Nans-sous-Sainte-Anne

Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne is a commune in the French department Doubs in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne is located at 365 m above sea level, about 18 kilometers southwest of Ornans and 29 km south of the city of Besançon (air line). The village is located in the Jura, in an area surrounded by steep slopes of the Lison valley, bordered by distinctive rock faces and projections, north of the Source du Lison.

The area of ​​8.86 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The central part of the area occupied by the basin of Nan, with the flat valley floor having a diameter of about one kilometer. From south to north the boiler from Lison is traversed, which accommodates several short tributaries here. With a deep Klustal the Lison breaks below Nans the heights of the Forêt de Fertans (610 m, in the west) and Montmahoux (up to 768 m in the east ). In the southwest of the valley, the narrow edge of the Bois Bovard is ( to 670 m), in the south the height of Sainte -Anne ( 700 m) and to the east of Mont Mahoux, on the slope with 770 m the highest elevation of Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne is achieved. The slopes are crossed by strong Kalkfelswänden and projections and show various places caves and rock shelters. Below a high rock wall in an impressive rock basin about 1.5 km southeast of the village stems from the Lison with a strong tributing karst spring, which is one of the most popular tourist attractions in Franche- Comté.

Neighboring communities of Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne are Saraz and Éternoz in the north, Montmahoux in the east, Crouzet Migette and Sainte -Anne in the south and Geraise, Salins- les- Bains and Saizenay in the West.

History

The territory of Nans -sous -Sainte- Anne was settled very early. In the Grotte du Père Mitoulet numerous remains were found in the periods from the Neolithic to the Gallo- Roman period.

In the 12th century the first time Nans appear in the documents. The village name comes originally from the Gallic language and means as much as Bach ( usually in a deep valley ). Since the Middle Ages the village belonged to the lords of Chalon. The Mont Richard family, vassals of the lords of Chalon, built in the 15th century in Nans a castle. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France.

The abundant water power was used for the operation of mills since the Middle Ages. In 1619, an iron hammer was founded. Thus, the iron processing (production of scythes and spokes ) soon acquired regional importance. Since 1993 Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne is a member of the comprehensive 19 villages municipal association Communauté de communes Amancey - Loue - Lison.

Attractions

The two-aisled church of Nans was built in the 15th century in the late Gothic style. Are also obtained the Château Mirabeau (originally from the 15th century ) and numerous houses from the 17th to the 19th century. In the buildings of the former blacksmith's workshop the Museum La Taillanderie was established. However, the most important attraction of the place is the karst spring of Lison and located in the immediate vicinity Creux Billard ( about 80 m high waterfall ) and the impressive rock wall of the cave Sarrazine. Drag annually to approximately 150,000 visitors.

Population

With 151 inhabitants ( 1 January 2011) Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne 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 (1881 366 persons were still counted ), only small fluctuations were recorded since the early 1960s.

Economy and infrastructure

Nans -sous -Sainte- Anne was until well into the 20th century a predominantly coined by agriculture and forestry as well as by the metal processing village. The blacksmith shop was closed in 1969. Today, there are some establishments of local small businesses. Many workers are commuters who engage in the larger towns in the vicinity of their work.

Thanks to the proximity of the Source du Lison and other sights benefited Nans -sous -Sainte -Anne today on tourism.

The village is located off the major thoroughfares of the secondary road D492 which leads from Salins- les- Bains to Ornans. Further road links exist with Crouzet Migette and Saraz.