As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the northern two-thirds of Doubs spoke
Franc-Comtois, a dialect of the ''
langues d'oïl''. Residents of the southern third of Doubs spoke a dialect of the
Arpitan language. Both languages co-existed with French, the official language of law and commerce, and continued to be spoken frequently in rural areas into the 20th century. They are both still spoken today but not on a daily basis. Doubs was important as a portal to
Switzerland through the pass at Cluse de Pontarlier. Many famous people, including
Mirabeau,
Toussaint Louverture and
Heinrich von Kleist, were imprisoned in the
Château de Joux. Doubs is one of the original 83 departments created during the
French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was created from part of the former province of
Franche-Comté. The
prefecture (capital) is
Besançon. In 1793, the republic of
Mandeure was annexed by France and incorporated into the department. This district was passed between various territories and departments in the ensuing administrative reorganisations and wars, but was restored to Doubs in 1816 when the former principality of
Montbéliard was also added to the department. However, the commune of
Le Cerneux-Péquignot was annexed by the
Canton of Neuchâtel under the terms of the 1814
Treaty of Paris, and since remained Swiss territory. Between the defeat of France at the
Battle of Waterloo and November 1818, Doubs was included in the area occupied by
Austrian troops.
Victor Hugo,
Gustave Courbet,
Armand Peugeot,
Auguste and Louis Lumière and
Frank Darabont are among the famous people born in Doubs. ==Geography==