R(...) of the clock and

watch makers of Besançon and of the

Besançon local authorities, a presidential

decree of 11 March 1878 created at

Besançon a new 'astronomical, meteorological and

chronometrical observatory'. Chronometry was at

the origins of this new establishment and explains

its originality. The clock and watch-making capital

of France now had a tool to control its products and

improve their qualities.

One hundred and thirty years later, the departmental

centre of the French weather-forecasting services for

the Doubs and the Besançon observatory are still

pursuing their original aims. The establishment

today has a staff of about forty people, involved in

astrophysics and time-frequency studies. At the request

of local manufacturers, it has recently re-instated the

certification of time pieces. This publication offers a

history of the observatory and a glimpse of its rich

architectural and instrumental heritage.

The Inventory is a service charged with the identification

and the study of the French heritage and with sharing

knowledge about this heritage. The collection entitled

Parcours du Patrimoine is designed as a tool of cultural

tourism, a guide to the discovery of new aspects of the

French heritage.