The history of the Jews in Besançon dates to the Middle Ages, a period during which the Jews settled in the city, attracted by the location of commercial space in the city. The first reference to Jews living there was in 1245. The Jewish community was founded in the 14th century, because Besançon was in this time a free imperial city, and it remained one of the only territories of France where the Jews were tolerated, after the expulsion of Jews from the Kingdom of France in 1394. However, they were expelled from Besançon and a big part of Franche-Comté in the middle of the 15th century.