Arc-les-Gray
| Arc-les-Gray | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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| region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
| Department | Haute-Saône | |
| Arrondissement | Vesoul | |
| Canton | Gray | |
| Community association | Val de Gray | |
| Coordinates | 47 ° 27 ' N , 5 ° 35' E | |
| height | 187-246 m | |
| surface | 12.10 km 2 | |
| Residents | 2,540 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 210 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 70100 | |
| INSEE code | 70026 | |
| Website | http://www.arc-les-gray.com/ | |
Arc-lès-Gray is a commune in the French department of Haute-Saône in the region Bourgogne Franche-Comté .
geography
Arc-lès-Gray is located at an altitude of 198 m above sea level, one kilometer north of Gray and about 42 kilometers west-northwest of the city of Besançon (as the crow flies). The village extends in the south-west of the department, on the edge of the plain of Gray, on the northern edge of the Saône valley and its tributary Écoulottes.
The area of the 12.10 km² municipal area covers a section of the central Saône valley. The southern border mostly runs along the Saône, which flows here to the west through an alluvial plain . The plain is 185 m on average and one to three kilometers wide. From the course of the river, the community area extends northwards over the valley floor and a 40 m high step onto the adjacent plateau. This consists of alternating layers of sandy, marly and calcareous layers from the Upper Jurassic period . It is divided by the almost one kilometer wide valley low of the Ruisseau des Écoulottes , which flows into the Saône at Arc-lès-Gray. The plateau is mainly used for agriculture, but there are also some forest areas. At 246 m, the highest point of Arc-lès-Gray is reached on the hill north of the village. The western border is marked by the Bois Guyot .
Arc-lès-Gray includes the La Maison-des-Bois settlement (195 m) on the north bank of the Saône, as well as various industrial and commercial estates. Neighboring municipalities of Arc-lès-Gray are Chargey-lès-Gray in the north, Rigny in the east, Gray and Gray-la-Ville in the south and Mantoche and Nantilly in the west.
history
Traces from the Neolithic indicate a very early settlement of the area. There was a Merovingian burial ground in the L'Homme-Mort corridor . Arc is first mentioned in a document in 1144. In the Middle Ages, the village belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in it to the area of the Bailliage d'Amont . The local rule was initially held by Gray. It passed as a fief to Autrey and around 1350 to the Vergy family. Because of its port on the Saône and competition from Gray, Arc was involved in disputes with the neighboring city for a long time. The village was in 1477 by troops of the French King Louis XI. and devastated in 1674 during the conquest under King Louis XIV . Together with Franche-Comté , Arc finally came to France with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678.
The area changed at the beginning of the 19th century: Arc was incorporated into Gray in 1806 together with the previously independent municipality of La Maison-des-Bois. In 1827 Arc regained its independence, with La Maison-des-Bois remaining as a district near Arc. In the middle of the 19th century, Arc experienced an economic boom through industrialization and later through its connection to the French railway network. To avoid confusion with other municipalities of the same name, Arc was officially renamed Arc-lès-Gray in 1962. Today, Arc-lès-Gray is a member of the communal association Communauté de communes du Val de Gray, which comprises 16 localities .
Attractions
The village church of Arc-lès-Gray was built in the 18th century. A stone wayside cross from the 16th century is in La Folie. Other sights include the castle in La Maison-des-Bois, some town houses from the 18th and 19th centuries and the lavoir, once a wash house and cattle trough, which was built in 1883 with arcades.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1851 | 2,094 |
| 1901 | 2,827 |
| 1962 | 2,729 |
| 1968 | 3,108 |
| 1975 | 3,153 |
| 1982 | 3,220 |
| 1990 | 3.121 |
| 1999 | 2,904 |
With 2676 inhabitants (2006), Arc-lès-Gray is one of the larger municipalities in the Haute-Saône department. Thanks to industrialization, the number of inhabitants grew rapidly in the course of the 19th century. During the first half of the 20th century, the population remained constant at around 2,800 people. Another increase was recorded during the 1960s. With more than 3200 inhabitants, the previous high was reached at the beginning of the 1980s. Since then, the population has been falling; since 1982 the population has decreased by almost 20%. Arc-lès-Gray belongs to the Gray agglomeration and has grown together seamlessly with the neighboring municipality of Gray.
Economy and Infrastructure
Arc-lès-Gray was early on a village characterized by river trade and commerce. In the 19th century it grew strongly due to the settlement of industry. Today the village is one of the most important industrial locations in the Haute-Saône department. Arc-lès-Gray is a commuter community with around 1,400 jobs. Large industrial and commercial zones developed near the train station and on the plains along the Saône. Numerous large companies in the agricultural machinery, electrical engineering, metal processing, automotive, textile, food and feed industries, precision mechanics and construction industries have settled here. There is also a supermarket and many retail and service businesses for daily needs.
The village is well developed in terms of traffic. It is on the main D67 road from Besançon via Gray to Langres . Other national road connections exist with Dole , Dijon , Combeaufontaine and Autrey-lès-Gray . The closest connections to the A36 and A31 motorways are around 40 kilometers away. Gray train station is on the parish of Arc-lès-Gray. There are rail connections with Dole, Vesoul and Autrey-lès-Gray. The former line to Besançon ceased operations during World War II.
Web links
- Arc-lès-Gray municipality website (French)
- Statistical data from the Insee on the population of Arc-lès-Gray (PDF file; 74 kB)