Lancrans
| Lancrans | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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| local community | Valserhône | |
| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Nantua | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 7 ' N , 5 ° 50' E | |
| Post Code | 01200 | |
| Former INSEE code | 01205 | |
| Website | Lancrans | |
 former Mairie Lancrans |
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Lancrans is a former French community and today's commune Déléguée with 1,054 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Ain in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It belongs to the canton Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in the Arrondissement Nantua and was a member of the community association Pays Bellegardien .
geography
Lancrans is located at 500 m , about two kilometers north of the town of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine , 48 km east of the prefecture of Bourg-en-Bresse and 26 km west-southwest of the city of Geneva (as the crow flies). The village extends in the French Jura on a slope shoulder in the longitudinal valley of the Valserine , which opens here towards the Rhone Valley , above the Bellegarde basin at the western foot of the Grand Crêt d'Eau .
The area of the 9.66 km² former municipal area covers a section of the Upper Jurassic. The western border runs along the Valserine, which flows from north to south in an erosion valley cut around 100 m into the surroundings and disappears underground in the Perte de la Valserine . The valley is accompanied on both sides by steep slopes, some of which are criss-crossed with ledges. From the course of the river, the former municipal area extends eastward onto the slope shoulder of Lancrans. This is followed by the wooded steep slope of the easternmost Jura ridge. The area extends to the wide ridge of the Grand Crêt d'Eau, on which the highest point in Lancrans is reached at 1570 m . There are extensive mountain pastures above around 1400 m . The municipality is part of the Haut-Jura Regional Nature Park (French: Parc naturel régional du Haut-Jura ) and the Haute Chaîne du Jura nature reserve .
In addition to the actual village, Lancrans also includes various hamlets and farms, namely:
- La Pierre ( 400 m ) on the eastern slope of the Valserine on the outskirts of Bellegarde
- Balloon ( 510 m ) on a leveled area on the eastern slope of the Valserine
- Grande Côte ( 580 m ) on the shoulder of the slope north of the village
Neighboring municipalities of Lancrans were Confort in the north, Collonges in the east, Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in the south and Châtillon-en-Michaille in the west. Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Châtillon-en-Michaille and Lancrans were merged to form Commune nouvelle Valserhône with effect from January 1, 2019 .
history
Lancrans was first mentioned in 1344 under the name Lancrenz . In the course of time the spelling changed via Lancrans (1460), Lancran (1607) and Lancrens (1790) to the current name. The place name goes back to the Burgundian personal name Langrid and, together with the suffix -ans, means as much as for the people of Langrid .
In the Middle Ages, Lancrans belonged to the domain of the Château de Ballon , which controlled the trade route through the Rhone Valley and the Valserine Valley. The rule was owned by the Thoire-Villars and came under the sovereignty of Savoy in 1329. For a long time Lancrans formed a large community which stretched over the entire eastern slope of the Valserine near Bellegarde. It was not until 1858 that Confort and Vanchy were separated and made independent communities. The latter is now part of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
Attractions
The parish church of Saint-Amand in Lancrans was rebuilt in the 19th century on the site of an earlier church and has a tombstone from the 14th century. Above the village is the Notre Dame des Grâces chapel, founded in 1689 and restored in 1974. The ruins of the medieval Ballon Castle (built in the 12th century) have been preserved. The natural sights include the Pertes de la Valserine , a rock gorge into which the Valserine falls with a waterfall and then disappears under the natural bridge Pont des Oules.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 891 |
| 1968 | 872 |
| 1975 | 836 |
| 1982 | 752 |
| 1990 | 815 |
| 1999 | 935 |
| 2006 | 1005 |
| 2011 | 1046 |
| 2017 | 1054 |
With 1054 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) Lancrans was one of the smaller communities in the Ain department. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century, the population has continued to grow steadily since the early 1980s. The local residents of Lancrans are called Lancranais (es) in French .
Economy and Infrastructure
Until well into the 20th century, Lancrans was a village dominated by agriculture and forestry. Today there are some local small businesses. Many of the employed people are commuters who work in the larger towns in the area and mainly in Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
The village is located away from the major thoroughfares, but is still well developed in terms of traffic. Lancrans is on the D991 departmental road from Bellegarde-sur-Valserine to Mijoux . There are other road connections with Vanchy and Léaz . The closest connection to the A40 motorway is around seven kilometers away.
In Lancrans there is a state école primaire (elementary school with an integrated preschool ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Lancrans - notice communal. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved on June 3, 2015 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).