Gonsans

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

Geography

Gonsans is located on 530 m, about 21 km east of the city of Besançon (air line). The village is located in the Jura, on the so-called first plateau in a hollow slightly increased on the eastern edge of the basin of the Saone, at the foot of the adjacent heights.

The area of ​​17:29 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The northern part of the area is occupied by the wide first Jura plateau, which is on average 480 m and rises slightly towards the south. It forms a wide basin with no surface drainage, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground. In the area of Gonsans the plateau is mainly consisted of arable and grassland, partly by forest. In the north, the boundary runs along the edge of the forest area Bois de Boille. To the south, the municipality's area spans up to 100 m high ground level to the adjacent undulating plateau of the plateau of Valdahon. Here hills and boggy hollows change and show a loose structure of pasture and forest. In the far south, the area extends into the Bois de l' Aide, part of the military training area Valdahon. With 636 m is reached on a hilltop southwest of the village is the highest elevation of Gonsans.

Neighboring communities of Gonsans are Glamondans and Côte Brune in the north, Magny- Châtelard in the east, Vercel - Villedieu -le-Camp and Verrières -du Gros - Bois in the south and Naisey les Granges and Bouclans in the West.

History

Fragments of vases from prehistoric times point to an early settlement of the municipality of Gonsans. First mentioned in a document of the place is in 1242 under the name Goncens. Over time, the spelling on Gonsens ( 1249 ), Gonçais ( 1255 ) and Goncent ( 1290 ) transformed to the present Gonsans. In the Middle Ages Gonsans formed the center of its own little rule. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France.

Attractions

With the construction of the church began in 1725; the last major restoration was undertaken in 1996. Among the secular buildings include the ruins of the medieval castle and the rule of the Counts of Jouffroy. In the village are farmhouses are preserved in the characteristic style of the Franche -Comté from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Population

With 531 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Gonsans one of the small communities of the department of Doubs. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1881 582 persons were still counted ), a continuous population growth was recorded since the early 1970s again.

Economy and infrastructure

Gonsans was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. In addition, there are today some of the local small business enterprises, including in wood processing. Meanwhile, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who do their work in the larger towns in the environment or in the agglomeration Besançon.

The village is located off the major thoroughfares on a secondary road that leads from Baume- les -Dames after Ornans. Further road links exist with Roulans, Naisey and Chaux -lès- Passavant.