MONTBÉLIARD

France Commune of Montbéliard
Région	Franche-Comté
Département	Doubs (sous-préfecture)
Arrondissement	Montbéliard
Canton	Chief town of 2 cantons
Intercommunality	communauté d'agglomération du Pays de Montbéliard
Mayor	Louis Souvet ()
Land area¹	15.01 km²
Population²	27,570 (1999)
Population density	pers./km² (1999)
Altitude	- (avg. )
INSEE/Postal code	25388 / 25200
¹ French Land Register data, which exclude estuaries, and lakes, ponds, and glaciers larger than 1 km². ² Not counting those already counted in another commune (such as students and military personnel).

Coordinates: ,

Montbéliard (German: Mömpelgard) is a commune in the Doubs département, in eastern France. It is one of the two sous-préfectures of the département.

Population (1999): 27,570. Internal agglomeration: 123,000. External agglomeration: 302,000 (with the city of Belfort).

1 History
2 Economy
3 Miscellaneous
- 3.1 Births
4 External links

History

Mentioned first in 985 as Mons Beliardae, it became a county of the Holy Roman Empire in the 11th century. In 1397 Mömpelgard passed by marriage to the counts (later dukes) of Württemberg. In 1524, 10 yearas earlier than in Württemberg, Count Ulrich and reformer William Farel made Mömpelgard Protestant (specifically Lutheran). From 1598 to 1608, the architect Heinrich Schickhardt build several landmarks of the city, like St. Martin, a castle, a bridge, a college and several hotels.

After the French Revolution, it was briefly incorporated into the Rauracian Republic, and in 1793 Mömpelgard was annexed to France in 1793, which was confirmed in 1796 and by the Reichsdeputationshauptschluss of 1806, when Württemberg was compensated with other areas and became a kingdom.

As a consequence of the former rule under the dukes of Württemberg, it has been for centuries one of the few Protestant (specifically Lutheran) enclaves in France.