Bussang

Bussang ( German Bussing (s) ) is a municipality with 1528 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2011 ) in the department of Vosges of the french region Lorraine.

Geography

Bussang is the southeast corner of the Lorraine region on the border of Alsace in the east and to the Franche -Comté region in the south. The source of the Mosel River in the territory of the municipality, which extends along the upper river valley. The place is surrounded by wooded low mountain peaks that reach over 1200 m altitude.

The Route nationale 66 ( E 512 ), which goes through the village, leads to the east over the pass Col de Bussang southeast to Mulhouse ( 48 km) and to the northwest by Remiremont (38 km).

Neighboring communities of Bussang are Ventron in the north, Fellering in the northeast, Urbès in the east, Saint- Maurice- sur -Moselle in the South, face -sur -Moselle to the west and La Bresse in the northwest.

History

The upper Moselle valley was already used in Roman times for the passage from Metz to Basel.

Until 1420 the villages Bussang and Saint-Maurice- sur -Moselle were united under the name Visentine, which was applicable to 1767 as the name of the parish. In February 1856 sisters came from the convent of Saint- Esprit de Rouceux because of a cholera epidemic in the city and founded a hospice for old people and orphans.

Economically, the development of community based successively on the exploitation of the reasonably modest lead, copper and silver deposits. More recently, the textile industry and the production of mineral water were added. Bussang is a thermal spa, although some older sources had to be closed because of bacterial contamination. Since 2006 there is a casino in the town.

The industrialist Benjamin Pottecher, who specialized in Bussang on the manufacture of envelopes and some time was mayor of the town, resulted in its operation as one of the first in France to the eight-hour day.

Demographics

Coat of arms

The four -part coat of arms was created in 1907 by Benjamin Pottecher and shows in each of the fields something for the surroundings of the village Typical: A house with red roof on a green background, a silver trout on a blue ground, a green fir tree on yellow and two green mountains against yellow between which there is a body of water running through it.

Tourism

Due to its location in the Vosges, the area offers many opportunities for hikers and climbers. In winter, winter sports are offered ( cross-country and downhill skiing and luge ), in summer activities such as paragliding, climbing the via ferrata or even bungee jumping. Bussang is located in the Regional Natural Park of Ballons des Vosges.