Billiat
| Billiat | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Nantua | |
| Canton | Bellegarde-sur-Valserine | |
| Community association | Pays Bellegardien | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 5 ' N , 5 ° 47' E | |
| height | 324-1,314 m | |
| surface | 13.70 km 2 | |
| Residents | 622 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 45 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 01200 | |
| INSEE code | 01044 | |
 Saint-Pierre church |
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Billiat is a French municipality with 622 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Ain in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It belongs to the canton of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in the Arrondissement of Nantua and is a member of the Pays Bellegardien municipal association .
geography
Billiat is located at 540 m , about five kilometers southwest of the city of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine , 45 kilometers east-southeast of the prefecture of Bourg-en-Bresse and 31 km west-southwest of the city of Geneva (as the crow flies). The farming village extends in the Bellegarde basin, in a panoramic position on the Michaille plateau, around 220 m above the Rhone valley , at the eastern foot of the Plateau de Retord , a high plateau of the French Jura .
The area of the 13.70 km² municipal area covers a section of the Rhône valley. The eastern part of the municipality is occupied by the wide plateau of the Michaille, which lies at an average of 540 m . It descends gradually towards the east and is subdivided by the valleys of short side streams of the Rhône. The eastern border runs along the Rhône, which here lies in a valley flanked by rock walls and is dammed up into a long lake by the Génissiat dam . To the west, the community area extends with a narrow strip over the steep Jura slope to the Plateau de Retord , on which the highest elevation of Billiat is reached at 1310 m .
The hamlet of Davarod ( 570 m ) and some farms belong to Billiat . Neighboring communities of Billiat are Villes and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in the north, Saint-Germain-sur-Rhône in the east, Injoux-Génissiat in the south and Haut-Valromey with Hotonnes in the west.
history
Billiat is first mentioned in a document in 1198 under the name Billiacus . The names De Billie (1278) and Billia (16th century) have survived from a later period . The place name goes back to the Gallo-Roman personal name Billius and means something like Billius's estate (Billiacum). Since the 12th century Billiat formed a parish and a lordship that was under the sovereignty of the Counts of Savoy. In the 14th century the place was the seat of a Kastlanei.
Attractions
The village church of Billiat was given its present form when it was rebuilt in the 19th century, including the choir of the Romanesque predecessor building. The Retord Chapel was built in 1846.
population
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2006 | 2011 |
| Residents | 236 | 216 | 293 | 348 | 396 | 411 | 440 | 516 |
With 622 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Billiat is one of the small communities in the Ain department. After the number of inhabitants had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century, strong population growth has been recorded again since the early 1970s. The local residents of Billiat are called Billiatus (es) in French .
Economy and Infrastructure
Until well into the 20th century, Billiat was a predominantly agricultural village. In addition, there are now some local small businesses. In the meantime the village has turned into a residential community. A large number of employed people are commuters who work in the larger towns in the area and mainly in nearby Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
The place is well developed in terms of traffic. It is located on the D991 departmental road from Châtillon-en-Michaille to Seyssel . Other road connections exist with Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and Génissiat. The closest connection to the A40 motorway is around six kilometers away.
In Billiat there is a state école primaire (elementary school with an integrated preschool ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ É. Philipon: Dictionnaire Topographique du Département de l'Ain . Imprimerie Nationale, 1911, p. 45 (French, online [PDF; accessed January 4, 2014]).
- ^ Billiat - notice communal. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved on June 3, 2015 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).