Montbenoît (French pronunciation: [mɔ̃bənwa]) is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.

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Montbenoît
Commune
The Doubs
Coat of arms
Location of Montbenoît
Montbenoît Show map of France Montbenoît Show map of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Coordinates: 46°59′37″N 6°27′46″E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Doubs
Arrondissement	Pontarlier
Canton	Ornans
Intercommunality	Montbenoît
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Lucien Benmehal[1]
Area 1	5.03 km2 (1.94 sq mi)
Population  (2021)[2]	401
• Density	80/km2 (210/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	25390 /25650
Elevation	762–1,125 m (2,500–3,691 ft) (avg. 790 m or 2,590 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

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The commune lies 14 km (8.7 mi) north of Pontarlier in the Jura mountains.

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.^[3][4] 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.^[5][6] 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.^[6]

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.^{[citation needed]}

• Communes of the Doubs department