Giron
| Giron | ||
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Nantua | |
| Canton | Bellegarde-sur-Valserine | |
| Community association | Pays Bellegardien | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 14 ' N , 5 ° 46' E | |
| height | 779-1,206 m | |
| surface | 9.39 km 2 | |
| Residents | 183 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 19 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 01130 | |
| INSEE code | 01174 | |
| Website | www.mairie-giron.fr | |
 View of the village of Giron |
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Giron is a French municipality with 183 inhabitants (as of January 1 2017) in the Ain department in the region of 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
Giron is located at 1000 m , about 14 kilometers north-northwest of the town of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine , 42 km east of the prefecture of Bourg-en-Bresse and 29 km west of the city of Geneva (as the crow flies). The village extends in the French Jura on a plateau sloping slightly to the west above the deeply cut valley of the Semine . It is the highest village in the Ain department.
The area of the municipal area of 9.39 km² includes a section of the Upper Jurassic. The central part of the area is occupied by the Giron plateau (on average at 1000 m ). This sinks slightly to the west and then drops steeply with a densely wooded slope to the valley of the Semine, which drains the community area to the south to the Valserine . To the east of the plateau is an approximately 150 m high slope, which merges further to the east into the high plateau of the Forêt de Champfromier . However, only a narrow strip of this wooded plateau belongs to Giron. The highest point in Giron is reached here at 1200 m . The municipality is part of the Upper Jura Regional Nature Park (French: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura ). Giron is located on the GR 9 long-distance hiking trail and is the southern endpoint of the cross-country skiing variant of the Grande Traversée du Jura .
In addition to the actual village of Giron-Devant , Giron also includes Giron-Derrière ( 990 m ) to the north and some farms. Neighboring municipalities of Giron are Belleydoux in the north, Champfromier in the east, Saint-Germain-de-Joux in the south and Échallon in the west.
history
Giron-Devant originally belonged to the municipality of Champfromier , while Giron-Derrière was part of Échallon . With the French Revolution , the two hamlets were merged to form the new municipality of Giron.
Attractions
The village church of Giron was rebuilt in the 19th century. The approximately 25 m long cave grotte des Abrands is registered as a site classé and can be visited freely.
Population development
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1962 | 140 |
| 1968 | 118 |
| 1975 | 100 |
| 1982 | 99 |
| 1990 | 88 |
| 1999 | 100 |
| 2006 | 135 |
| 2011 | 166 |
With 183 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Giron is one of the smallest communities in the Ain department. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century, a slight population growth has been recorded again since the beginning of the 1990s. The local residents of Giron are called Gironnais (es) in French .
Economy and Infrastructure
Giron was a village dominated by agriculture and forestry until well into the 20th century . Today there are some local small businesses. Many workers are also commuters who work in the larger towns in the area and mainly in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
Due to its location on a plateau made of porous limestone, the place has had to struggle with water supply problems since the beginning. The supply of wells was only possible for individual farmsteads, so that water was made usable with sometimes complex processes such as opening up underground springs, catching rainwater and melting snow. Since 1934, water has been piped or pumped from outside the community into a storage system.
In the last few decades the Giron plateau and the plateau of the Forêt de Champfromier have developed into a winter sports area for cross-country skiers and snowshoe hikes. If the snow conditions are good, around 100 km of cross-country trails are available.
The village is located away from the larger thoroughfares. The main access is from Saint-Germain-de-Joux on the D1084 département road (Bellegarde-sur-Valserine - Nantua ). There are other local road connections with Belleydoux, Champfromier and La Pesse . The closest connection to the A40 motorway is around 18 kilometers away.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Un peu d'histoire ... ( Memento of the original from January 16, 2014 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. on the website on the municipality of Giron (French, accessed January 2014).
- ^ Giron - notice communal. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved on June 3, 2015 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).
