Ray-sur-Saône

Ray -sur -Saône is a commune in Haute -Saône in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Ray -sur -Saône is located at an altitude of 210 m above sea level, 24 km west of Vesoul and about 42 km north- northwest of the city of Besançon (air line). The village is located in the west of the department, a slightly elevated position on the northern edge of the broad Saônetals.

The area of ​​7.88 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the middle Saône Valley. The eastern and southern boundary runs mostly along the Saone, which flows here with large loops through a wide Alluvialniederung to the west. The flood plain is on average 198 m and has a width of about one kilometer. The river is expanded to the waterway, the loops are cut by a canal. Therefore, the Saône here has natural riverside areas and various local forms small islands.

From the river, the municipality's area extends northwestward across the flood plain and a 40 m high steep slope down to the adjacent plateau. This plateau consists of an alternation of calcareous and sandy- marly sediments of the upper Jurassic period. The fertile soils of the valley and the plateau are mainly used for agricultural purposes. To the north- west of the municipality floor extends into the extensive grove of Bois des Dames (251 m). With 263 m is reached on a hill north of the castle is the highest elevation of Ray- sur -Saône.

Neighboring communities of Ray- sur -Saône are Theuley and Vanne in the north, Soing - Cubry - Charentenay in the east, Vellexon - Queutrey -et- Vaudey in the south and Ferrieres -lès -Ray, Recologne and Tincey -et- Pontrebeau in the West.

History

The territory of Ray -sur -Saône was settled very early. The earliest evidence of human presence date back to the Bronze Age. To Gallo-Roman times when this was an oppidum, which controlled a ford of the Saône.

Is first mentioned Ray in the 10th century under the name Radiaco. Over time, the spelling changed over Raiaco, Raeia, Rail, Rahil and Ras to the present name. The area of Ray belonged to the monastery of Saint- Vincent in Chalon -sur -Saône, which it ceded in 1237 to the Duke of Burgundy. In the Middle Ages Ray belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in the territory of the Bailliage d' amont. The Reign Ray has existed since 1080 and was one of the most important in the region. The mighty castle on the hill north of the Soane was once flanked by 14 towers. Ray became a borough and was characterized by trade and commerce.

Multiple Ray was pillaged and destroyed: in 1439 by the Grandes dance companies and in 1569 by the troops of the Duke of Zweibrücken. During the Thirty Years' War, the village was again drawn affected and the castle partly destroyed when the Duke Bernhard of Saxe- Weimar, the Saône passed on June 22, 1637 here with his troops. Together with the Franche -Comté came Ray with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 definitively to France. Today, Ray -sur -Saône is a member of the 42 localities comprehensive community association Communauté de communes des Quatre Rivières.

Attractions

Ray -sur -Saône has preserved the townscape of a late medieval borough and is awarded with the label " Petite Cité Morbier of Character ". In the old town many citizens and farmhouses dating from the 17th to 19th centuries have been preserved. The Gothic church of Saint Pancras is originally from the 13th/14th century. Century and was altered in the 16th century. It has a rich interior, including the choir stalls (17th century), a pulpit in the Louis XIV style, statues and paintings from the 16th to 18th centuries, and numerous grave plates. Other attractions of the town include several Calvaires (stone crosses), the Maison des Moines (16th century) and the Lavoir ( early 19th century ), which once served as a laundry and watering cattle. It is equipped with an oval basin and opens to the main square with four arcades arch. On an open field west of the town is the chapel of Notre- Dame is (17th century).

On the projection north of Ray, the castle towers, which was built around 1700 in the Louis XIV style again. The three wings of this plant are arranged in a U -shape, with the aligned against the Saône main wing of two medieval towers flanked. The castle, which is surrounded by an English park, a museum, which is stocked with exhibits from the reign Ray.

Population

With 212 inhabitants ( 1 January 2011) Ray -sur -Saône is one of the small towns in the Haute- Saône. After the population had decreased significantly during the first half of the 20th century (1881 509 persons were still counted ), only small fluctuations were recorded since the mid- 1970s.

Economy and infrastructure

Ray -sur -Saône has long been a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and fisheries embossed village. Addition, however, were also trade and commerce, which was dependent on hydropower (mills, tanneries ) are of importance. Today there are various operations of local small businesses, especially in the fields of precision engineering, transport and construction. At the Saône is an electricity plant. In recent decades the village has been transformed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.

The village is situated away from the larger passage axes on a secondary road that leads from Vellexon after Lavoncourt. Further road links exist with Membrey and Vanne.

Born in Ray

• Jean -Nicolas Marjolin (1780-1850), surgeon and pathologist