Esmoulins
| Esmoulins | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
| Department | Haute-Saône | |
| Arrondissement | Vesoul | |
| Canton | Gray | |
| Community association | Val de Gray | |
| Coordinates | 47 ° 24 ' N , 5 ° 34' E | |
| height | 188-213 m | |
| surface | 4.48 km 2 | |
| Residents | 136 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 30 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 70100 | |
| INSEE code | 70218 | |
Esmoulins is a municipality in the French department of Haute-Saône in the region Bourgogne Franche-Comté .
geography
Esmoulins is located at an altitude of 195 m above sea level, five kilometers south-southwest of Gray and about 39 kilometers west-northwest of the city of Besançon (as the crow flies). The village extends in the south-west of the department, in the plain of Gray on the eastern edge of the Saône valley , at its tributary Tenise, on the western edge of the Forêt des Hauts Bois.
The area of the 4.48 km² municipality covers a section of the central Saône valley. The western border always runs along the Saône, which flows here with several large loops through an alluvial plain . The plain averages 185 m and has a width of about five kilometers. In the Esmoulins area there is the vast wooded area of the Bois de la Vaivre . From the course of the river, the municipal area extends eastward into the Tenise lowlands and to the edge of the Forêt des Hauts Bois . Here, at 213 m, Esmoulins' highest elevation is reached.
Neighboring communities of Esmoulins are Velet in the north, Gray and Champvans in the east, Apremont in the south and Mantoche in the west.
history
Esmoulins is first mentioned in documents in 1270. The place name goes back to the two mills (French: moulin ) that were powered by the water power of the Tenise. In the Middle Ages, the village belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in that part of the Bailliage d'Amont . As part of the siege of Gray, the French King Louis XIV set up his headquarters near Esmoulins in 1668. Together with Franche-Comté , the village finally came to France with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678. Today Esmoulins is a member of the communal association Communauté de communes du Val de Gray, which comprises 16 localities .
Attractions
The Esmoulins chapel was built in the 16th century in the late Gothic style and has remarkable furnishings .
There are five stone wayside crosses from the 17th to 19th centuries. A house with two turrets dates from the 15th century. From the former mills, the Moulin Lingerie (also Moulin de Brussey) still exists today.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 96 |
| 1968 | 88 |
| 1975 | 84 |
| 1982 | 140 |
| 1990 | 130 |
| 1999 | 113 |
With 144 inhabitants (2006) Esmoulins is one of the smallest municipalities in the Haute-Saône department. After the population had been between 80 and 120 in the first half of the 20th century, population growth has been recorded since the mid-1970s.
Economy and Infrastructure
Until well into the 20th century, Esmoulins was primarily a village characterized by agriculture (arable farming, fruit growing and cattle breeding) and forestry. Outside the primary sector there are few jobs in the village. Some workers are also commuters who work in the larger towns in the area and in the Besançon agglomeration.
The village is well developed in terms of traffic. It is close to the main D475 road from Gray to Dole . Further road connections exist with Apremont and Velet.
