Champagney, Haute-Saône

Champagney is a commune in Haute -Saône in the Franche -Comté. It is the capital of the canton in the Arrondissement Champagney Lure.

Geography

Champagney situated at an altitude of 375 m above sea level, approximately 15 km west-northwest of the city of Belfort ( a straight line ). The village is located in the extreme east of the department, in the wide valley of the Rahin, in the southern Vosges between the heights of Chérimont in the south and the Roc du Plainet in the north.

The area of ​​36.71 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the landscape on the southern edge of the Vosges. From east to west, the area is crossed by the valley of the Rahin, which provides for drainage to Ognon. The flat alluvial plain is average at 370 m and has a maximum width of three kilometers wide. It is used primarily for agricultural purposes. Former sand and gravel pits are now filled because of the high ground water level with water ( Étangs of Ballastières ). From the north and south of the Rahin receives inflow from small tributary streams which have been dammed up several times to ponds for fish farming.

North of the valley of Rahin ranges of communal land in the forested region of the Southern Vosges. With 680 m is reached on the southern slopes of the Roc du Plainet the highest elevation of Champagney. The eastern boundary runs along the Ruisseau d' Ambiez, a right tributary of the Rahin. South of Champagney extends the community area on the hills which form the watershed between the Rahin and the headwaters of the Lizaine. Already in the catchment area of ​​the Lizaine is the 106 -acre basin Champagney which feeds the Canal de la Haute -Saône. In the southwest has Champagney share of the valley of the Ruisseau de Beuveroux which opens at Ronchamp in the Rahin. This trough is flanked by the long-drawn forest height of Chérimont which marks the natural southwestern part of the area.

In geological- tectonic regard, there is the valley of Champagney from sediments of the Tertiary and Quaternary. The north adjoining heights are composed predominantly of crystalline bedrock. South of Champagney occur Permian strata revealed during the Chérimont also shows red sandstone from the lower Triassic. The entire municipality is part of the Regional Natural Park of Ballons des Vosges.

At Champagney addition to the actual site include numerous settlements, hamlets and farms:

• Sous les Chenes (380 m) on the southern edge of the valley of the Rahin
• Sous les Viaux ( 387 m) at the northern edge of the valley of the Rahin
• Mont de Serre ( 379 m) at the northern edge of the valley of the Rahin
• Le Magny (390 m) in the valley of the Rahin
• Le Ban de Champagney ( 461 m ) at the level between the valleys of Rahin and Lizaine
• Le Bas des Côtes (375 m ) north of the Chérimont
• Cité Saint -Jean ( 374 m ) north of the Chérimont
• Cité des Epoisses ( 356 m) in the valley of the Ruisseau de Beuveroux
• Éboulet (364 m) on the southern edge of the valley of the Rahin

Neighboring communities of Champagney are Plancher -Bas in the east, Frahier -et- Chatebier, Échavanne, Chenebier, Étobon and Clairegoutte in the south and Magny- Danigon and Ronchamp in the West.

History

The territory of Champagney was already inhabited in prehistoric times. The earliest evidence of human presence date back to the Neolithic period. From the Bronze Age tumulus on the corridor a Plat -du- chat is received. There are also remains of a Roman road traffic.

Is first mentioned Champagney in the year 1016. During the Middle Ages the village belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in the territory of the Bailliage d' amont. It was the center of a reign. During the Thirty Years' War, the town was set on fire in 1634. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the place with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 definitively to France. Already in the course of the 17th century settled in Champagney industry, among them a glassworks, which flourished mainly in the 18th century. By the middle of the 18th century coal was mined. With the opening of the railway line from Belfort to Vesoul Champagney was linked to the French railway network. Even during the Second World War, the village in 1944 was strongly affected. Today Champagney is the administrative center of the nine- villages municipal association Communauté de communes Rahin et Chérimont.

Attractions

The church of Saint -Laurent was rebuilt in the 18th century. For notable appointments include wainscoting and rich sculpted pulpit from the 18th century, significant wood paintings from the 16th century, the statue of Saint Barbara (16th century) and the carillon with 35 bells. The Calvaire in the cemetery is dated to the year 1601. Among the remarkable secular buildings include the rectory ( 17-18. Century), a big house from the 18th century on the Grande -Rue and the Mairie ( Town Hall) from 18-19. Century. The Musée de la Negritude et des Droits de l' Homme was opened in 1971 and shows the history of slavery and its abolition in Africa and Haiti. From the former Château de Passavant ruins remain. In the district of Le Magny there are several farmhouses dating from the 18th and 19th centuries, showing the traditional style of the Southern Vosges.

Population

With 3803 inhabitants ( 1 January 2011) Champagney one of the largest municipalities in the department of Haute- Saône. The previous high with respect to the number of inhabitants reached Champagney already in 1876 with 4356 people. In the first half of the 20th century, the population decreased slowly but continuously. Since the early 1960s, however, population growth is recorded again.

Economy and infrastructure

Champagney was marked very early by mining, glass production and metal processing industry. Thanks to the extensive municipal area to agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ), forestry and fish farming have some significance. Today Champagney is a regional center with numerous enterprises of small and medium enterprises. Among the important industries include the transport industry, wood processing, precision engineering and a company that manufactures garage doors. There are also businesses and service companies for the daily needs. In recent decades, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who do their work in the agglomeration Belfort -Montbéliard. Champagney has a Collège.

The waters of the Etang Ballastières west of the town and the Bassin de Champagney be used as a recreation area as well as for water sports ( swimming, sailing, fishing).

The village has good transport links. It is located near the main road N19, which runs from Belfort via Vesoul to Langres. Further road links exist with Plancher -Bas, Ronchamp and Étobon. Champagney has a station on the railway line Paris -Mulhouse, which is served by TER Franche -Comté trains.