Franche-Comté

A hilly area in the gap between the Jura and Vosges mountains, the Franche-Comté (name derived from the area’s once having been a “FreeCounty” of Burgundy) sits astride one of the major commercial and military routes of central Europe. Because of its strategic location near the spot where Germany, Switzerland, and France meet, it was perennially invaded throughout history and only finally became a part of France in 1678. In the Middle Ages and thereafter, the powers of Europe also sought to control it to exploit and market its extensive salt deposits.