Geography of Belfort
Belfort, France, the capital of the Territory of Belfort. It is on the Savoureuse River about 225 miles (360 km) southeast of Paris. The city commands the Belfort Gap, a strategic mountain pass through which pass roads from France to Germany and Switzerland. The city's factories produce cotton textiles, wire, engines, turbines, and locomotives.
Belfort passed from Austrian to French possession in 1648. Because of its location, it was a military objective in various European wars. The Lion of Belfort, a huge stone statue by Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, commemorates a 108–day stand made by French forces at Belfort during the Franco-Prussian War (1870–71). The French successfully defended Belfort in World War I. In World War II the Germans took it in 1940 and the Allies recaptured it in 1944.
Population: 51,913.