Town in Doubs
Population: 6,850
Specialities: Morteau sausage, Morteau jésus, Klaus chocolate, Comté and Mont d'Or.
Personalities: Hervé Pierre, Laurence Sémonin (actors), Annie Genevard (former mayor of Morteau and former vice-president of the French National Assembly). Chloé Valentini (handball player), Jules Favre (rugby player with Stade Rochelais).
Culture: watchmaking museum, two cinemas (Tous au ciné festival). Festi'Val de la Morteau. Festiburn's (rock in April). A breath of hip hop in Morteau.
Sport: FC Morteau-Montlebon (football), VC Morteau Montbenoît.
Events: Val de Morteau winter sports resort (Klaus Cup, former ski jumping event).
Economy: watchmaking (Yema, Péquignet), tourism (Val de Morteau), livestock farming, agri-food (Klaus chocolate factory, Morteau Saucisse). The largest company is Bourbon Automotive Plastics Morteau (technical plastic parts).
Labels: city of character of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté.
Websites and social networks: www.morteau.org
MORTEAU AND CYCLING
Since 1934, Morteau has been the starting town for the Tour du Doubs, which traditionally ran between Morteau and Pontarlier until the route was changed a few years ago and now finishes on the Larmont mountain. In 2024, the race was won by Lenny Martinez (Groupama-FDJ).
The town where the famous sausage is made has long been bidding for the Tour de France to host a combined stage with Switzerland, as it did for the 2023 Tour de Romandie, where it hosted the start of a stage that ended in La Chaux-de-Fonds with British rider Ethan Hayter taking victory ahead of Juan Ayuso and Romain Bardet.
Morteau was on the route of the Tour de l'Avenir in 2001 and 2004 and also hosted the Route de France for women in 2012, with American Evelyn Stevens winning a stage at La Planche des Belles-Filles.
A former racer and native of Morteau, Sylvie Fragnière now works for the Decahtlon-Ag2R team.
SIGHTS
- Château Pertusier
Built: 1576
Style: Renaissance.
History:It was built in 1576 by the Cuche family, originally from Switzerland. During the Swedish attack in 1639, the turret at the end of the spiral staircase caught fire, and the west facade was machine-gunned. The prints of the bullets fired by the Swedish Biscayans can still be seen. During the Revolution, a Besançon lawyer, Jean-Charles Pertusier, bought the building, which had become national property. The house and its grounds were acquired by the municipality in 1935.
Characteristics: This is one of the rare examples of Renaissance architecture in the Haut-Doubs region. The building is made of yellow limestone from the Montlebon sandpit, similar to the yellow stone from Neuchâtel.
Current destination: Watchmaking Museum.
Listed as:Historical Monument in 1993.
- Town Hall
Built: 1590
Style: Renaissance.
History: It was built in 1590 by the Fauche family. Occupied by the Saxe-Weimar officers, it passed into the hands of the Benedictines. The commune of Morteau acquired it in 1791. Rebuilt on the inside after a fire in 1946, it now houses part of the municipal services as well as the Black Book of Morteau, carefully preserved in the mayor's office.
Special features: It was in 1454 that a town notary recorded all the documents relating to the priory of Morteau in the Black Book. The work contains 54 charters granted between 1188 and 1514, letters of franchises, sentences, rulings, and agreements. Taken to Switzerland during the Swedish invasion, it was recovered intact after the war.
Characteristics:The single-storey building is rectangular in plan, while the two towers on the main facade are square in plan and have pavilion roofs. The walls are made of white and yellowish ashlar.
Listed as:Historical Monument in 1978.
- Watchmaking Museum
Opening: 1985
History and characteristics: Musée de l'Horlogerie of Morteau, housed in the Château Pertusier, was created in 1985 under the impetus of former watchmaker Constant Vaufrey, who wanted to preserve the watchmaking heritage of the Franche-Comté region and introduce tourists to the watchmaking history of Morteau. The Val de Morteau owes its prosperity to watchmaking, first in France between 1750 and 1990, then in Switzerland. Spread over two levels and seven exhibition rooms, the museum boasts a vast collection: tools, machines, building clocks, Comté clocks, cartels, pocket watches from all periods, and astronomical clocks (from 1855 to 2004).
- Val de Morteau winter sports resort
Val de Morteau is a small winter sports resort located between 780 m and 1,283 m around Morteau. It has three downhill ski resorts, located between 6 and 13 kilometres from the town centre. The Grand'Combe-Châteleu site has a ski lift and a snow wire serving a red run and a blue run, with a total length of almost 2.2 km. At Meix Musy, there are three ski lifts and a snow wire serving almost 3.3 km of runs (2 red, 1 blue). Finally, at Chauffaud, a ski lift serves a 500m blue run. A ski jump was built in 1945 at Le Stand, and successive renovations increased its height to 75 metres. The Klaus Cup, an annual international competition, was held here from 1951, but the ski jump was abandoned in 1974.
- Church of Notre-Dame de l'Ascension
Construction: 15th century.
History:A priory already existed in 1107, occupied by Benedictine monks of the Cluny order. The current church was built in the 15th century, between 1420 and 1479. Only the choir with its three-sided apse dates from this period. The church suffered several fires in the 16th century, in 1683, in 1747, and in 1945.
Characteristics:The church has a bell tower on the facade with an imperial roof (a curved dome typical of Franche-Comté). The interior of the church has six rib-vaulted bays. The chancel ends in a three-sided apse with windows.
Listed as: Historical Monument in 1926.
TO EAT
- Morteau sausage
Morteau sausage is a smoked sausage that has been made in the Franche-Comté region for over five centuries, where it was formerly known as "Belle de Morteau". Since 2010, it has been protected by a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI). Its origins date back to the 16th century, when the Montagnons set out to conquer the Haut-Doubs plateaux. Using fir wood from the forests they cleared, they provided shelter and heating, and made furniture and tools. They also built "tuyé" farms, with a huge pyramid-shaped hood at the heart of the building, used mainly for smoking meat. It was in this environment that the recipe for Morteau sausage was developed. From the 18th century onwards, trade developed and the reputation of Morteau sausage spread beyond the borders of Franche-Comté.