Montbenoît

Montbenoît
The Doubs
Coat of arms
Montbenoît
Location within Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region  Montbenoît
Coordinates: 46°59′37″N 6°27′46″E / 46.9936°N 6.4628°E / 46.9936; 6.4628Coordinates: 46°59′37″N 6°27′46″E / 46.9936°N 6.4628°E / 46.9936; 6.4628
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Doubs
Arrondissement	Pontarlier
Canton	Montbenoît
Intercommunality	Canton of Montbenoît
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Frédéric Bourdin
Area1	5.03 km2 (1.94 sq mi)
Population (2012)2	396
• Density	79/km2 (200/sq mi)
Time zone	CET (UTC+1)
• Summer (DST)	CEST (UTC+2)
INSEE/Postal code	25390 /25650
Elevation	762–1,125 m (2,500–3,691 ft) (avg. 790 m or 2,590 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Montbenoît is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.

The commune lies 14 km (8.7 mi) north of Pontarlier in the Jura mountains.

In the early 12th century, Landry, Lord of Joux, gave land in the upper Doubs valley to Humbert, Archbishop of Besançon, to found an abbey. The local summit in the area was at the time called Mont Benoît after a religious hermit named Benoît who resided there. Humbert invited monks to come from Valais and an abbey under St. Columbanus's rule was built by a monk called Nardouin (Norduin) in 1141-1142. The town grew up nearby the abbey. Both the abbey and the town were named Montbenoît after the local summit. The abbey later came under the Augustine rule.

In 1947, Montbenoît was proclaimed capital of the Republic of Saugeais by Georges Pourchet, a local hotel owner, who also created the republic on the spot.