Franquemont is an ancient lordship on the banks of the river Doubs dominated by the castle of Franquemont. It comprised the river banks from le Theusseret to Le Moulin du Plain, the valley, hamlets, mills and villages of Gourgouton, Montbaron, Vautenaivre, Beaujour and Goumois.
In 1247, Thierry III, Count of Montbéliard, acquired the village of Goumois and several other properties on the river banks. In 1304 his successors passed it, along with its dependencies to Gauthier of Montfaucon, first Lord of Franquemont. Gauthier erected a castle on the remains of an ancient Roman fortress, on the edge which separates the hamlet of Belfond and the river Doubs. After his death, the Lordship and castle remained once again in the hands of the Counts of Montbéliard. During its complicated history, full of rivalries and wars such as the Burgundian Wars (1474-1477) and the Thirty Years' War (1618-1648), the lordship and its castle changed hands several times.
In 1538, the lordship of Franquemont was elevated to a barony by Emperor Charles V for Nicolas de Gilley. The sovereignty was continuously disputed between the Prince-Bishops of Basel, the Dukes of Württemberg, and the Counts of Montbeliard. These rivalries eventually led to the destruction of the castle in 1677 by the Prince-Bishop of Basel.
By the Treaty of Versailles on 11 July 1780, signed between Louis XVI, King of France and Frederic of Wangen, Prince-Bishop of Basel, the latter yielded the sovereignty over the left river bank of the Doubs to France. It was agreed that the Doubs would serve as a border between the two countries. The French Revolution, which brought an end to feudal rights, finally abolished the lordship of Franquemont and in 1793 the principality of the bishops of Basel was dissolved.
After the Congress of Vienna in 1815, the Swiss part of the ancient Barony formed the community of Goumois, Jura in Switzerland, the French part formed the community of Goumois, Doubs in France.
Description of the Castle 1305-1677 (According to Auguste Quiquerez 1801–1882):
Working the irregularities of the ground, the castle was built on two superposed terraces. The entry was situated on the south flank and lead to a large square, surrounded by walls thus delimiting a courtyard flanked by the dependences and a dungeon. The principal body of the structure dominated the fosse and gave access to a smaller courtyard. From there, traces of a wall indicate what must have been a rectangular building (approximately 60 x 30m). The latter was flanked on the west side by oval casemate structures, double walling of which A. Quiquerez provided a drawing dating from the 1850s. Most probably a chapel was constructed to the centre part of the building elevated above the fosse. Furthermore, it had a well or cistern in the northern part.
The last known inhabitant before the castle of Franquemont was destroyed in 1677 was Count Claude de Franquemont.
Several branches have existed of the Franquemont family all of which have roots in the Montbéliard and Württemberg families. Few remain as most branches no longer exist due to the lack of male heirs. Only the Württemberg branch still exists.
The branch of Franquemont in Franche-Comté originates from the Counts of Montbéliard, founded in the House of Württemberg by Etienne de Montfaucon count of Montbéliard (1325-1397). After his death, his natural son Henri inherits Franquemont. Among the earliest genealogical records is Henri's son Jean de Franquemont, Bailiff of Montbeliard (1489). This branch continued for more than ten generations as lords of Tremoing and Pierrefitte. In the 16th century the Franquemont's provide five Knights of the Order of St. George. In 1720 this branch of Franquemont was given the title of count. The land of Han-en-Barrois located in Barrois-Mouvant, was erected to County by Leopold Duke of Lorraine in favour of George-Gabriel de Montbéliard Count of Franquemont, his Chamberlain. The denomination Franquemont-en-Barrois originated from the fief of Franquemont on the Doubs in the County of Montbéliard, first appanage of his ancestors. Several alliances exist with the de Châtelet, d'Arbonnay, de Brunecoff, de Maillet, d’Aspremont, de Gilley, etc.
The line of Franquemont in Franche-Comté is related to the line of Franquemont in Württemberg by Henriette d'Orbe-Montfaucon countess of Montbéliard (1387-1444), granddaughter of Etienne de Montfaucon.
The Franquemonts in Württemberg descend from Carl Eugen, 12th Duke of Württemberg (1728–1793). He gave the name Franquemont to five of his natural sons. All five were officers in the Württemberg Army (Cape Regiment) which brought them to the Dutch East Indies with the Dutch East India Company (VOC). The eldest, Frederic William von Franquemont (1744-1790) was the colonel in command of the second battalion of the Cape Regiment. Another of them was the well known General Count Frederic von Franquemont (1770–1842) who, after his return from the Indies became a highly decorated army General, leading the Württemberger division in the Battle of Nations (1813). Count Frederic and his brother Colonel Carl von Franquemont were the only two of their generation to return to Württemberg after a captivity by the British in Ceylon. Descendants of their brothers returned to Europe only several generations later when the East Indies were no longer a colony of the Netherlands and became the Republic of Indonesia.
Sources
J. Beuret-Frantz, «Le vallon de Goumois et la seigneurie de Franquemont», in Actes SJE, 1913, 233-292 click link
Arnold Robert, «La Seigneurie de Franquemont», Londres Spink & Son 17&18 Picadilly, 1904
Arnold Robert, «La Seigneurie de Franquemont 2eme Partie», Londres Spink & Son 17&18 Picadilly, 1905
Dictionnaire Genealogique, Heraldique, Chronologique et Historique, par M.D.L.C.D.B., Tome II, a Paris, M. DCC. LVII, p.143-144, p.160
Dictionnaire de la Noblesse, par M. De La Chenaye-Desbois, Tome VI, Seconde edition, Paris, M.DCC. LXXIII., p.659-660
Mémoires Pour Servir à l’Histoire du Comté de Bourgogne, par M. F.I. Dunod de Charnage, à Besançon M.DCC.XL., p.259-260
Montbéliard is a town in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, about 13 km (8 mi) from the border with Switzerland. It is one of the two subprefectures of the department.
The County of Bar, later Duchy of Bar, was a principality of the Holy Roman Empire encompassing the pays de Barrois and centred on the city of Bar-le-Duc. It was held by the House of Montbéliard from the 11th century. Part of the county, the so-called Barrois mouvant, became a fief of the Kingdom of France in 1301 and was elevated to a duchy in 1354. The Barrois non-mouvant remained a part of the Empire. From 1480, it was united to the imperial Duchy of Lorraine.
Friedrich Eugen, Duke of Württemberg was the fourth son of Karl Alexander, Duke of Württemberg, and Princess Maria Augusta of Thurn and Taxis. He was born in Stuttgart. From 1795 until 1797 he was Duke of Württemberg.
Charles Eugene, Duke of Württemberg, was the eldest son, and successor, of Charles Alexander; his mother was Princess Marie Auguste of Thurn and Taxis.
Glay is a commune in the Doubs department in eastern France. It is located in the Jura mountains near the border with Switzerland.
Sundgau is a geographical territory in the southern Alsace region, on the eastern edge of France. The name is derived from Alemannic German Sunt-gowe, denoting an Alemannic county in the Old High German period. The principal city and historical capital is Altkirch.
Eberhard III, nicknamed the Mild, was Count of Württemberg from 1392 until his death in 1417.
The Château de Morimont is a ruined castle in the Alsace region of France, in the commune of Oberlarg in the Haut-Rhin département. It is 40 km southwest of Mulhouse and 45 km west of the Swiss city of Basel.
Otto I was Count of Burgundy from 1190 to his death and briefly Count of Luxembourg from 1196 to 1197. He was the fourth son of Frederick I, Holy Roman Emperor, by his second wife Beatrice I, Countess of Burgundy, daughter of Count Renaud III.
The Château de Montbéliard, also known as the Château des ducs de Württemberg is a fortress located on an outcropping rock that overlooks the town of Montbéliard in the Doubs département of France. Since 1996, it has been classified as a monument historique by the French Ministry of Culture. The property of the commune, it is open to the public.
Noironte is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Abbans-Dessus is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
Avanne-Aveney is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region of eastern France.
L'Isle-sur-le-Doubs is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.
The Château de Ferrette is a ruined castle in the commune of Ferrette in the Haut-Rhin département of France. It is a recognized historical monument since 1930.
The Princely County of Montbéliard, was a princely county of the Holy Roman Empire seated in the city of Montbéliard in the present-day Franche-Comté region of France. From 1444 onwards it was held by the House of Württemberg. It had full voting rights in the Reichstag.
The Belfort Gap or Burgundian Gate is the area of relatively flat terrain in Eastern France between the Vosges Mountains to the north and the Jura Mountains to the south. It marks the watershed between the drainage basins of the River Rhine to the east and the River Rhône to the west, part of the European Watershed between the North Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. It is also the boundary between the historic regions of Burgundy to the west and Alsace to the east, and as such has marked the Franco-German border for long periods of its history.
Leopold Eberhard of Württemberg-Montbéliard, was a German prince member of the House of Württemberg. He was Count of Coligny since 1680 and Duke of Württemberg-Montbéliard since 1699 until his death. The first half of his life he was in exile and in military service of the House of Austria and lived for a long time in Silesia; only in 1697 he and his family were able to return of Montbéliard, and two years later he assumed the government as the last legitimate male member of his dynasty. He gained a doubtful fame mainly through his arbitrary and absolutist rule as well as by his extravagant family life, which is why he is considered the "Black Sheep" of the House of Württemberg.
The Seigneurie of Batiscan was located on, and included 1/2 lieue of frontage along, the north shore of the St. Lawrence River in the province of Quebec, Canada. It was 20 lieues deep. Granted in 1639 to the Jesuits, colonization of the manor began in 1666, after an initial allotments were added to the census in 1665.) The northern boundary of the seigneurie was past the source of the Saint-Maurice River. It was the deepest in the seigneurial system of New France. The seigneurie of Batiscan became the most populous governed area of the Three Rivers by the end of the 17th Century.
The County of Ferrette was a feudal jurisdiction in Alsace in the Middle Ages and the early modern period. It roughly corresponds with the Sundgau and comprised the lordships of Ferrette (Pfirt), Altkirch, Thann, Belfort, Rougemont and others. These territories were not contiguous, but formed a patchwork of jurisdictions under the Holy Roman Empire.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
