Magny-Châtelard

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

Geography

Magny- Châtelard is located on 558 m above sea level, 9 km north of Valdahon and about 22 km east of the city of Besançon (air line). The village is located in the Jura, on the northern edge of the vast plateau of Valdahon and Vercel, called the first plateau of the Jura Mountains, south of the Taleinschnitts of Audeux.

The area of ​​4.20 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The entire area is occupied by only weakly in relief plateau Valdahon, which is on average 560 m. It shows a loose structure of arable land, meadows and forests. The plateau has no above-ground rivers, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground. To the east of the municipality of soil ranges on the backs of the amount of Magny. Here the highest elevation of Magny- Châtelard is achieved with 610 m. To the north, the area extends up above the steep slope that leads over to the erosion valley of Audeux.

Neighboring communities of Magny- Châtelard are Côtebrune and Aïssey in the north, Chaux -lès- Passavant in the east and in the west Gonsans.

History

In the 13th century was founded on a ridge above the valley of the Audeux to protect the monastery Grâce -Dieu a castle. In the documents, this castle first appears in 1255 under the name Chastelet. In the further course of the local name changed over Chastelay ( 1305) and Chasteler (1320 ) to Chastelard ( 1552). The settlement was first mentioned in writing in 1547 Magny is. The castle and the surrounding buildings were destroyed in 1639 during the Thirty Years' War by troops of Duke Bernhard of Saxe- Weimar. With the Free County of Burgundy, the village came with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France. The castle in 1719 was finally destroyed by fire. In 1801 the two towns and Magny Châtelard merged to today's double municipality. Since 1998 Magny- Châtelard is a member of the 44- villages municipal association Communauté de communes du Pays de Pierre Fontaine - Vercel.

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

Attractions

Of the former castle only a few ruins remain.

Population

With 45 inhabitants (1 January 2011 ) Magny- Châtelard is one of the smallest municipalities of the department of Doubs. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1881 78 people were still counted ), in recent times, a population increase is recorded.

Economy and infrastructure

Magny- Châtelard was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. Even today, the inhabitants live on the merits of the activity in the first sector. Outside of the primary sector there are no jobs in the village. Some employed persons are also commuters who engage in the surrounding larger towns of their work.

The village is located off the major thoroughfares on a secondary road that leads from Gonsans to La Chaux -lès- Passavant.