Sainte-Marie (Doubs)
Sainte -Marie is a commune in the French department Doubs in the Franche -Comté.
Geography
Sainte -Marie is located at 375 m, about 8 km west of the town of Montbéliard (air line). The village is located in the southern part of the plateau, which is nestled in the rolling landscape between the river valleys of the Doubs River in the south and Ognon in the northwest, on the western edge of the height of the Grand Bois.
The area of 7:17 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the gently undulating countryside north of Doubstals. The main part of the area is taken from the plateau of Arcey, which is an average 370 m. It has a width of four miles and a length of about five kilometers and is mainly consisted of arable and meadow land. West of the village, the forest area of the Chênois expands ( to 390 m). In the south, the plateau decreases gradually towards the Doubs Valley. To the north- east, the municipality area extends up to the height of the Grand Bois (446 m) and to the southeast down to the elongated ridge of the Forêt du Mont Bart, on the 449 meters, the highest elevation of Sainte -Marie is achieved. The whole area shows no surface watercourses, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground.
Neighboring municipalities of Sainte- Marie are Saint -Julien -lès -Montbéliard in the north, Présentevillers in the east, Bavans, Lougres and Montenois in the south and Arcey in the West.
History
Since the Middle Ages belonged Sainte- Marie to the territory of the Counts of Montbéliard. With the annexation of that county, the village came in 1793 final in French hands. Today, Sainte -Marie is part of the municipal association Communauté de communes de la Vallée du Rupt.
Attractions
The Reformed Church of Sainte -Marie was built in 1737. From 1960 comes the Catholic chapel.
Population
With 738 inhabitants (as of 1 January 2011) Sainte -Marie among the small communities of the department of Doubs. Once the population has consistently had in the first half of the 20th century in the range of 220 to 275 people, a significant population growth has been recorded since the early 1960s. Since then, the population has more than doubled.
Economy and infrastructure
Sainte -Marie was well into the 20th century, a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. In addition, there is now a company in the transport industry as well as some of the local small business enterprises. Meanwhile, the village has also changed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who do their work in the agglomeration Montbéliard.
The village is located off the major thoroughfares on a secondary road, leading from Bart after Arcey. The nearest links to the A36 motorway is located at a distance of about 12 km. Further road links exist with Lougres, Montenois, Désandans, Échenans and Saint- Julien- lès -Montbéliard.