Le Bélieu

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

Geography

Le Bélieu is located on 995 m, 7 km north-northeast of Morteau and about 15 km west of the town of La Chaux -de-Fonds (air line). The village is located in the Jura, in panoramic position on an exposed south-facing slope in the extreme southwest of the plateaus of Maîche, on the southwestern edge of the ridge of Le Mémont.

The area of ​​10.72 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The southern part of the area is occupied by the plateau of Maîche, which is an average of 920 meters. It is mainly composed of meadow and pasture land, but also shows some forest areas. The trough at Sous Réaumont has a larger marsh area. From the plateau, the municipality's area extends northward over the slope of Le Bélieu on the ridge of Le Mémont, which is divided by a small valley in two combs. On the eastern ridge Banal is 1,043 meters, reached the highest elevation of Le Bélieu in the Bois. This ridge forms in geological- tectonic respects an anticlinal folds of the Jura and is oriented southwest-northeast direction according to the strike of the mountains in this region. To the west of the municipality of soil over the saddle of Les Richard extends to the hill of Percerot (1020 m).

At Le Bélieu addition to the actual site also includes several hamlets and isolated farms, including:

• Sous Réaumont ( 927 m) at the edge of the plateau of Maîche at the southern foot of the Bois Banal
• Maisons Derrière ( 922 m) at the edge of the plateau of Maîche at the southern foot of the Bois Banal
• Les Richard ( 945 m) on the pass, between the Val de Morteau and the basin of Vennes
• Le Petit Bélieu (1020 m) on the ridge above the village

Neighboring communities of Le Bélieu are Guyans -Vennes and La Bosse in the north, Le Bizot in the east, Noël- Cerneux and Les Fins in the south and Four -Luisans and Fuans in the West.

History

At the beginning of the 14th century was built on the crest of Bois Banal east of Le Bélieu the castle Réaumont. Thus, the village belonged to the rule Réaumont, which was under the suzerainty of the Lords of Montfaucon, from the 15th century to that of the Counts of Montbéliard. After the castle Réaumont was destroyed in 1639 by troops of Duke Bernhard of Saxe- Weimar, was the neighboring Le Bizot the seat of government. Together with the Franche- Comté reached Le Bélieu with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France.

By January 1, 2009 there was a change in the membership of the district municipality. So far, belonging to the district Montbeliard, all municipalities in the canton came to the district Pontarlier.

Attractions

The church of Saint -François d' Assise was built in 1629 and has a rich interior, including a gilded main altar made ​​of wood from the 18th century and a pulpit from the 18th century. In the center and on the Jura hills to different farmhouses dating from the 18th century are situated in the characteristic style of the Franche -Comté. From the medieval castle Réaumont only a few ruins remain.

Population

With 325 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Le Bélieu one of the small communities of the department of Doubs. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1901 350 people were still counted ), a continuous population growth was recorded since the mid-1970s again.

Economy and infrastructure

Le Bélieu was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture ( livestock and dairy farming ) and forestry embossed village. In addition, there are today some of the local small business enterprises. Meanwhile, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who engage in the surrounding larger towns of their work.

The village is located off the major thoroughfares, but is from the main road D461 (Besançon - Morteau ) easily accessible. Further road links exist with Les Fins, La Bosse and Narbief.