Montbenoît

Montbenoît (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃bənwa]) is a former commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It was merged into the new commune Pays-de-Montbenoît on 1 January 2025.^[2]

The abbey church (11th-20th centuries).

Montbenoît
Part of Pays-de-Montbenoît
The Doubs
Coat of arms
Location of Montbenoît
Montbenoît Show map of France Montbenoît Show map of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Coordinates: 46°59′37″N 6°27′46″E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Doubs
Arrondissement	Pontarlier
Canton	Ornans
Commune	Pays-de-Montbenoît
Area 1	5.03 km2 (1.94 sq mi)
Population  (2022)[1]	399
• Density	79/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
Postal code	25650
Elevation	762–1,125 m (2,500–3,691 ft) (avg. 790 m or 2,590 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Geography

The commune lies 14 km (8.7 mi) north of Pontarlier in the Jura mountains.

History

In the early 12th century, Landry, Lord of Joux, gave land in the upper Doubs valley to Humbert, Archbishop of Besançon, to found an abbey.^[3][4] The local summit in the area was at the time called Mont Benoît after a hermit named Benoît who lived there. Humbert invited monks to come from Valais and an abbey under St. Columbanus's rule was built by a monk called Nardouin (Norduin) in 1141–1142.^[5][6] The town grew up nearby the abbey. Both the abbey and the town were named Montbenoît after the local summit. The abbey later came under the Augustine rule.^[6]

In 1947, Montbenoît was proclaimed capital of the Republic of Saugeais by Georges Pourchet, a local hotel owner, who also created the republic on the spot.^{[citation needed]}

Population

Historical population

Year	Pop.	±%
1962	180	—
1968	205	+13.9%
1975	182	−11.2%
1982	163	−10.4%
1990	238	+46.0%
1999	219	−8.0%
2008	365	+66.7%
2012	396	+8.5%

See also

• Communes of the Doubs department