La Rivière-Drugeon
La Rivière- Drugeon is a town in the French department of Doubs in the Franche -Comté.
Geography
La Rivière- Drugeon lies 825 meters above sea level, nearly seven miles west-southwest of the town of Pontarlier (air line). The village is located in the Jura, on the vast plateau of Arlier ( Pontarlier - Frasnian ), both sides of the Drugeon, which is dammed here to a pond, northwest of the Montagne du Laveron.
The area of 19.16 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The main part of the area is occupied by the plateau of Arlier, which is on average 830 m. It is mostly covered by meadows, but also shows greater moorlands. The area is drained by the Drugeon northeast to Doubs. Previously meandered the Drugeon the moorland area, today it is largely channeled and south of the village dammed to form a pond. With a narrow strip of communal land extends to the northwest through the vast plateau up to the Combe de la Rochette. To the southeast, the municipality's area covers over a steep forest slope on the ridge of the Montagne du Laveron forming an anticline of the Jura Mountains in geological- tectonic terms. At the top of the Bois de Chole is with 1112 m reached the highest elevation of La Rivière- Drugeon.
Neighboring communities of La Rivière- Drugeon are Chapelle- d'Huin, Bull and Bannans in the north, Sainte -Colombe in the east, La Planée and Bouverans in the south and Dompierre- les- Tileuls in the West.
History
The municipality of La Rivière- Drugeon was settled very early. Excavations of the Tumulus du Grand Communal objects from the Bronze Age and the Iron Age were unearthed.
In the Middle Ages it was a castle that belonged to the lords of Chalon. Over time, La Rivière became a borough. To rule La Rivière included the neighboring villages Bonnevaux, Bouverans, Dompierre and Frasnian. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France. To avoid confusion with other municipalities of the same name, La Rivière was officially renamed in 1923 in La Riviere - Drugeon. Since 2003, La Rivière- Drugeon is a member of the comprehensive 10 villages municipal association Communauté de communes du Plateau de Frasnian et du Val du Drugeon.
Attractions
The parish church of Saint -Nicolas was built in the 15th century in Gothic style forms. It has a rich interior, including grave slabs from the 16th century, wooden statues from the 15th and 16th centuries and a pulpit (17th century). From the medieval castle only a few remains of the perimeter walls have been preserved.
An insight into an original French pub, which offers village pub " Lou et Let ", right on the church square.
The biggest attraction of the village is that every year on the third weekend in June held snails Festival ( " Fête des Escargots " ), in which around 30,000 vineyard snails (now Eastern European origin ) are eaten. The snail festival lasts for three days and has now reached cult status nationwide.
Population
With 850 inhabitants (1 January 2011 ) is La Riviere Drugeon to the small communities of the department of Doubs. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1896 720 persons were still counted ), a continuous population growth was recorded since the mid-1970s again.
Economy and infrastructure
La Rivière- Drugeon was until well into the 20th century a predominantly coined by agriculture, especially dairy farming and animal husbandry, as well as by the forestry village. In addition, there are now a number of companies of small businesses, including a sawmill. Meanwhile, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who principally engaged in the larger towns in the area, in Pontarlier their work. More and more workers commute today in nearby Switzerland, because there the potential earnings are higher by a multiple than in the economically underdeveloped region of Doubs.
The village is located off the major thoroughfares on a secondary road that leads from Pontarlier to Bonnevaux. Further road links exist with Bannans, Bull and Dompierre- les- Tileuls. La Rivière- Drugeon has a station on the railway line that connects the Frasnian with Pontarlier and Neuchâtel.