Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux
Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux is a commune in the French department of Jura in the Franche -Comté. It is the capital of the canton of Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux in the arrondissement of Saint -Claude.
Geography
Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux is located on 905 m above sea level. M. nine kilometers northwest of Morez and about 22 km north- northeast of the town of Saint- Claude ( straight line ). The village is located in the Jura, on the vast plateau of Grandvaux, northwest of the forest heights of the Forêt de la Joux Devant on the climb to the Col de la Savine.
The area of 17.57 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the French Jura. The main part of the territory occupied by the plateau of Grandvaux ( average altitude of 900 m. M. ). It shows only slight differences in relief and is mainly composed of meadow and pasture land. The northeastern part of this plateau is drained by the headwaters of the Lemme north to Saine. In the remaining part of the municipal area there are no surface watercourses, as the rain water seeps into the porous limestone substrate.
In the southeast the plateau of Grandvaux from the high ridges of the Forêt de la Joux Devant is flanked, the geologically forms an anticlinal folds of the Jura. This rough area is characterized by parallel ridges and intervening terrain, above ground septic wells. With 1094 m above sea level. M. is achieved at the level of Joux Devant the highest elevation of Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux. The area of Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux is part of the Parc Naturel Régional du Haut- Jura.
At Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux addition to the actual site also includes several hamlets, groups of farms and individual farms, including:
- Salave de Vent (906 m above sea level. M. ) west on the high plateau of the village
- Salave de Bise ( 895 m above sea level. M. ) on the plateau west then to the village
- Les Poncet ( 897 m above sea level. M. ) on the plateau west of the village
- La Savine (877 m above sea level. M. ) in the headwaters of Lemme 's ascent to the Col de la Savine
Neighboring municipalities of Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux are La Chaumusse and Fort-du- Plasne in the north, Lac -des- Rouges- Truites in the east, Morbier and Grande- Rivière Saint -Pierre in the south and the west.
History
Saint -Laurent is the center of the plateau of Grandvaux that has been cleared since the 6th century. Since the 13th century the village belonged to the dominion of the Abbey of Saint -Claude. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 to France. To avoid confusion with other municipalities of the same name, the town was officially renamed in 1962 from Saint -Laurent in Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux.
Attractions
The present parish church was built in the 18th century and has an octagonal choir. There are two former windmills, one of which was converted into a chapel.
Population
With 1816 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011 ) Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux one of the smaller towns in the Jura. Once the population has consistently had in the first half of the 20th century in the area of around 1000 people, a significant population increase was recorded from 1955 to 1985. Since then, the population remained at a constant level.
Economy and infrastructure
Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux has long been a predominantly coined by agriculture, especially livestock and dairy farming, as well as by the forestry village. In the 20th century, two companies in the toy industry and the production of glasses dominated the economic life of Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux. Their closure hit the village hard. Today there are various operations of the small business sector and the retail trade. Many workers are also 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 Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux now benefiting also from tourism, especially on winter tourism if it can be operated on the high plateau skiing.
The village has good transport links and forms a road junction. It lies on the main road N5, which runs from Geneva via Morez to Dole. Other national and regional road links exist with Lons- le -Saunier, Saint- Claude and Mouthe. Saint -Laurent -en- Grandvaux has a station on the railway opened in 1900 line of Champagnole after Morez.