Saint-Alban (Ain)
Saint -Alban is a commune in the French department of Ain, in the Rhône -Alpes.
Geography
Saint -Alban is located at 520 m above sea level. Level, about 21 kilometers east of the city of Bourg -en- Bresse ( straight line ) in the southern French Jura Mountains. The area of 8.08 km2 municipal area comprises part of the Montagne de Berthiand, a ridge ( anticline ) in the Bugey with an undulating plateau between the Ain valley and the valley of Oignin. The municipality's bottom protrude only a few rolling hills up about 50 m above the plateau, however, the eastern and southern edge of the town is defined by a terrain edge, behind which begins about 300 m deep gorge of Cerdon. Due to the porous calcareous seeps underground rainwater quickly and there are no surface watercourses in Saint -Alban.
The community is made up of several hamlets, but none of which bears the name " Saint -Alban ":
- Boches (490 m above sea level. M. ) near the southern edge terrain above Cerdon
- Chamagnat (530 m above sea level. M. ) is the capital of the municipality
- Coiron (560 m above sea level. M. )
- Le Mortaray (470 m above sea level. M. )
The name derives instead was a pilgrimage chapel, which stood on a projecting into the gorge of Cerdon Outcrop ( Rocher de St. Alban ). Neighboring municipalities of Saint -Alban are Challes -la- Montagne to the north, Labalme in the east, the south and Cerdon Poncin in the West.
History
During excavations in the nearby caves of Cerdon were 1914 tools and bones from the Neolithic Age ( Upper Paleolithic ) to days. Based on the finds of pottery fragments, fireplaces and tools on the communal land, it is estimated that existed in Saint -Alban since the younger pre-Roman Iron Age settlements. A first mentioned as Sanctus Albanus from the year 1144. The villages Boches and Le Mortarey formed in the 14th century, each with its own government, which was under the Lords of Thoire -Villars. Of the built permanent houses to foundations are preserved today only. Towards the end of the 14th century the town came under the suzerainty of the Counts of Savoy, and with the Treaty of Lyon in 1601 she came to France.
Attractions
On the Outcrop Rocher de St. Alban still tower above the brick exterior walls of a Romanesque church from the 12th century upwards and give the viewpoint over the canyon of Cerdon a special character. The gorge is one of the smaller Reculées in the Jura. In the steep slopes at the upper end of the gorge there are several caves, the Grottes du Cerdon, which can be visited during the summer months. The village church in Chamagnat is from the 19th century.
Population
With 164 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Saint -Alban is one of the small communities of the department of Ain. After the population had decreased slightly in the first half of the 20th century (1901 315 persons were still counted ), it has been increasing since the turn of the millennium slightly.
Economy and infrastructure
Saint -Alban was until well into the 20th century an embossed by agriculture village. The municipal ground wine production until today, and in particular those required for the protected designation of origin Cerdon varieties Poulsard and Gamay are planted. In addition to the four growers (as of 2014) there are still some other micro-enterprises, the rest of the working population are commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.
The small secondary road D85A connects the hamlet of community with each other and with neighboring communities and Poncin Cerdon. The A40 motorway runs along the northern boundary of the municipality, the next port is, however, only about 12 miles away in Saint -Martin- du- Frêne.