Lajoux (Jura)
| Lajoux | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
| Department | law | |
| Arrondissement | Saint-Claude | |
| Canton | Saint-Lupicine | |
| Community association | Haut-Jura Saint-Claude | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 23 ' N , 5 ° 58' E | |
| height | 936-1,495 m | |
| surface | 23.65 km 2 | |
| Residents | 262 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 11 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 39310 | |
| INSEE code | 39274 | |
 View from the east |
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Lajoux is a municipality in the French department of Jura in the region Bourgogne Franche-Comté .
geography
Lajoux is located at 1171 m , making it the highest enclosed village in the French Jura , about nine kilometers east of the city of Saint-Claude (as the crow flies). The village extends in the high Jura, in a hollow of the Hautes-Combes, west of the valley of the Valserine .
The area of the 25.70 km ² municipal area covers a section of the French Jura. The area lies almost exclusively on the plateau of the Hautes-Combes (on average at 1200 m ). The landscape is wavy and shows terrain structures such as ridges and hollows, which are oriented in a south-west-north-east direction according to the direction of the fold of the Jura in this area. The basin layers do not have any surface drainage, as the rainwater seeps into the porous calcareous subsoil. In various places there are typical karst phenomena such as sinkholes and cart fields . The high plateau of the Hautes-Combes shows a loose structure of pastureland and forest.
The south-eastern boundary is the course of the Valserine, which flows here in an open valley ( Combe de Mijoux ) to the south-west and separates the plateau of the Hautes-Combes from the main Jura chain, the Haute Chaîne . The municipal area extends in a long strip to the northeast almost to the state border with Switzerland and always includes the right valley slope of the Valserine ( Côte de Mijoux ) and the adjacent ridge of the Crêt Pela (at 1,495 m the highest elevation in Lajoux), the is densely forested ( Forêt du Massacre ). The municipality is part of the Upper Jura Regional Nature Park (French: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura ). The park administration and the Maison du parc visitor center are also located here .
Lajoux includes the part of Mijoux north of the Valserine as well as numerous farm groups and individual farms. Neighboring municipalities of Lajoux are
- Prémanon in the north,
- Divonne-les-Bains in the east,
- Mijoux in the south,
- Septmoncel les Molunes with Les Molunes in the south and Septmoncel in the west,
- Lamoura to the west.
history
Lajoux was created as a passport at a transition from the Geneva region and the Pays de Gex over the Col de la Faucille to Saint-Claude and further into Burgundy, which has been important since the Middle Ages . The Forêt du Massacre northeast of the village got its name from the companies in the year 1535 raid by troops of the Duke of Savoy to around 600 Italian mercenaries by the French king I. Franz were sent to reinforce the besieged by the Savoy Geneva.
In the Middle Ages, the valley of Mijoux was for a long time a matter of dispute between the Abbot of Saint-Claude and the Lords of Gex, until finally in 1612 the border was definitely drawn along the course of the Valserine, which in fact led to the division of Mijoux : the main part of the Village remained with Gex , while the part to the right of the Valserine with the old hospital, which had existed since the 14th century, came to Lajoux and thus to Septmoncel. It was not until 1839 that Lajoux was separated from Septmoncel and raised to an independent municipality. Today Lajoux is the administrative center of the communes of Hautes-Combes.
Attractions
The present church was built in the 18th century on the site of the former Mijoux hospital chapel (on the grounds of Lajoux).
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 193 |
| 1968 | 149 |
| 1975 | 121 |
| 1982 | 158 |
| 1990 | 197 |
| 1999 | 220 |
| 2004 | 256 |
With 262 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Lajoux is one of the small communities in the Jura department. After the population had decreased markedly in the first half of the 20th century (553 people were counted in 1896), the population has increased again since the mid-1970s.
Economy and Infrastructure
Until well into the 20th century, Lajoux was primarily a village characterized by agriculture , in particular cattle and dairy farming, and forestry. In addition, there are now some local small businesses. Many workers are also commuters who work in the larger towns in the area.
As a resort in a popular excursion area in the High Jura, Lajoux now also benefits from tourism, especially from winter tourism when cross-country skiing can be practiced on the Hautes-Combes plateau. The somewhat steeper slopes around Lajoux are made accessible by ski lifts for alpine skiing.
The village is very well developed in terms of traffic. It is on a main road that leads from Saint-Claude to the Col de la Faucille. Further road connections exist with Lamoura and Les Moussières .
