Besançon

Besançon is a city in France. It was the capital of the former Free County ("Franche-Comté") region. It is the prefecture of the Doubs department. Its population is around 117,600 (2008).
History.
Besançon is an old city. It is discovered in 58 BC and Julius Caesar writes about it in his book Commentarii de Bello Gallico where it is called "Vesontio". The etymology (origin of the word) is not certain. It could have a Celtic origin. The Celtic word "wes" means mountain. In the 4th century, the letter B became V. The city name changed to "Besontio" or "Bisontion". It became Besançon in 1243. In 1871 the city is going through a revolutionary period, known as Besançon Commune.
The city has a Renaissance citadel. It was later used by the Nazis during World War II.
Climate.
Besançon has an oceanic climate and a continental climate. The average temperature is 10.2 °C (50 °F). The warmest month of the year is July (18.9 °C or 66 °F) and the coldest month is January (1.6 °C or 35 °F). Besançon receives about 1108 mm (44 inches) of precipitation per year. The wettest month is May (111.4 mm or 4.4 in); the driest is July (80.5 mm or 3.2 in). The highest temperature ever, recorded on 31 July 1983, was 38.8 °C (101.8 °F), and the lowest was a −20.7 °C (−5.3 °F) reached on 1 January 1985.
Sister cities.
Besançon is twinned with: