Bay, Haute-Saône

Bay is a town in the French department of Haute- Saône in the Franche-Comté region.

Geography

Bay is located at an altitude of 233 m above sea level, 4 km west of Marnay, and 24 km west-northwest of the city of Besançon ( straight line ). The village extends to the south of the department, a slight increase on the northern edge of the valley of Ognon, on the southwestern edge of the Monts de Gy on a plateau.

The area of ​​4.87 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the lower Ognon Valley. The central part of the area is occupied by the plateau of Bay, which is on average 235 m. It is used for agriculture and is bounded on the east by the little valley of Bief de Lancey. To the north of the municipality extends to the bottom ridge of the Bois de Bay, which is composed of Tertiary sediments. With 303 m find the highest mountains of Bay is reached. In the northwest the municipality area ranges with a narrow lobe in the region of homestead Treuil over the valley of the Ruisseau de la Fontaine de Magney up to the height of the adjacent Bois du BEGE ( to 280 m).

Neighboring communities of Bay are Hugier and Cult in the north, Chenevrey -et- Morogne the east and south, and Sornay in the West.

History

It is first mentioned in documents Bay in the year 1131st It was probably founded by monks of the Premonstratensian Corneux. In the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in the territory of the Bailliage d' amont. Since the 13th century it formed a parish, which was compared with that merged in 1406 of Sornay. The local government has held the barony Choye since the 15th century. Together with the Franche -Comté arrived Bay with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 definitively to France. Since 2002, Bay is a member of the 15 localities municipal association Communauté de communes de la Vallée de l' Ognon.

Attractions

The single village church of Bay was built in the 12th century in the Romanesque style. The chancel dates from the 15th century, while the characteristic of the Franche- Comté bell tower in the 18th century has been added. The church houses a remarkable statues from the 15-16. Century. In the 17th century, the Château de Bay was built.

Population

With 122 inhabitants ( 1 January 2011) Bay is one of the smallest municipalities in the department of Haute- Saône. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century ( in 1886 180 people were still counted ), a continuous population growth has been recorded since the early 1980s again. Since then, the population has doubled.

Economy and infrastructure

Bay was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. Today, there are some establishments of local small businesses. In recent decades the village has been transformed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who do their work in the larger towns in the area and agglomeration in Besançon.

The village is situated away from the larger passage axes on a secondary road that leads from Sornay by Cult. The nearest links to the A36 motorway is located at a distance of about 17 km. Further road links exist with Chancey and Hugier.