Arc-lès-Gray
Arc- lès- Gray is a town in the French department of Haute- Saône in the Franche-Comté region.
Geography
Arc- lès- Gray is situated at an altitude of 198 m above sea level, 1 km north of Gray and about 42 km west-northwest of the city of Besançon ( straight line ). The village is located in the southwest of the department, at the edge of the plain of Gray, on the northern edge of the Talniederung the Saône and its tributary Écoulottes.
The area of 12:10 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the middle Saône Valley. The southern boundary runs mostly along the Saône, which here flows west through a flat area. The plane is on average 185 m and has a width of one to three kilometers wide. From the river, the municipality's area extends north across the valley and about 40 m high ground level on the adjacent plateau. This consists of an alternation of sandy- marly and calcareous beds of the Upper Jurassic time. It is divided by the almost one kilometer wide Talniederung the Ruisseau des Écoulottes which opens at Arc- lès- Gray at the Saône. The high land is used predominantly agricultural, but there are also some forest areas. With 246 m is reached on the hill north of the village is the highest elevation of Arc- lès- Gray. The western boundary is marked by the Bois Guyot.
At Arc- lès- Gray is one of the complex La Maison -des- Bois (195 m) on the north bank of the Saône and various industrial and commercial areas. Neighboring communities of Arc- lès-Gray are Chargey -lès -Gray in the north, the east Rigny, Gray and Gray -la -Ville in the south and Mantoche and Nantilly in the West.
History
Traces from the Neolithic period indicate a very early settlement of the area. On the corridor L' Homme Mort was a Merovingian cemetery. Is first mentioned Arc in 1144. During the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in the territory of the Bailliage d' amont. The local government had initially served Gray. She went on as a fief to Autrey and in 1350 to the Vergy family. Due to its port on the Saône and the competition from Gray Arc was involved for a long time in disputes with the neighboring town. The village was in 1477 by troops of the French king Louis XI. and 1674 in the conquest devastated under King Louis XIV. Together with the Franche- Comté Arc came with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 definitively to France.
To territorial changes occurred at the beginning of the 19th century: Arc was incorporated in 1806 along with the formerly independent municipality of La Maison -des- Bois to Gray. 1827 Arc regained its autonomy, with La Maison -des- Bois remained a district in Arc. Middle of the 19th century witnessed Arc by industrialization and later by connecting to the French railway network an economic boom. To avoid confusion with other communities of the same name, Arc 1962 was officially renamed Arc- lès- Gray. Today, Arc- lès-Gray is a member of the 16- villages municipal association Communauté de communes du Val de Gray.
Attractions
The village church of Arc- lès-Gray was built in the 18th century. A stone wayside cross from the 16th century is located in La Folie. Additional area attractions include the castle in La Maison -des- Bois, a few houses from the 18th and 19th centuries as well as the Lavoir, once laundry and watering cattle, which was built in 1883 with arcades.
Population
With 2676 inhabitants ( 2006) Arc- lès-Gray is one of the larger towns in the Haute- Saône. Thanks to industrialization, the population in the 19th century grew rapidly. During the first half of the 20th century, the population remained at a constant level of almost 2800 people. A further increase occurred during the 1960s. With more than 3200 inhabitants, the previous high was reached at the beginning of the 1980s. Since then, the population has been declining; Since 1982 the population decreased by almost 20 %. Arc- lès-Gray is part of the agglomeration Gray and has grown together seamlessly with the neighboring town of Gray.
Economy and infrastructure
Arc- lès- Gray was early an embossed by the river trade and commerce village. In the 19th century it grew strongly through the establishment of industries. Today the village is one of the most important industrial sites of the Haute- Saône. With about 1,400 jobs Arc- lès-Gray is a Zupendlergemeinde. Close to the station and in the plane along the Saône developed large industrial and commercial zones. Here many large enterprises in the sectors agricultural engineering, electrical engineering, metalworking, automotive, textile, food and feed industry, precision engineering and construction have settled. There is also a supermarket and many enterprises in the retail and service sectors for their daily needs.
The village has good transport links. It lies on the main road D67, which runs from Besancon via Gray to Langres. Other national road links exist with Dole, Dijon, Combeaufontaine and Autrey- lès- Gray. The nearest links to the A36 and A31 motorways are located at a distance of about 40 kilometers. On the communal land of Arc- lès-Gray is the railway station of Gray. Train connections are available with Dole, Vesoul and Autrey- lès- Gray. The former line to Besançon closed its doors during the Second World War.