Haute-Saône (; Arpitan: ''Hiôta-Sona''; English: Upper Saône) is a department in the

Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...

region In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics ( physical geography), human impact characteristics ( human geography), and the interaction of humanity an ...

of northeastern France. Named after the river

Saône The Saône ( , ; frp, Sona; lat, Arar) is a river in eastern France. It is a right tributary of the Rhône, rising at Vioménil in the Vosges department and joining the Rhône in Lyon, at the southern end of the Presqu'île. The name ...

, it had a population of 235,313 in 2019.Populations légales 2019: 70 Haute-Saône
INSEE Its prefecture is

Vesoul Vesoul () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté located in eastern France. It is the most populated municipality of the department with inhabitants in 2014. The same year, the Communauté d'agglo ...

; its sole

subprefecture A subprefecture is an administrative division of a country that is below prefecture or province. Albania There are twelve Albanian counties or prefectures, each of which is divided into several districts, sometimes translated as subprefectures. ...

is Lure.

History

The department was created in the early years of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in coup of 18 Brumaire, November 1799. Many of its ...

through the application of a law dated 22 December 1789, from part of the former province of Franche-Comté. The frontiers of the new department corresponded approximately to those of the old Bailiwick of Amont. The department was also marked by the Franco-Prussian War with the battles of Héricourt, and Villersexel but also the proximity of the

Siege of Belfort The siege of Belfort (3 November 1870 – 18 February 1871) was a 103-day military assault and blockade of the city of Belfort, France by Prussian forces during the Franco-Prussian War. The French garrison held out until the January 1871 arm ...

. The department welcomes Alsatians fleeing the annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. Bataille Lizaine.jpg,

Battle of the Lisaine The Battle of the Lisaine, also known as the Battle of Héricourt, was fought from 15 January to 17 January 1871 between German and French forces. The French were led by Charles Denis Bourbaki, and were attempting to relieve the Siege of Belfor ...

Bataille de Villersexel - 01.jpg, Battle of Villersexel Bataille de Villersexel - 07.jpg, View of the destruction of Bourg de Villersexel Bataille de Villersexel - 05.jpg, German artillery in front of the ruins of castle of Villersexel The department has an important mining and industrial past (coal, salt, iron, lead-silver-copper mines, bituminous shale, stationery, spinning, weaving, forges, foundries, tileries, mechanical factories). Puits Arthur de Buyer XXème (9).jpg,

Arthur de Buyer Coal Mine The Arthur de Buyer Coal Mine, or coal mine #11, was one of the major Ronchamp coal mines, which is in the area of the commune of Magny-Danigon in the French region of Franche-Comté. Digging started in 1894 in an attempt to ensure the future of ...

(1.010 m) the deepest coal mine in France between 1900 and 1910 Saline-Gouhenans 10.jpg,

Gouhenans Gouhenans is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Coal mines were operated in the village between 1828 and 1916.Pierre Semonin, ''Le gîte houiller de Villafans'', 1993 XIXe - Pui ...

Saltworks is one of the most important saltworks in France in the 19th century Intérieur_de_l'usine_de_Varigney_-_Cubilot.jpg, Interior view of the Varigney factory ( Dampierre-lès-Conflans), the iron industry was developed until the middle of the 20th century Exploitation de schiste de Creveney.jpg,

Creveney Creveney is a Communes of France, commune in the Haute-Saône Departments of France, department in the Regions of France, region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Exploitation de schiste de Creveney.jpg, Creveney bituminous shale di ...

bituminous shale distillation plant, a rare operation in France between the two world wars

Geography

Haute-Saône is part of the

, and is divided into 2 arrondissements and 17 cantons. Neighbouring departments are Côte-d'Or to the west,

Haute-Marne Haute-Marne (; English: Upper Marne) is a department in the Grand Est region of Northeastern France. Named after the river Marne, its prefecture is Chaumont. In 2019, it had a population of 172,512.Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

to the north,

Territoire de Belfort The Territoire de Belfort () is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, eastern France. It had a population of 141,318 in 2019.Doubs Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.Jura to south. The department can be presented as a transitional territory positioned between several of the more depressed departments of eastern France and the so-called

Blue Banana The Blue Banana (also known as the European Megalopolis or the Liverpool–Milan Axis) is a discontinuous corridor of urbanization spreading over Western and Central Europe, with a population of around 111 million. The conceptualisation of the ...

zone characterised, in recent decades by relatively powerful economic growth. 2016-05 - Arpenans - 01.JPG, The country of Lure and the

Vosges The Vosges ( , ; german: Vogesen ; Franconian and gsw, Vogese) are a range of low mountains in Eastern France, near its border with Germany. Together with the Palatine Forest to the north on the German side of the border, they form a single ...

in the east of the department 2016-09 - Corcelles (Haute-Saône) - 01.jpg, Landscape in the southeast Ray sur Saone.jpg,

Ray-sur-Saône Ray-sur-Saône (, literally ''Ray on Saône'') is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Saône department The following is a list of the 539 commu ...

in the west of the department

Economy

The department is overwhelmingly rural, despite the area having been at the forefront of industrialisation in the eighteenth century. The industrial tradition endures, but industrial businesses tend to be on a small scale. In 2006 employment by economic sector was reported as follows:Agreste Franche Comté : Agriculture
/ref> : * Agriculture 4,919 employees : * Construction 4,504 employees : * Industrial sector 18,747 employees : * Service sector 44,865 employees

Demographics

In common with many rural departments in France, Haute-Saône has experienced a savage reduction in population, from nearly 350,000 in the middle of the nineteenth century to barely 200,000 on the eve of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

, as people migrated to newly industrialising population centres, often outside

Metropolitan France Metropolitan France (french: France métropolitaine or ''la Métropole''), also known as European France (french: Territoire européen de la France) is the area of France which is geographically in Europe. This collective name for the European ...

. During the second half of the twentieth century the mass mobility conferred by the surge in

automobile A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarde ...

ownership permitted some recovery of the population figure to approximately 234,000 in 2004.

Principal towns

The rural nature of the department is highlighted by the absence of large towns and cities. Even the department's capital,

, still has a population below 20,000. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants:

Politics

The president of the Departmental Council is Yves Krattinger, first elected in 2001.

Current National Assembly Representatives

Tourism

File:RonchampCorbu.jpg,

Notre-Dame du Haut Notre-Dame du Haut ( en, Our Lady of the Heights; full name in french: Chapelle Notre-Dame du Haut) is a Roman Catholic chapel in Ronchamp, France. Built in 1955, it is one of the finest examples of the architecture of Franco-Swiss architect Le C ...

by Le Corbusier (UNESCO) File:Oricourt haute-cour.jpg, Château d'Oricourt File:Pesmes, le château vu depuis l'île de la sauvageonne.jpg,

Pesmes Pesmes () is a commune in the Haute-Saône department in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. See also *Communes of the Haute-Saône department The following is a list of the 539 communes in the French department of Hau ...

File:Planche des Belles Filles 07.JPG, La Planche des Belles Filles (

Tour de France The Tour de France () is an annual men's multiple-stage bicycle race primarily held in France, while also occasionally passing through nearby countries. Like the other Grand Tours (the Giro d'Italia and the Vuelta a España), it consists ...

) File:2020-05 - Étangs de Servance - 01.jpg, Landscape of

Plateau des Mille Étangs The ''Plateau des Mille étangs'' (literally : "Thousand Ponds Plateau") is a geographical area of more than 220 km2 located in the northeast part of the Haute-Saône department in the french region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. At the end of the ...

References

External links

*
Prefecture website
*
Departmental Council website
*
Tourism website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Haute-Saone 1790 establishments in France Departments of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté States and territories established in 1790