Foncine-le-Bas
Foncine -le- Bas is a commune in the French department of Jura in the Franche -Comté.
Geography
Foncine -le- Bas is located at 794 m above sea level. M., about 15 km south-east of the city Champagnole (air line). The village is located in the Jura, in an open basin at the Saine, above the Gorges de Malvaux, northeast of the high plateau of Grandvaux, at the northwest foot of the forest heights of Mont Noir.
The area of 9.29 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The central part of the area is (an average altitude of 790 m. M. ) occupied by the basin of Foncine -le- Bas, which forms a syncline of the Jura Mountains in geological terms. It is crossed by the Saine that receives here the water from three tributaries, namely the Sainette and Galaveau from Mont Noir Coming and the outflow from Lac des Rouges Truites. Below the village breaks the Saine with deeply incised in a resistant limestone layer Gorges de Malvaux the terrain crest of the Côte Bayard. To the west the municipality area ranges on the plateau of Grandvaux. Here is situated in a bog sink of about 3 hectares Lac à la Dame.
To the southeast, the communal land extends over a 200 m high ground level on the densely forested plateau of Mont Noir. This rough area is characterized by parallel ridges and intervening terrain, above ground septic wells. With 1181 m above sea level. M. is achieved the highest elevation of Foncine -le- Bas here. Characteristic of the plateau are the karst features such as sinkholes and karst fields. The area of Foncine -le- Bas is part of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut- Jura.
At Foncine -le- Bas addition to the actual place includes several hamlets, groups of farms and individual farms, including:
- Les Fumey ( 885 m above sea level. M. ) on the plateau west of the village
- Rapoutier (820 m above sea level. M. ) south basin of the village
Neighboring communities of Foncine -le- Bas are Planches -en- Montagne in the north, Foncine -le-Haut in the east, Chapelle -des- Bois and Lac -des- Rouges- Truites in the south and Fort-du- Plasne in the West.
History
The place name Foncine evolved over the centuries from the original fond de la Saine ( valley of the Saine ). Since the Middle Ages Foncine belonged to the rule Chateau- Vilain. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France. In 1790 Foncine -le- Bas was an independent municipality after the division of the greater community Foncine.
Attractions
The Church of Foncine -le- Bas was from 1604 built on the site of an earlier chapel and rebuilt in 1880. Among the natural attractions include Gorges de Malvaux with the waterfalls of the Saine.
Population
With 198 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Foncine -le- Bas is one of the small towns in the Jura. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1906 564 persons were still counted ), was over the last two decades, a stabilization and even regained a slight increase.
Economy and infrastructure
Foncine -le- Bas has long been a predominantly coined by agriculture, especially livestock and dairy farming, as well as by the forestry village. Along the Saine settled in the 16th century business, which were dependent on hydropower, such as mills, saw mills and tanneries. Over time, these companies have been supplemented by a plaster mill, cheese factories, forges, workshops and watches a diamond factory. In the 20th century were a toy factory and several companies in the eyewear industry is important. Today, there are some establishments of local small businesses. Many workers are also commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.
The village is located off the major thoroughfares on the main road D437, which runs from Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux to Pontarlier. Further road links exist with Planches -en- Montagne and Fort-du- Plasne. The operation of an electric tram which connected Foncine -le- Bas with Champagnole, 1950 was discontinued and replaced by a bus service.