Chassal
| Chassal | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| local community | Chassal-Molinges | |
| region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
| Department | law | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Claude | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 21 ' N , 5 ° 47' E | |
| Post Code | 39360 | |
| Former INSEE code | 39113 | |
| Incorporation | 1st January 2019 | |
| status | Commune déléguée | |
Chassal is a village and a former French community with 432 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the department of Jura in the region Bourgogne Franche-Comté . It belonged to the arrondissement of Saint-Claude and the canton of Saint-Lupicin .
With effect from January 1, 2019, the former municipalities of Chassal and Molinges were merged to form the Commune nouvelle Chassal-Molinges and have the status of a Commune déléguée in the new municipality . The administrative headquarters are in Molinges.
geography
Chassal is located at 362 m , about seven kilometers west-southwest of the city of Saint-Claude (as the crow flies). The village extends in the Jura , in the valley of the Bienne , on the south side of the river in a valley widening, at the foot of the ridge of the Crêt de Surmontant.
The area covers a section of the French Jura. The central part is occupied by an approximately 0.5 km wide valley low of the Bienne, which flows here from east to west through the flat valley floor. On the northern edge of the valley opposite Molinges is the karst spring , which is fed, among other things, by the water of the Lac de l'Abbaye . On both sides, the flat floodplain is flanked by steeply rising slopes, some of which are criss-crossed by ledges. The slope of Larrivoire runs to the south, and the area extends into the Longviry valley, which flows into the Bienne below Chassal. To the north the area extends up to a narrow wooded ridge on which the highest point of Chassal is reached at 665 m . The place is part of the Regional Nature Park Haut-Jura (French: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura ).
Chassal includes the hamlet of Marignat ( 360 m ) on the northern side of the Bienne and some individual farms. Neighboring municipalities of Chassal are Lavans-lès-Saint-Claude in the north, Saint-Claude in the east, Larrivoire in the south and Molinges and Pratz in the west.
history
Chassal is first mentioned in a document in 855 under the name Cassenatis . The place belonged to the property of the Abbey of Saint-Claude. In the Middle Ages, Chassal became the center of a rule that was dependent on the abbey. Together with Franche-Comté , the village came to France with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678. The area changed in 1822 when the previously independent Marignat was incorporated into Chassal.
In the middle of the 18th century, the quarrying of marble began near Chassal, which was worked from 1827 in the marble grinding shop in the neighboring village of Molinges. The yellowish stone is called Brocatelle . In the course of the 19th century Chassal developed into an industrial location. The water power of the Bienne was used to operate mills and sawmills. A gemstone cutting shop was also located in Chassal well into the 20th century.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 320 |
| 1968 | 352 |
| 1975 | 383 |
| 1982 | 425 |
| 1990 | 492 |
| 1999 | 509 |
Chassal was one of the small communities in the Jura department. After the population in the first half of the 20th century had always been in the range of 350 people, a significant increase in population has been recorded since the early 1960s.
Economy and Infrastructure
Today Chassal is a village characterized by industrial activity. It owns various small and medium-sized businesses that employ around 300 people. The important branches of industry include the plastics industry, the automotive industry, precision engineering workshops and the construction industry. The marble quarry is also still in operation today.
The village is well developed in terms of traffic. It is on the main road from Oyonnax to Saint-Claude . The closest connection to the A404 motorway (Saint-Martin-du-Frêne - Oyonnax) is around 19 km away. Chassal has a train station on the railway line from Oyonnax to Saint-Claude.
