stands above the city as a landmark and a testament to Vauban's genius as a military engineer.
Modern Europe
In 1814 the Austrians invaded and bombarded the city. It also occupied an important position during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71.
The Nazis occupied the citadel during World War II. Between 1940 and 1944, the Germans executed some one hundred French resistance fighters there. However, Besançon saw little action during the war. The railway complex was bombed in 1943 and the next year the Germans resisted the U.S. advance for four days. In 1959, the French Army turned the citadel over to the city of Besançon, which turned it into a museum.
The forts of Brégille and Beauregard sit across the Doubs from the town. In 1913, a private company built a funicular to the Brégille Heights. The funicular passed from private ownership to the SNCF, who finally closed it in 1987. The funicular's tracks, stations and even road signs remain in place to this day
