The Free County of Burgundy () was a medieval and early modern feudal polity ruled by a count from 982 to 1678. It became known as Franche-Comté (the Free County) and was located in the modern region of Franche-Comté. It belonged to the wider historical region of Upper Burgundy, and bordered the Duchy of Burgundy to the west.
Its territory had initially been part of the Kingdom of Upper Burgundy (888–933) and then the united Kingdom of Burgundy, later known as the Kingdom of Arles. The county was formed in 982 by count Otto-William, encompassing his domains in northern parts of the Burgundian realm. In 1032, the Kingdom of Arles was inherited by Conrad II, Holy Roman Emperor, who incorporated the Kingdom, including the County of Burgundy, into the Holy Roman Empire (HRE).
As a state of the Holy Roman Empire, the county was granted a high degree of autonomy. The largest city, Besançon, was granted the status of free imperial city. The rest of the county was given imperial immediacy (making it an imperial county) and its rulers were given the title of from which the French and English names of the county are derived.
From 1295 the county began to fall under the increasing influence of France and the House of Burgundy, which ruled the neighboring duchy of the same name. From 1330 to 1361 and again from 1405 to 1477, there was a personal union between the county (part of the HRE) and the adjacent duchy (part of France). In 1477, it was occupied by France, but already in 1493 the county was transferred to the House of Habsburg, which ruled it until it was finally conquered by France in 1674. French rule was made permanent by the Treaties of Nijmegen in 1678.
Formation within the Kingdom of Arles
thumb|right|250px|The Kingdom of Arles (yellow) from 1002-1032. The County of Burgundy is in the upper centre. The adjacent duchy is also shown (brown).
The area previously formed part of the Kingdom of the Burgundians, which had been annexed by the Franks in 534 and incorporated into the Kingdom of the Franks. The Frankish Empire was partitioned in 843 by the Treaty of Verdun, with the area west of the Saône river being allotted to West Francia, and later formed the Duchy of Burgundy, while the southern and eastern parts of the former Burgundian kingdom fell to Middle Francia under Emperor Lothair I. This Middle Frankish part became the two independent entities of southern Lower Burgundy in 879 and northern Upper Burgundy in 888. The region that would later become the Free County of Burgundy was then included in Upper Burgundy, centred around the city of Besançon. In 933, with the collapse of the Carolingian Empire, Lower and Upper Burgundy were re-united under King Rudolph II, thus forming the united Burgundian kingdom, that became known as the Kingdom of Arles (Arelat).
In 981-982, Otto-William (son of Adalbert of Lombardy) married Ermentrude of Roucy. Ermentrude was a widow, whose previous husband had been count of Mâcon (in the Duchy of Burgundy) and controlled additional lands around Besançon and Dole. These lands were then ruled by Otto-William in right of his wife. Otto-William was already the adopted heir of Henry I, Duke of Burgundy, so expected to inherit the entire duchy when Henry died. The lands outside the duchy, that Otto-William had acquired through Ermentrude, were organised as the new County of Burgundy.
Henry I died in 1002, at which point Otto-William claimed the Duchy of Burgundy. However, king Robert II of France refused to recognise the adoption and claimed the duchy as the nephew of Henry I. This started a war between the two claimants. After a few years of conflict, Robert II prevailed in the duchy; he would later grant it to his son Robert I, Duke of Burgundy, keeping the Crown of his elder son Hugues. Otto-William remained in control of the county of Mâcon, and therferore strengthened its grip in the County, fief of the Kingdom of Burgundy.
Otto-William and Ermentrude became the progenitors of the Anscarid dynasty. The development of commercial routes across the Jura mountains and the development of salt mines assured the prosperity of the county, and for several decades its towns preserved their freedom and neutrality.
As part of the Holy Roman Empire
thumb|200px|right|Coat of arms of the county of Burgundy before
The Arelat kingdom collapsed with the extinction the ruling line in 1032. The Kingdom of Burgundy was inherited by the Holy Roman Emperor Conrad II of the Salian dynasty, while the Duchy of Burgundy returned to a cadet branch of the French Capetian dynasty. As a result, the County of Burgundy became a fief of the Holy Roman Empire.
At the end of the 11th century Conrad's son Emperor Henry III elevated the Archbishop of Besançon to the dignity of an archchancellor and conferred upon Besançon the rank of a (imperial city) under the Emperor's direct patronage. Guy of Burgundy, brother of Renaud II, later became pope and negotiated the Concordat of Worms with Emperor Henry V. In the 12th century, Imperial protection allowed for the development of Besançon, but in 1127, after the assassination of William III, his cousin Renaud III shook off the Imperial yoke and refused to pay homage to Lothair III (at the time still Lothair II of Germany). After 10 years of conflict, Renaud was victorious. Burgundy was from then on called , the "free county". (which became the autonomous Seigneurie of Salins). The authority of John the Old was re-established only by the marriage (around 1239) of his oldest son Hugh of Chalon with Adelaide, the sister of Otto III (died 1248) and heiress of Burgundy.