Courfaivre

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Law (JU)

District :

Delémont

Municipal municipality :

Haute-Sorne

Postal code :

2853

former BFS no. :

6707

Coordinates :

588 264 / 242817 coordinates: 47 ° 20 '10 " N , 7 ° 17' 0" O ; CH1903: 588,264 / 242817

Height :

460 m above sea level M.

Area :

12.40 km²

Residents:

1600 (December 31, 2012)

Population density :

129 inhabitants per km²

Website:

www.haute-sorne.ch

map

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2013

Courfaivre was a municipality in the Delémont district of the canton of Jura in Switzerland . On January 1, 2013, it merged with the municipalities of Bassecourt , Glovelier , Soulce and Undervelier to form the new municipality of Haute-Sorne .

geography

Aerial photo (1955)

Courfaivre is 460 m above sea level. M. , six kilometers southwest of the canton capital Delémont (linear distance ). The elongated village is located south of the Sorne , in the western part of the Delsberg basin , a wide depression in the Jura .

The area of the community area of 12.4 km² covers a section in the west of the intensely agriculturally used plain of the Delsberg basin. The central part of the municipality is taken up by the wide valley of the Sorne, which drains the area to the Birs . In the north the area extends to the Sur Chaux hill (up to 589 m above sea level ), an isolated elevation in the Delsberg basin. Courfaivre extends to the south as far as the ridge of the Le Mont Jura range (up to 1026 m above sea level ). Its steep northern slope is densely forested ( Forêt de l'Aimery ) and has several small erosion valleys in the hard limestone cover layer . In 1997, 9% of the municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 40% by forests and woodlands and 51% by agriculture.

Courfaivre has several individual farms. Courfaivre's neighboring municipalities are Bassecourt , Develier , Courtételle , Soulce and Undervelier .

population

Population development
year	Residents
1850	668
1900	659
1910	777
1930	914
1950	1214
1960	1307
1970	1326
1980	1256
1990	1348
2000	1537

With 1,600 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2012) Courfaivre was one of the larger municipalities in the canton of Jura. 91.9% of the residents are French-speaking, 3.1% German-speaking and 1.8% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Courfaivre increased significantly, especially in the first half of the 20th century and during the 1990s.

economy

Courfaivre developed into an industrial village at the end of the 19th century. The most important employer in the village is the Condor bicycle, motorcycle and machine factory , which was founded in 1893 and was particularly successful in the period between the two world wars. There are other jobs in the metal construction and mechanical industry. Because of the fertile soil in the region, agriculture still has a certain importance.

traffic

The community has good transport links. It is located on the thoroughfare from Delémont to La Chaux-de-Fonds and had a lot of through traffic until the opening of the Delémont - Porrentruy section of the A16 motorway . On October 15, 1876, the Delémont – Glovelier railway was opened with a station in Courfaivre.

history

Traces of settlement from the late Bronze and Iron Ages indicate a very early settlement of the Courfaivre municipality. A coin deposit from the 1st century AD proves the presence of the Romans . In addition, several cemeteries from the early Middle Ages were discovered.

The village was first mentioned in 1147 as Curfavro in a document from the Cistercian monastery of Lucelle . Courfaivre came to the Duchy of Basel in 1271 as one of the 13 free villages in the Delsberg domain . The place was devastated during the Thirty Years War . From 1793 to 1815 it belonged to France and was initially part of the Département du Mont-Terrible , from 1800 connected to the Département Haut-Rhin . By the decision of the Congress of Vienna , Courfaivre came to the Canton of Bern in 1815 . Since January 1st 1979 the place belongs to the newly founded canton Jura.

Attractions

The current parish church, consecrated to St. Germain of Auxerre, was built in 1701. 1953–54 it was renovated and expanded. She owns significant modern works of art, namely stained glass windows (1954) by Fernand Léger , tapestries in the choir (1957) by Jean Lurçat and a tabernacle (1953) by Remo Rossi . Courfaivre has been its own parish since it was first mentioned in 1327.