Montbenoît (; Arpitan: L’Abayie) is a former commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. It was merged into the new commune Pays-de-Montbenoît on 1 January 2025.
Geography The commune lies north of Pontarlier in the Jura mountains.
History 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."Montbenoît" Congrès Archéologique de France 118: p. 306Landry, Donald J. (1999) The History of the Surname Landry from Clovis to the Present volume I, Donald J. Landry, Metairie, Louisiana, p. 22, citing Suchaux, L. (1878) Galerie Héraldo: Nobiliaire de la Franche-Comté H. Champion, Paris, p. 314, The local summit in the area was at the time called Mont Benoît after a hermit named Benoît who lived 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."Montbenoît Abbey" Structurae an architectural database 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.
See also Communes of the Doubs department
References
External links
Montbenoît on the intercommunal Web site of the department