Malbrans

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

Geography

Malbrans is located on 548 m above sea level, 5 km west of Ornans, approximately 14 km south-southeast of the city of Besançon ( straight line ). The village is located in the Jura, on a high plateau, which connects north to the deeply incised erosion valley of the Loue.

The area of ​​8.74 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the cuesta landscape of western French Jura. The main part of the area is occupied by the plateau of Malbrans, which is on average 540 m. It is composed partly of arable and meadow land, part of the wood and shows only relatively small differences in relief. The entire plateau has no above-ground rivers, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground. The landscape is characterized by various karst phenomena, such as the Grotte de la Colombière and the Chasm of Vauvourgier. The southern boundary runs above a layer formed of resistant limestone layer of rock that slopes steeply down to the valley of the Loue. With 624 m is achieved at the Rocher de Punay in the north of the plateau is the highest elevation of Malbrans. To the east, the municipality's area extends into the Bois de Narpent and into the valley Combe de Punay, which is dehydrated to Loue.

Neighboring communities of Malbrans are Villers -sous -Montrond in the north, Tarcenay in the east, Scey- Maisières in the south and Montrond- le -Château in the West.

History

In the Middle Ages Malbrans belonged to the rule Montrond. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France. Today Malbrans is a member of the 24 localities comprehensive community association Communauté de communes du Pays d' Ornans.

Attractions

The village church of Malbrans was built in the 18th century. In the village are farmhouses are preserved in the characteristic style of the Franche -Comté from the 17th to 19th centuries.

Population

With 133 inhabitants ( 1 January 2011) Malbrans 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 228 persons were still counted ), only small fluctuations were recorded since the beginning of the 1970s.

Economy and infrastructure

Malbrans was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. The brickyard in the Combes de Punay was founded in 1839. After the plant closure in 1928 it was converted into a sawmill. 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 commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.

The village is located off the major thoroughfares, but is easily accessible from the main road D67, which runs from Besançon Ornans. Further road links exist with Scey -en- Varais, Montrond- le -Château and Villers -sous -Montrond.