County of Burgundy

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Free County of Burgundy Franche Comté de Bourgogne (French) Freigrafschaft Burgund (German)
982–1678
Heraldic flag since the 16th century Coat of arms
County of Burgundy at the end of the 15th century.
Status	Part of Upper Burgundy and the Kingdom of Arles, then state of the Holy Roman Empire
Capital	Dole
Religion	Catholicism
Government	Feudal monarchy (County)
Historical era	Middle Ages Early modern period
• Otto-William, Count of Burgundy	982
• Emperor Conrad II, King of Burgundy (Arelat)	1033
• Personal union of Philip the Bold with Duchy of Burgundy	1384
• Ceded to Habsburgs	1493
• Joined Burgundian     Circle	1512
• Ceded to France	1678
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Arles Franche-Comté (France) Free Imperial City of Besançon

The Free County of Burgundy (French: Franche Comté de Bourgogne; German: Freigrafschaft Burgund) was a medieval feudal state ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It was also known as Franche-Comté, from French: franc comte meaning 'free count', and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It bordered the Duchy of Burgundy to the west, which was part of France from 843.

The territory had previously been part of the kingdom of Upper Burgundy (888–933). The county was formed in 982 by Otto-William for the lands he held in the Kingdom of Arles (outside the duchy's borders). In 1032, the Kingdom of Arles was inherited by Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, who incorporated the County of Burgundy into the Holy Roman Empire (HRE). The county briefly gained independence in the 12th century, before being re-incorporated into the empire by Frederick Barbarossa.

As a state of the HRE, the county was granted a high degree of autonomy. The largest city, Besançon, was granted the status of free imperial city. The rest of the county was given imperial immediacy (making it an imperial county) and its rulers were given the title of Freigraf (German for 'free count'), from which the French and English names of the county are derived.

From 1295 the county began to fall under the increasing influence of France and the House of Burgundy, which ruled the duchy. From 1330 to 1361 and again from 1405 to 1477, there was a personal union between the county (part of the HRE) and the adjacent duchy (part of France). In 1493, the county was transferred to the House of Habsburg, which ruled it until it was conquered by France in 1674. French rule was made permanent by the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678.