Besançon in France

4 January 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  6 minutes

© Arnaud 25/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Arnaud 25/cc-by-sa-3.0

Besançon is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerland. Capital of the historic and cultural region of Franche-Comté, Besançon is home to the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté regional council headquarters, and is an important administrative centre in the region. It is also the seat of one of the fifteen French ecclesiastical provinces and one of the two divisions of the French Army. In 2019 the city had a population of 117,912, in a metropolitan area of 280,701, the second in the region in terms of population.   read more…

Theme Week Estonia – Kuressaare

30 April 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  10 minutes

Kuressaare Castle © Stefan Hiienurm/cc-by-sa-4.0

Kuressaare Castle © Stefan Hiienurm/cc-by-sa-4.0

Kuressaare is a town on Saaremaa island in Estonia. It is the administrative centre of Saaremaa Parish and the capital of Saare County. Kuressaare is the westernmost town in Estonia. The recorded population on 1 January 2018 was 13,276. The town is situated on the southern coast of Saaremaa island, facing the Gulf of Riga of the Baltic Sea, and is served by the Kuressaare Airport, Roomassaare harbour, and Kuressaare yacht harbour.   read more…

Briançon in the Cottian Alps

22 January 2018 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, French Riviera, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  7 minutes

© Benj05/cc-by-sa-3.0

© Benj05/cc-by-sa-3.0

Briançon a commune in the Hautes-Alpes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. At an altitude of 1,326 metres (4,350 feet) it is the highest city in France, based on the French definition as a community containing more than 2,000 inhabitants. Briançon’s most recent population estimate is 12,00. Briançon is built on a plateau centred on the confluence of the Durance and the Guisane rivers. Briançon is the base and lowest altitude station of the large Serre Chevalier ski resort. Most of the town’s accommodation is used exclusively in winter, the population tripling during that period.   read more…

Theme Week Alsace – Sélestat

25 November 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  7 minutes

Place d'Armes © Ralph Hammann/cc-by-sa-3.0

Place d’Armes © Ralph Hammann/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sélestat is a commune in the Bas-Rhin department in north-eastern France with a population of 19.400. Sélestat is located in central Alsace, 22 km (14 mi) north of Colmar and 47 km (29 mi) south of Strasbourg, on the left bank of the Ill River. Sélestat is near the Alsace wine route.   read more…

Portrait: Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, military engineer and Marshal of France

2 May 2015 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: Architecture, Portrait, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  14 minutes

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban by Hyacinthe Rigaud © Georgius LXXXIX/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban by Hyacinthe Rigaud © Georgius LXXXIX/cc-by-sa-3.0

Sébastien Le Prestre de Vauban, Seigneur de Vauban and later Marquis de Vauban, commonly referred to as Vauban, was a Marshal of France and the foremost military engineer of his age, famed for his skill in both designing fortifications and breaking through them. He also advised Louis XIV on how to consolidate France’s borders, to make them more defensible. Vauban made a radical suggestion of giving up some land that was indefensible to allow for a stronger, less porous border with France’s neighbours.   read more…

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