Esprels

Esprels is a commune in Haute -Saône in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Esprels situated at an altitude of 259 m above sea level, 5 km west-southwest of Villers Exel and about 19 km southeast of the town of Vesoul (air line). The village is located on the western edge of the plain of Villersexel, north of the Ognon valley in the valley of the village Bach, on the edge of the heights of the Grands Bois.

The area of ​​14.81 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the plains at Villers Exel. The southern part of the area is occupied by a plane that is on average 260 m. It forms an alluvial plain Ognon. In the far south, the boundary runs along the Ognon flowing here with various meanders through the valley to the southwest. Former sand and gravel pits (now lakes ) are partly used as lakes.

The boundaries of the plain to the west and north of predominantly forested hills. In the west the boundary runs in the Bois Bernard. At the Montaigu is achieved with 408 m the highest elevation of Esprels. To the north, the municipality's area covers the extensive forests of the Bois de Bouloie and Grands Bois. These hills consist of limestone of the middle Jurassic period.

To Esprels the hamlet of Les Pateys (340 m) is at the northern foot of Montaigu. Neighboring communities of Esprels are Borey in the north, and Marast Autrey- le- Vay to the east, Pont -sur- l'Ognon in the south and Chassey -lès- Montbozon and Vallerois -le- Bois in the West.

History

The territory of Esprels has been inhabited since the Gallo- Roman period, after which point the remains of wall foundations and mosaic fragments. In the Middle Ages Esprels was ecclesiastically from Priorat Marast and later by the Chapter Dole dependent. The temporal power was responsible for a long time the Marquis de Grammont. Together with the Franche -Comté Esprels came with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 definitively to France. Since 2000 Esprels is a member of the 33- villages municipal association Communauté de communes du Pays de Villers Exel.

Attractions

The village church of Esprels was rebuilt in the 18th century. It has rich collection of furniture from the 15th to 19th centuries, including the statues of the Vierge de Pitié (1511 ) and the Sainte -Anne ( 17th century). Near the church is the Lavoir Saint- Desle, which is named after an Irish monk. From the late 19th century, the Mairie dates ( Municipal House ). In the center numerous houses from the 16th to 19th centuries have been preserved in the traditional style of the Haute -Saône, including a homestead with an octagonal stair tower.

Population

With 705 inhabitants (1 January 2011 ) is Esprels to the smaller communities of the department of Haute- Saône. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century ( in 1886 780 people were still counted ), a population growth was recorded since the early 1980s again.

Economy and infrastructure

Esprels was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. In addition, there are now several companies of small and medium enterprises, mainly in the areas of construction, wood processing, production of agricultural machinery. The most significant company is a furniture factory. Meanwhile, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.

The village has good transport links. It lies on the main road D9, which runs from Vesoul after Héricourt. Further road links exist with Montbozon, Pont -sur- l'Ognon and Marast.