Le Bizot

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

Geography

Le Bizot is located at 950 m, 12 km northeast of Morteau and approximately 13 km west-northwest of the town of La Chaux -de-Fonds (air line). The village is located in the Jura, in the southwest of the plateaus of Maîche, at the southern foot of the ridge of Le Mémont.

The area of ​​7.85 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 on average 910 m. It is mainly composed of meadow and pasture land, but also shows some forest areas. In the south, the boundary runs along the Ruisseau des Seignes, a stream that trickles away after a short distance through a marshy lowlands again in the karst underground. To the north, the municipality's area extends over the adjacent broad ridge of Le Mémont with the Bois Banal ( 1045 m) and the Bois de la Verdage. With 1063 m is reached at the height above the village is the highest elevation of Le Bizot. 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. On the ridge there is the 1 km ² large, above ground endorheic basin of Le Mémont that belongs to the main thing to Le Bizot.

At Le Bizot addition to the actual site also includes the hamlet of La Bousotte (920 m) on the high plateau of Maîche and various individual courtyards. Neighboring communities of Le Bizot are Mont -de -Laval and Le Mémont in the north, Le Russey and Narbief to the east, La Chenalotte and Noël- Cerneux in the south and Le Bélieu and La Bosse in the West.

History

In the Middle Ages Le Bizot 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. The village was formed at that time the center of a major parish. After the castle Réaumont was destroyed in 1639 by troops of Duke Bernhard of Saxe- Weimar, Le Bizot became the seat of government, of which today the Maison de Justice testifies. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village 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 village of Saint-Georges Church was rebuilt in the late 15th and early 16th century on the site of a medieval church (first half of the 14th century ), which was destroyed in 1476 in the late Gothic style. The bell tower with atrial comes from 1733. The three-nave church has a rich interior, including a pulpit from the 17th century, altars from the 17th and 18th century, statues from the 15th to the 17th centuries as well as remarkable wall and stained glass. The Chapel of Notre- Dame de Lourdes was inaugurated in 1876. Among the secular buildings include the Maison de Justice, whose oldest parts date from the 16th century, and the Maison des Moines ( early 17th century). Furthermore, various farmhouses dating from the 18th century are preserved in the characteristic style of the Haut-Doubs.

Population

With 272 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Le Bizot is one of the small communities of the department of Doubs. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century ( in 1896 246 people were still counted ), a continuous population growth has been recorded since the mid-1970s again.

Economy and infrastructure

Le Bizot 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. Many workers are also 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 D437 ( Montbéliard Morteau ) easily accessible. Further road links exist with Le Russey, Le Mémont, La Bosse and Le Bélieu.