Belfort

Belfort (; archaic , ) is a city in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Northeastern France, situated between Lyon and Strasbourg, approximately from the France–Switzerland border. It is the prefecture of the Territoire de Belfort department. Belfort is from Paris, from Strasbourg, from Lyon and from Zürich. The residents of the city are called "Belfortains". The city is located on the river Savoureuse, on a strategically important natural route between the Rhine and the Rhône – the Belfort Gap (Trouée de Belfort) or Burgundian Gate (Porte de Bourgogne). It is located approximately south from the base of the Ballon d'Alsace mountain range, source of the Savoureuse. The city of Belfort has 46,443 inhabitants (2019). Belfort is the centre of a larger functional area (metropolitan area) with 133,597 inhabitants (2018), between the larger metropolitan areas of Mulhouse and Montbéliard. History Belfort's strategic location, in a natural gap between the Vosges and the Jura, on a route linking the Rhine and the Rhône, has attracted human settlement since Roman times, and has also made it a frequent target for invading armies many times in its history.