Luze, Haute-Saône

Luze is a commune in Haute -Saône in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Luze situated at an altitude of 340 m above sea level, 3 km north-northwest of Héricourt and about 10 km southwest of the town of Belfort ( a straight line ). The village is located in the western part of the Burgundian Gate, in a basin at the Lizaine, at the western foot of Mont Vaudois.

The area of ​​10.69 km ² municipal area includes a portion in the Burgundian Gate. The central part of the area is traversed in a north-south direction from the Lizaine in a basin, which has a width of nearly two kilometers and is on average 340 m. It is filled with sediments, so-called alluvium of the Quaternary. Is flanked this basin in the east from Mont Vaudois, which consists of a resistant layer of chalk of the middle Jurassic period and on the 531 m the highest elevation of Luze is achieved. To the west, the municipality's area extends in a wooded area with the Bois d' Apremont and the Bois de la Thure ( to 510 m). This hill country is the southwestern continuation of the Vosges and is partly constructed of red sandstone, partly is also evident the crystalline basement. This community in part by the Ruisseau de la Goutte Carpière and the Saint- Saut is drained to Lizaine.

Neighboring communities of Luze are Étobon, Chenebier and Chagey in the north, Échenans -sous -Mont- Vaudois in the east, and Héricourt Couthenans in the south and Coisevaux, Champey and Belverne in the West.

History

The territory of Luze was already inhabited in prehistoric times, of which traces of a Neolithic settlement on Mont Vaudois testify. The first mention in writing Luze in 1196 under the name of Lasa in a deed of the church Saint- Maimboeuf in Montbeliard. In the course of time, changed the spelling on Louse ( 1288), Louze ( 1374 ) and Luse (1511 ) to the present Luze ( 1623). The place name is probably derived from the Latin word lutosus ( loamy ).

Since the Middle Ages Luze belonged to the county of Montbéliard. The counts imputed it 1350, the rule Héricourt. In 1565 the Reformation was introduced. During the Thirty Years' War, the village was 1636/37 initially inserted from the troops of the Duke of Lorraine on fire and struck shortly afterwards by a severe plague. Luze, which was until then under the suzerainty of the principality of Montbéliard, arrived in 1748 contracted definitively to the French crown. Since 2001 Luze is a member of the comprehensive 20 villages municipal association Communauté de communes du Pays d' Héricourt.

Attractions

The village church of Luze was built in 1864 and shows a historical style (mixture of Romanesque and Gothic elements ). From 1760 comes the Mairie ( Municipal House ), the Prince of Montbéliard initially served as a hunting pavilion after their construction.

Population

With 728 inhabitants ( 2005) Luze is one of the small towns in the Haute- Saône. After the population had decreased slightly in the first half of the 20th century (1891 440 persons were still counted ), a continuous population growth has been recorded since the mid- 1960s. Since then, the population has more than doubled.

Economy and infrastructure

Luze 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. Meanwhile, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who do their work in Héricourt and in the agglomerations Belfort and Montbéliard.

The village has good transport links. It lies at the sectionally -developed four-lane main road D438 which leads from Belfort to Lure. The nearest links to the A36 motorway is located at a distance of about 12 km. Further road links exist with Chagey and Échenans -sous -Mont- Vaudois.

Sons and daughters of the town

• Pierre Carmien (1834-1907), engineer and inventor