Saint-Germain-de-Joux
Saint- Germain- de -Joux is a commune in the French department of Ain, in the Rhône -Alpes.
Geography
Saint- Germain- de -Joux is located on 506 m above sea level. M., about ten kilometers northwest of the town of Bellegarde -sur -Valserine (air line). The village is located in the French Jura in the narrow valley of the Semine, in the here flows from the west of the valley section of cluse de Nantua, between the Jura mountains of Retord in the south and in the north Échallon.
The area of 11.27 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the high Jura. The area is crossed from north to south of the Semine ( right tributary of the Valserine ) in a deeply incised in the Jura mountains valley. In Saint- Germain- de -Joux flows from west of Combet, which drains the eastern part of cluse de Nantua. The municipal ban also includes the steep and partially surmounted by walls of rock slopes on both sides of the valleys of Semine and Combet. To the north- east, the municipality area covers a wide wooded ridges of the Jura, on the with 1091 m above sea. M. is reached the highest point of Saint- Germain -de- Joux.
At Saint- Germain- de -Joux addition to the actual village also includes various hamlets and farmhouses, including:
- La Voûte (520 m above sea level. M. ) in the cluse de Nantua west of the village
- Les Combes (610 m above sea level. M. ) on the eastern flank of the Semine
- Marnod (710 m above sea level. M. ) on a ridge east of the Valley of Semine
Neighboring municipalities of Saint- Germain -de- Joux Échallon and Giron in the north, and Champfromier Montanges in the east, Châtillon -en- Michaille and Lalleyriat in the south and Charix and Plagne in the West.
History
The area of Saint- Germain- de -Joux in the Middle Ages belonged to the estate of the monastery of Nantua, which had built a fort here in the 13th century. The control of the time already important route through the cluse de Nantua took over in the 14th century the Counts of Savoy. Is first mentioned the town in 1302 under the Latinized name Sanctus Germanus jurensis; 1622 the name Sainct Germain has survived.
Attractions
The parish church of Saint- Germain- de -Joux was rebuilt in the early 19th century. In the churchyard is a Gothic chapel.
Population
With 477 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Saint- Germain- de -Joux is one of the small communities of the department of Ain. After the population had declined significantly during the 20th century (1881 the village had 965 inhabitants still ), a slight population growth has been recorded since the early 1990s again.
Economy and infrastructure
Saint- Germain- de -Joux was until well into the 20th century a predominantly coined by farming village. In addition, there are today some of the local small business enterprises. Many working population commuters who engage in the larger towns in the area and mainly in Bellegarde -sur -Valserine their work.
The village has good transport links. It lies on the main road D1084, which runs from Bellegarde- sur -Valserine via Nantua to Pont- d'Ain. More about regional road links exist with Oyonnax, Saint- Claude and Le Grand- Abergement. The A40 motorway, which was opened in 1989, runs south of Saint- Germain- de -Joux by a 1 km long tunnel. The nearest port is located at a distance of about nine miles. Saint- Germain- de -Joux had a station on the railway line from Bellegarde via Nantua to Bourg -en- Bresse. The route has been reactivated as a TGV line skin -Bugey again in 2010 ( without a stop in Saint- Germain ).