Rochejean

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

Geography

Jean Roche is situated on 919 m above sea level, approximately 18 km south-southwest of the town of Pontarlier (air line). The village is located in the Jura, in the longitudinal recess of the Val de Mouthe, which is crossed here by a Talriegel, predominantly on the left (north) side of the Doubs at the western foot of Mont d'Or, near the border with Switzerland.

The area of ​​24.32 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The central part of the area occupied by the approximately one kilometer- wide longitudinal trough of the Val de Mouthe forming a syncline of the Jura Mountains in geological- tectonic terms. The Doubs meanders through a wide Talniederung, breaks through at Rochejean the narrow Talriegel and northeast of the village stands a sharp bend to flow thereafter by a klusartiges valley ( north-eastern boundary of the municipality ) to Lac de Saint-Point. On its northern side the valley floor from the height of Mont de la Croix ( 1022 m) is flanked.

To the south, the municipality's area extends into the partly forested, partly covered with pasture area of the ridge, the southwest stretches for Risoux from Mont d'Or. There are no surface watercourses, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground. The southern border is the Grande Combe, which is in the catchment area of ​​the Orbe. In the far eastern municipality of soil extends to the slopes of Mont d'Or. Here the highest elevation of Rochejean is achieved with 1381 m.

Neighboring communities of Rochejean are Les Villedieu and Brey -et -Maison -du -Bois in the West, Labergement -Sainte -Marie in the north, Fourcatier -et- Maison- Neuve and Longevilles -Mont- d'Or in the East and the Swiss towns Vallorbe Le Lieu in the south.

History

The origin of the settlement should go back to the foundation of the castle on the Roche de Alpe by Jean Chalon - Arlay in 1266. Since the following year, the medieval castle was named in honor of the founder Rochejean. The castle and the settlement that grew beside it, were the focus of a rule, which was under the protection of the House Chalon- Arlay. During the Thirty Years' War the castle and town were destroyed by Swedish troops. Together with the Franche -Comté came Rochejean with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France. Since the 17th century established itself in Rochejean the iron processing, which reached its peak in the early 19th century. After a fire in 1849, the operation was discontinued. Since 1999, Jean Roche is a member of the comprehensive 19 villages municipal association Communauté de communes du Mont d' Or et des Deux Lacs.

Attractions

The parish church of Saint -Jean -Baptiste dates from the 15th and 16th centuries and has a rich interior, including a statue of John the Baptist ( 17th century ), a pulpit from the 17th century and a main altar (early 19th century ). From the medieval castle from the 13th century only a few remains are still preserved.

Population

With 634 inhabitants ( 1 January 2011) Jean Roche is one of the small communities of the department of Doubs. After the population had decreased in the first half of the 20th century (1891 407 persons were still counted ), a significant population increase has been recorded since the early 1980s again.

Economy and infrastructure

Rochejean has long been a predominantly coined by agriculture, especially dairy farming and animal husbandry, as well as by the forestry village. In addition, there are today some of the local small business enterprises, including companies in the wood processing, machine shops and a dairy. 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.

As a resort in a popular tourist area in the High Jura Rochejean now benefiting also from tourism. The community is geared both to the summer tourism (hiking, cycling, fishing) as well as on winter tourism ( alpine and Nordic skiing ).

The village is traffic- technically quite well developed. It is located on a secondary road that leads from Mouthe after Jougne. Further road links exist with Labergement -Sainte -Marie and Les Villedieu. Jean Roche has a station on the railway line from Frasnian to Vallorbe, which was opened in 1915. The station is located at the north portal of the 6079 m long tunnel du Mont d'Or.