Bethonvilliers

Bethonvilliers ( formerly Bethweiler German ) is a town in the French department of Territoire de Belfort in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Bethonvilliers is located on 375 m above sea level, about nine kilometers northeast of the town of Belfort ( a straight line ). The village is located in the northern part of the Burgundian Gate, on the plateau in the foothills of the Vosges, on the creek of the Madeleine.

The area of ​​1.90 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the weakly in relief landscape in the Burgundian Gate ( trouée de Belfort ). The main part of the area is occupied by a plateau, which is on average 380 m and it leans slightly to the south. It is mostly covered with arable and meadow land, but also shows some forest areas. On a hill northeast of the village is achieved with 407 m the highest elevation of Bethonvilliers. The western boundary is the Madeleine, which flows through a more than 500 m wide, flat valley. It provides for the drainage to the south over the Bourbeuse to Allaine.

Neighboring communities of Bethonvilliers are Saint-Germain- le- Châtelet in the north, Lagrange and Larivière in the east, the south and Lacollonge Menoncourt in the West.

History

Is first mentioned in the year Bethonvilliers 1295th First, standing in the sphere of influence of the Lords of Montbéliard, the village mid-14th century came under the suzerainty of the Habsburg dynasty. The Madeleine formed the boundary between two gentlemen, so that the village was divided: Bethonvilliers - rive droite - belonged to the provost Belfort while Bethonvilliers - rive -gauche the reign Rougemont was assumed. Together with the Sundgau came the village with the 1648 Peace of Westphalia to the French crown. Since 1793 Bethonvilliers belonged to the Department of Haut -Rhin, however, remained in 1871 as part of the Territoire de Belfort as opposed to the rest of Alsace in France. In the first half of the 20th century the village was served by a railway line, which ran from Belfort to Étueffont, to the French railway network. Since 1997 Bethonvilliers part of the community association Communauté de communes du Tilleul. It is ecclesiastically dependent on Saint- Germain- le- Châtelet.

Population

With 242 inhabitants (1 January 2011 ) is Bethonvilliers to the small communities of the department of Territoire de Belfort. After the population had clearly decreased in the first half of the 20th century (1891 191 persons were still counted ), a strong population growth has been recorded since the early 1970s again. Since then, the population has more than doubled.

Economy and infrastructure

Bethonvilliers was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) embossed village. The water power of the Madeleine was formerly used for the operation of mills. Of importance, a blast furnace ( 1684-1833 ), in which the iron ore was smelted from the environment, as well as a cotton mill were in earlier times (from the mid-19th century ). Today there are various operations of local small businesses, as well as a construction company. Meanwhile, the village has been transformed into a residential community. Many workers are also commuters who engage in urban Belfort and Mulhouse their work.

The village has good transport links. It is located near the main road N83, which runs from Belfort to Mulhouse. The nearest links to the A36 motorway, which runs through the municipality, is located at a distance of about three kilometers. Further road links exist with Saint- Germain- le- Châtelet, Lagrange and Menoncourt.