Villers-le-Sec, Haute-Saône

Villers- le -Sec is a commune in Haute -Saône in the Franche -Comté.

Geography

Villers- le -Sec is located at an altitude of 279 m above sea level, about 5 km southeast of the town of Vesoul (air line). The village is located in the central part of the department, on a plateau southeast of the Bay of Vesoul, on the western edge of the plateau of the Bois de Noroy.

The area of ​​11.11 km ² municipal area includes a portion of the area of ​​the hill country between the basin of Vesoul and the valley of Ognon. The main part of the territory is occupied plateau of Villers -le- Sec, which is embedded as well in the surrounding heights. It extends in a northwest-southeast, has a maximum width of four kilometers and is on average 270 m. Here predominant agricultural use. Flanked the trough in the east of the wooded heights of the Bois de Noroy ( to 320 m). To the southeast, the municipality's area extends to the heights that mark the watershed between Durgeon and Ognon. With 389 m is achieved on the very south Montcuchot the highest elevation of Villers- le -Sec.

In structural geological terms, the area around Villers- le -Sec is complicated. It is crossed by numerous runs in the southwest-northeast direction distortions. The substrate consists of an alternation of calcareous and sandy- marly sediments of Middle Jurassic time. In the whole area there are no surface watercourses, because the rainwater seeps into the karst underground.

At Villers- le -Sec addition to the actual site include various hamlets and farmhouses:

• Les Belles Baraques (285 m) in the hollow on the eastern edge of the Bois de Belle Cote
• Saint- Igny (295 m) at the southern foot of the Grand Mont
• Les Marcassins (306 m) at the northern foot of the Montcuchot
• Granges Mercier ( 300 m) at the northern foot of the Montcuchot

Neighboring communities of Villers- le -Sec are Colombe- lès- Vesoul in the north, Noroy -le- Bourg in the east, Dampierre -sur- Linotte and Neurey -lès -la- Demie in the south and Quincey in the West.

History

In the Middle Ages Villers- le -Sec belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in the territory of the Bailliage d' amont. The local government had held the Lords of Montaigu. Together with the Franche -Comté reached the village with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678 definitively to France. To a field change occurred in 1807, when the previously independent Saint- Igny (1806: 41 inhabitants) was incorporated into Villers- le -Sec. Towards the end of the 19th century the village was connected with the opening of the tram line from Vesoul after Montbozon to the French railway network. The operation of the line, however, was set back in the 20th century. Today Villers- le -Sec is a member of the comprehensive 12 villages municipal association Communauté de communes des Grands Bois.

Attractions

The church of Saint -Denis was rebuilt in 1774 and remodeled in 1835. In the old town there are various buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries, which show the characteristic style of the Haute -Saône. In Saint- Igny is a single-nave Romanesque chapel, which dates back to the 12th and 13th centuries. It is classified as a monument historique since 1979 and is home to a statue of Christ (15th century) and a Madonna statue and a statue of Saint Aignan ( 16th century).

Population

With 530 inhabitants (2007 ) Villers- le -Sec is one of the smaller towns in the Haute- Saône. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (1881 412 persons were still counted ), a continuous population growth was recorded since the mid-1970s again. Since then, the population has doubled.

Economy and infrastructure

Villers- le -Sec was until well into the 20th century a predominantly by agriculture (crops, orchards and livestock ) and forestry embossed village. Today, there are some farms of the local small business, especially a company in the transport industry and a fine mechanical workshop. In recent decades the village has been transformed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who do their work in the agglomeration Vesoul.

The village has good transport links. It is located near the main road D9, which runs from Vesoul to Villers Exel. Further road links exist with Colombe- lès- Vesoul and Dampierre -sur- Linotte.