VESOUL

town, capital of Haute-Sane dpartement, Franche-Comt region, eastern France. It lies between the isolated conical hill, La Motte (1,263 ft ), and the Durgeon River. The hill is crowned by a votive chapel and a statue of the Virgin Mary. Vesoul is of ancient origin, but records go back only to the 9th century. The town was much damaged in the late 16th-century Wars of Religion and the Thirty Years' War of the 17th century. Vesoul, which changed hands a number of times, was incorporated into France in 1678 under Louis XIV by the Treaty of Nijmegen. The centre of an agricultural region, the town is an important market for farm produce and cattle. The chief industry is metallurgy. Pop. (1982) 18,257.