Bellefontaine (Vosges)
| Bellefontaine | ||
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| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Vosges | |
| Arrondissement | Epinal | |
| Canton | Le Val-d'Ajol | |
| Community association | Epinal | |
| Coordinates | 48 ° 1 ′ N , 6 ° 27 ′ E | |
| height | 440-614 m | |
| surface | 39.11 km 2 | |
| Residents | 992 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 25 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 88370 | |
| INSEE code | 88048 | |
| Website | bellefontaine.fr | |
 Location of the commune of Bellefontaine in the Vosges department |
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Bellefontaine is a French commune in the department of Vosges in the region of Grand Est (2015 Lorraine ). It belongs to the Arrondissement Épinal and the municipal association Épinal .
geography
The 39.11 km² municipal area of Bellefontaine is located at an average altitude of 550 meters above sea level in the eastern corner of the Vôge plateau , about 22 kilometers south of the city of Épinal and 14 kilometers west of Remiremont .
In the district of Gérardfaing is the source of the 41-kilometer-long Sémouse , which is part of the Rhone river system . The Ruisseau du Pont Jeanson flows through the southern part of the municipal area and flows into the Sémouse. The Sémousetal becomes narrower in the southwest of the municipality and the slope of the river becomes greater, which is the reason for the construction of numerous water mills in historical times. In the source area of the Ruisseau du Pont Jeanson, two larger ponds have been dammed ( Etang des Mottes, Etang de la Plaine ). In the east of the municipality is the source of the Niche , a tributary of the Moselle , so that the Rhine-Rhône watershed runs through the middle of the municipality.
Forests cover about half of the municipality, they belong to the Forêt de Thiébémont in the northwest, Bois des Hauts de Raon in the northeast, Forêt de Humont in the southeast and Forêt de Rechentreux in the southwest. Despite the altitude of over 500 meters above sea level, about half of the agricultural land consists of fields and pastures. The location on a plateau and the lack of protective mountain slopes result in high levels of precipitation. The slight gradient favored the creation of numerous wetlands, including the Pierrache moor , around which a nature trail was laid. Peat was cut here until the 1950s.
In addition to the main town of Bellefontaine and the district of Gérardfaing, the municipality consists of numerous hamlets: Au Caleuchot, Belle-croix, Clairesse, Gérardfaing, Haussonville, Jaillerey, L'Etang des Prêtres, La Gabiotte, La Gand-Croix, La Michotte, La Pierrache, La Trotelée, La Vierge des Voyageurs, Le Banbois, Le Blanc Murger, Le Calvaire, Le Gras Chien, Le Haut de Bellefontaine, Le Marbre, Le Ménil, Le Paquis des Six Frères, Le Pont de Pierre, Le Pont Jeanson, Le Pont Poirot, Le Potet, Le Rupt Guéné, Les Boules, Les Duchênes, Les Huguels, Les Maisons de Raon, Les Marie-Jeanne, Les Retondaines, Les Trayes (petite partie), Les Viaux l'Etang de la Maix, Le Void de Cône, Le Xati, Mailleronfaing and Rougerupt .
The neighboring communities of Bellefontaine are Raon-aux-Bois in the north, Saint-Nabord in the east, Plombières-les-Bains in the south and Xertigny in the west.
history
The name Bellefontaine ( beautiful fountain ) comes from the sources that have been documented since ancient times and that had a reputation for healing.
Bellefontaine was repopulated between the 15th and 16th centuries after it was probably desolate for over 100 years. The name of the hamlet Les Maisons de Raon still reminds of the new settlement from the area of today's neighboring municipality Raon-aux-Bois .
The parish of Bellefontaine was under the monastery (priory) Herivaux in Le Val-d'Ajol until the eighteenth century . Individual hamlets in today's municipality belonged partly to the chapter in Remiremont and to the Ban of Arches . The municipality of Bellefontaine, newly created during the French Revolution, was part of the canton of Éloyes from 1790 to 1801 .
The Notre-Dame de Bon Secours chapel dates from the 19th century, while the Saint-Blaise church dates back to the 11th century.
In the middle of the 19th century, six flour mills were counted in the municipality of Bellefontaines.
The Moulin des Maisons de Raon, Moulin de Jaillerey and Moulin du Pont Poirot (or Moulin Durand ) water mills were powered by the Sémouse . The latter was in operation until the 1980s. The Moulin du Pont de Pierre and the Moulin de Belle-Croix (or Moulin Arnold ) were operated at the Ruisseau du Pont Jeason . After all, the Moulin de Mailleronfaing (or Moulin Brûlé ) stood on the Rouge Rupt, a tributary of the Niche . None of the mills have survived and some of the buildings are still in ruins.
On January 1, 1973 Bellefontaine became part of the municipality of Plombières-les-Bains . This merger was reversed five years later.
Le Blanc Murger / Tréfilerie des Vosges
The forge Le Blanc Murger in the Sémousetal , attested since 1547, was characteristic for the community . In 1728, Duke Leopold of Lothringen authorized the owner Étienne Boisbien to set up a factory for the production of high-quality cutlery. The plant was bought by Denis Vinez in 1754. Following a decree by King Charles X , the Viney brothers were able to set up two new iron smelters, and two more were added from 1844. The new owner, Jean-Baptiste Auguste Daubié, modernized the company with new patents and brought new products to the Paris World Expositions ( Exposition Universelle ) in 1855 and 1867. In 1785 the forge employed 34 workers, in 1887 there were 60 workers. The company still exists today, it has operated under the name Tréfilerie des Vosges (TDV) since 1958 and has around 50 employees. The company specializes in the manufacture of precision profile steel.
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2017 | |
| Residents | 1021 | 927 | 888 | 875 | 917 | 856 | 952 | 992 | |
| Sources: Cassini and INSEE | |||||||||
Attractions
- Pierrache moor with nature trail
- Saint-Blaise church, whose origins date back to the 11th century; The choir, tower and nave were renewed in the 18th century
- Notre-Dame de Bon Secours chapel, built in 1856 for a cholera epidemic, restored in 2006
- 20 floor crosses in the parish of Bellefontaine, the oldest from 1552
Economy and Infrastructure
There are 27 farms (vegetable growing, dairy farming, cattle breeding) located in Bellefontaine. There are also small craft and service companies (plumbing, heating, building trade, roofing, agricultural machinery services). Some residents commute to the business parks in the vicinity. The largest employer in Bellefontaine is the Tréfilerie des Vosges (TDV) precision rolling mill .
Bellefontaine is connected to the nearby towns of Remiremont , Xertigny and Plombières-les-Bains via the D 3 trunk road . The nearest train station is in Xertigny, seven kilometers away.
Partner municipality
Bellefontaine has a partnership with the municipality of Yébleron in the Seine-Maritime department .
supporting documents
- ↑ Les moulins de Bellefontaine ( Memento of July 11, 2012 in the web archive archive.today ) (French)
- ↑ tdv precision cold rolls ( Memento from September 1, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (German)
- ↑ Bellefontaine on cassini.ehess.fr
- ↑ Bellefontaine on insee.fr
- ↑ Farms on annuaire-mairie.fr (French)
Web links
- Community presentation ( memento of June 9, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) (French)
- Population statistics