Léaz
| Léaz | ||
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Gex | |
| Canton | Thoiry | |
| Community association | Pays de Gex | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 6 ' N , 5 ° 53' E | |
| height | 330-1,507 m | |
| surface | 11.40 km 2 | |
| Residents | 739 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 65 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 01200 | |
| INSEE code | 01209 | |
| Website | www.leaz.fr | |
 View of Léaz from the Montagne de Vuache |
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Léaz is a French municipality with 739 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Ain in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes .
geography
Léaz is 480 m above sea level. M., five kilometers east of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and about 24 kilometers west-southwest of the city of Geneva (as the crow flies). The farming village extends in the Rhone Valley on a ledge around 150 meters above the river, at the western entrance to the Défilé de l'Écluse , at the southern foot of the Jura mountains Grand Crêt d'Eau .
The area of the municipal area of 11.40 square kilometers covers a section of the Rhône valley. The area is shaped by the Rhône, which cuts deep into the surrounding area and forms the eastern and southern boundary and is dammed up here by the Génissiat dam. The community area extends from the river to the northwest on the ridge of Léaz. This rises rapidly to the north to the ridge of the Grand Crêt d'Eau, on whose southern roofing at 1507 m above sea level. M. the highest point of Léaz is reached. In structural and geological terms, this ridge forms an anticline consisting of sediments from the Upper Jurassic period . The Grand Crêt d'Eau is separated from its continuation to the south, the Montagne de Vuache , by the Rhone breakthrough of the Défilé de l'Écluse . The municipality is part of the Upper Jura Regional Nature Park (French: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura ).
In addition to the actual village, Léaz also includes various hamlets and farms, including:
- Grésin (480 m above sea level) on a southern slope above the Rhône valley
- Longeray (480 m above sea level) at the foot of the Grand Crêt d'Eau at the western entrance to the Défilé de l'Écluse
Neighboring municipalities of Léaz are Collonges in the north, Chevrier and Clarafond-Arcine in the east, Éloise in the south and Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and Lancrans in the west.
history
A priory existed on the site of today's Léaz as early as 1123, which belonged to the Cluniac priory in Payerne . Soon a castle was built next to it, which was also under Payerne. In the 13th century the strategic importance of the area at the Rhone breakthrough valley increased because it was on the border of the territories of the Counts of Savoy , the Counts of Geneva and the Pays de Gex. In 1272, Léonète von Gex founded the hamlet of Léaz and gave it certain rights of freedom.
Thus Léaz appears for the first time in documents under the name Leya in 1272 . Over time, the spelling changed via Laya (1285), Aya (1441), Lya , Lyaz (1553) and Leal (1650) to the current name Léaz, which has been in writing since 1850. The place name goes back to the old French word laye , which describes a newly created path in the forest.
As early as 1290, Léaz passed into the hands of Amadeus V of Savoy. The lord of the castle of Léaz was responsible for the security and defense of Fort de La Cluse in the breakthrough valley of the Rhône. From 1536 to 1564 the fort belonged to the Bernese, then until 1590 to the Savoy, before it came to Geneva. After the conclusion of the Treaty of Lyon, the village and fort finally came to France in 1601. In the course of the Napoleonic Wars, the fort was destroyed by Austrian troops in 1815 and then rebuilt until 1830.
Attractions
The village church of Léaz was built in 1675 in the late Gothic style. The ruins of the 13th century castle of Léaz are on a rocky promontory above the Rhône. The Fort de l'Écluse rises at the narrowest point of the clumpy Rhone breakthrough, which is a natural sight. The lower fort (Fort d'en Bas) goes back to a fortification from the 13th century, which was destroyed and rebuilt several times over the years, for example in the 16th and 17th centuries and from 1821 to 1830. The upper fort (Fort d'en Haut) was also given its current appearance in the period from 1820 to 1840. The Viaduc de Longeray , an arched bridge on the Léaz – Saint-Gingolph railway line , and the Pont de Grésin , one of which only crosses a dirt road, crosses the Rhône accessible suspension bridge below the hamlet of Grésin, whose forerunner was part of the Spanish Road in the 17th century , which enabled the Spanish Habsburgs to connect with the Spanish Netherlands .
population
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1962 | 433 |
| 1968 | 405 |
| 1975 | 480 |
| 1982 | 482 |
| 1990 | 461 |
| 1999 | 481 |
| 2007 | 511 |
| 2016 | 719 |
With 739 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Léaz is one of the small communities in the Ain department. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century, population growth was recorded again, especially at the beginning of the 1970s. Since then, the population has remained at a relatively constant level.
Economy and Infrastructure
Until well into the 20th century, Léaz was a predominantly agricultural village. Today there are some local small businesses. In the meantime, the village has also turned into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who go to work in the larger towns in the area, mainly in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
The place is well developed in terms of traffic. It is on the main road N206, which leads from Bellegarde-sur-Valserine to Saint-Julien-en-Genevois . The closest connection to the A40 motorway is around ten kilometers away. The area is crossed by the Geneva – Lyon railway line and the Bellegarde – Annemasse branch line, but Léaz has no train station; the nearest train station is Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
