more than a hundred years, before the mine was gradually abandoned, with the closure of the last shaft dating from 1943. The early installation of the first earthenware makers in Nevers, in 1588, led to the opening of 58 earthenware factories in the region. In 1793, the national watch factory opened its doors in Besançon and experienced dark years, in a context marked by the hostility of the population towards the hired Swiss workers.

In Northern Franche-Comté, at the end of the 19th century^e century, Peugeot launched into activities as diverse as flour milling, crinolines, tools and cycles, before producing its first car with a gasoline engine in 1890, and winning the legendary Indianapolis race in 1913 with its model L76. In 1972, Alsthom Belfort put its first TGV power plant on track and in 1973, SEB became an industrial group. Natural resources of course also serve economic activities. If many salt works exploited “white gold” in the 18th^e century, the salt springs of the Jura massif were developed from the Neolithic period. Counting among the riches of the territory, the vines of Saône-et-Loire, Côte d’Or and Jura were in turn ravaged by phylloxera during the 1870s and 1880s, causing a phenomenal upheaval both for the landscape and in society.

In terms of plaguesthe Black Death cast a tragic shadow over the end of the Middle Ages. The parish register of Givry (71), the oldest document of this kind in France, reflects the importance of the epidemic: if it reports 43 deaths, at most, per year, before the arrival of the plague in 1348, 649 deaths were recorded during this dark year. A century later, the hospices of Beaune (21) were built, placed under the protection of the Pope. Dedicated to the care of the sick, they operated from 1452 to 1971, when they were transformed into a museum.

The places and buildings speak of the political, cultural and artistic life of the region, and of very diverse personalities who animated it. The cabinetmaker and architect Hugues Sambin, born around 1518 in Gray (70), left testimonies of his art to Besançon and Dijon. “The banquet of the Girondins”, given in 1847 in honor of Alphonse de Lamartine (1790-1869), is once again celebrated by an immense wall mosaic, inaugurated in 1983 in Macon (71), the birthplace of the poet and politician. Gustave Courbet (1819-1877) continued to draw inspiration from his region to produce paintings of often criticized realism, such as his famous Burial in Ornans (25). Originally from Chalon-sur-Saône (71), Nicéphore Niépce invented photography in 1824, an instant image which would be relayed by the movement filmed by the Lumière brothers, born in Besançon and pioneers of cinema.

Music also resonates in the territory like the sound of the Eurockéennes de Belfort (90) since 1989, which gives a new identity to the industrial city. Sportsis not left out. In 1996, AJA Auxerre (89) won the cup and the French football championship, an unprecedented double for a town of less than 40,000 inhabitants, which made the club legendary. In 2014, it’s up to Planche des Belles Filles (70) to join the big leagues: the Vosges ski resort will become an emblematic stage of the Tour de France…

With the crossing of this finish line, the mad race through time in Burgundy – Franche-Comté can be closed.
A long story to explore in an extraordinary workand which continues to be written every day.