House of Faucogney

Name of a Latin family " Falconius " and suffix " -acum ". More than twenty different spellings since its origins; "Faucogney" appears spelt for the first time in 1276.[4]

The earliest mention of a viscount (Vicomte) of the castle of Vesoul dates from 1019. This is also the earliest mention of a Vicomte in the county of Burgundy; references to Vicomte de Besançon do not first appear in primary sources until about 50 years later:

Giselbert I de Faucogney, Vicomte de Vesoul. "...Gislebertus vicecomes Vesuli Castri..." witnessed the charter of 28 October 1019 in which "comes Octo cognomento Vuillelmus" donated property "mihi secundum parentum successionem...infra alpes Pinninarum et flumen Padum et flumen Duriæ Bauticæ quod iuxta urbem Euoreiam" to the monastery Fruttuaria.[5][6]

The Faucogney is the middle line of the house Rougemont, which inherited Faucogney indirectly from an older house Faucogney and the viscountcy Vesoul from the house Vesoul and as a result of this inheritance took the name Faucogney. The family has produced 3 collateral lines:[7][8][9]

• de Rougemont-Faucogney (the main branch died out in the 16th century)
• de Vesoul (first branch, extinct in the 17th century)
• de Villersexel (second tributary, extinct in the 15th century)
• de La Montagne (third tributary, a surviving family branch)

Jean III de Faucogney, who was married to Isabella of France, daughter of King Philip V, divided the possessions in several parts; the northern and southern parts went to the Faucogney's side branches: de La Montagne & de Villersexel, the seigniory of Faucogney to Johan of Neuenburg when he married Jeanne de Faucogney. Johan's heiress was his sister Isabella of Neuenburg, Countess of Nidau, who left Faucogney to his widow Jeanne in 1370. Jeanne's second husband, Henri de Longvy, sold Faucogney in 1374 for 20,000 gold francs to Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy.

The Faucogney family's businesses flourished during the Antwerp Golden Age. During this period, the family opened a Merchant house in Antwerp and was involved in the Cloth trade and other minor trading activities. (Like printing and commodity trading). After the French Revolution, the family focused on the diamond business. And were directly involved with the development of the diamond industry in the north of the province of Antwerp (Grobbendonk).

Since the late 19th century, the family has taken a low-key investor profile and generally eschewed conspicuous displays of wealth. Today the Faucogney de La Montagne businesses are on a smaller scale than they were throughout the previous centuries, although they encompass diverse fields, including Commodity, Mining, Shipping, Food and energy investments. Their investment company is based in the Grand-Duchy of Luxembourg and is 100% owned by the family foundation based in Vienna (Austria).

Besides their own investment, they own a significant minority stake in listed European holding companies:

• Sofina
• Investor AB
• Brederode
• Partners Group