Courtefontaine (Doubs)

Courtefontaine is a commune in the French department Doubs in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Courtefontaine is located on 780 m, 11 km northeast of Maîche and 23 km south-southeast of the town of Montbéliard (air line). The village is located in the Jura, in a hollow in the extreme northeast of the high plateau of Maîche, south of the deep valley of the Doubs.

The area of 7.70 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The main part of the area is occupied by the weakly in relief plateau of Courtefontaine, which is on average 770 m. It is mainly composed of meadow and pasture land. The plateau has no above-ground rivers, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground. To the west, the land rises slightly to the heights of Les Vérailles (814 m), Queue de Veau (860 m) and Champs Vers To the west and north turns these heights steeply to the Doubs Valley from where the municipal boundary usually runs above the steep slopes. In the east, the forest height Joux de Prost connects to the plateau, on the 920 m, the highest elevation of Courtefontaine is achieved. To the south, the municipality's area extends over a portion of the basin of Les Plains- et- Grands- Dessessart up to the slopes of Mont Sassier.

Neighboring communities of Courtefontaine are Montjoie- le -Château and Vaufrey in the north, Indevillers in the east, Les Plains- et- Grands- Essarts in the south and Soulce - Cernay in the West.

History

In Courtefontaine Augustinian canons founded in 1150, a priory, which was dependent on the Abbey of Saint -Paul. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France.

Attractions

The three-nave former Priory Church ( Église Saint -Laurent ) was built from about 1150 to 1170 in the Romanesque style and is one of the few completely preserved Romanesque churches in Franche -Comté.

Population

Courtefontaine one of the small communities of the Doubs with 235 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011). After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1881 362 persons were still counted ), only relatively small fluctuations were recorded since the early 1960s.

Economy and infrastructure

Courtefontaine was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture ( livestock and dairy farming ) and forestry embossed village. In addition, there are now several companies of local small enterprises, mainly in wood processing. Many workers are also commuters who engage in the surrounding larger towns of their work.

The village is located off the major thoroughfares on a secondary road that leads from Soulce - Cernay after Indevillers. Further road links exist with Les Plains- et- Grands- Essarts and Vaufrey.

Municipality in the department of Doubs
Place in Franche -Comté

Arrondissement Cantons of France Postal codes in France Doubs (river) Les Plains-et-Grands-Essarts Soulce-Cernay Romanesque art Lavoir Saint-Hippolyte (Doubs) Les Terres-de-Chaux

205139