Le Lieu

Le Lieu
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Vaud (VD)
District :	Jura north vaudois
BFS no. :	5873
Postal code :	1345 Le Lieu 1343 Les Charbonnières
UN / LOCODE :	CH LLU
Coordinates :	511451  /  166906 coordinates: 46 ° 38 '51 "  N , 6 ° 16' 55"  O ; CH1903:  511451  /  166906
Height :	1043  m above sea level M.
Height range :	988–1419 m above sea level M.
Area :	32.54  km²
Residents:	874 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	27 inhabitants per km²
Website:	www.lelieu.ch
Le Lieu
Location of the municipality

Le Lieu ([ lə ʎø ], in the native Franco-Provençal dialect [ lu ʎø ], [ o lø ] or [ lu ʎœ ]) is a municipality in the Jura-Nord vaudois district of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland .

geography

Aerial photo (1964)

Le Lieu is 1043  m above sea level. M. , 31 km southwest of the district capital Yverdon-les-Bains and 30 km northwest of Lausanne (linear distance). The municipality extends in the Vallée de Joux , in a basin that is separated from the Lac de Joux by the ridges of Le Revers , on the edge of the Petit Risoux , in the Vaud Jura .

The area of ​​the 32.6 km² municipal area comprises a section of the Vaudois Jura and the north-western half of the water surface of Lac de Joux and Lac Brenet, which is adjacent to the north . From the steep bank of Lac de Joux, the municipality extends northwest over the limestone ridge of the Revers , the basin of Le Lieu, in which the small lake Lac Ter ( 1017  m above sea level ) is located, to the anticline of the Petit Risoux . On the Gros Crêt is 1419  m above sea level. M. reached the highest point of Le Lieu. The Risoux is mostly forest-covered, but also shows open areas, typical Jura high pastures with spruce trees either individually or in groups, as well as sinkholes and depressions without drainage above ground. In the far north-east, the area extends to the Roche des Arcs ( 1210  m above sea level ) and the Col du Mont d'Orzeires pass . In 1997, 3% of the municipal area was in settlements, 60% in forests and woodlands, 34% in agriculture and a little less than 3% was unproductive land.

Le Lieu includes the two villages of Le Séchey ( 1037  m above sea level ) on the north-eastern edge of the hollow of Lac Ter and Les Charbonnières ( 1017  m above sea level ) on the south-west bank of Lac Brenet. Le Lieu also includes the Les Esserts-de-Rive settlement ( 1008  m above sea level ) on the banks of the Lac de Joux and numerous individual farms that are widely scattered on the heights of the Petit Risoux. Neighboring municipalities of Le Lieu are Vallorbe , L'Abbaye and Le Chenit in the canton of Vaud and Mouthe , Sarrageois , Les Villedieu and Rochejean in neighboring France .

population

With 874 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Le Lieu is one of the smaller municipalities in the canton of Vaud. 88.4% of the residents are French-speaking, 3.5% German-speaking and 2.5% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Le Lieu was 1024 inhabitants in 1860 and 1161 in 1900. Then a decline set in (1960 still 970 inhabitants), which intensified massively especially during the economic crisis in the 1970s. From 1970 to 1980 a population decrease from 924 to 703 inhabitants was registered. Since then, a slight upward trend has been observed again.

economy

In addition to agriculture , craft and industrial activities developed in Le Lieu early on . At the beginning of the development stood the iron mining at Les Charbonnières , which has been documented since 1514 . Several small ironworks were in operation until the 18th century. Since the 16th century, wood has been felled in the area of ​​Les Charbonnières and made into charcoal (hence the place name). This was required for the Vallorbe smelting furnaces . There was also a metalworking company in Le Lieu from 1650 to 1750. Around the middle of the 18th century, these branches of industry were replaced by watchmaking , which was initially done at home and then in factories from the middle of the 19th century.

Today the main occupations of the population can be found in the watchmaking industry, in the electronics industry, in metal processing, the manufacture of switchgear, in the IT industry, in sawmills and in wood processing. There are also some jobs in the tourist sector. Agriculture is of little importance with cattle breeding and dairy farming as well as the production of Vacherin . A home for the disabled has existed in Le Lieu since 1985.

tourism

The area around Lac de Joux and Lac Brenet is a popular destination. In summer, water sports can be practiced on the lake. Extensive hikes can be undertaken during the summer, and the topography of the area is suitable for cross-country skiing in the winter .

traffic

The municipality is located on the main road from Vallorbe to Le Sentier . From Les Charbonnières a road leads over the Risoux to Mouthe in France . On August 21, 1899, the Pont – Brassus Railway (PBr) began operating the railway line between Le Pont and Le Brassus. There are train stations or stops in Les Charbonnières, Le Séchey, Le Lieu and Les Esserts-de-Rive.

history

Part of the municipality of Les Charbonnières

The beginning of the local history is not properly documented. Probably in the 5th or 6th century a hermit named Poncet settled on the site of today's Le Lieu. The resulting hermitage was first mentioned in 1155 under the name locus dompni Pontii heremitae . As early as 1200, the hermitage was abandoned in favor of the Premonstratensian monastery in L'Abbaye . However, the area around Le Lieu was reclaimed and some hamlets developed from the beginning of the 14th century. In 1408 the name Le Lieu Poncet appeared in the documents.

The municipality of Le Lieu initially comprised the entire Vallée de Joux, roughly within the boundaries of today's La Vallée district . From 1334 to 1536 it belonged to the lordship of Les Clées . With the conquest of Vaud by Bern in 1536, Le Lieu came under the administration of the Kastlanei Les Clées in the Bailiwick of Yverdon . In 1566 the municipality was assigned to the Romainmôtier bailiwick. In the following period, first L'Abbaye (1571) and then Le Chenit (1646) split off from the entire municipality of Le Lieu. After the collapse of the Ancien Régime , Le Lieu belonged to the canton of Léman from 1798 to 1803 during the Helvetic Republic, which then became part of the canton of Vaud when the mediation constitution came into force . In 1798 the municipality was assigned to the La Vallée district. Since 1719 there were five factions in Le Lieu, which were combined into three factions in 1939. Only two factions have existed since 2004, as the Le Lieu settlement was abolished as a separate faction. The parliamentary groups have a certain degree of partial autonomy.

Attractions

The Saint-Théodule chapel, the predecessor of today's church, was built in Le Lieu in 1416. The church of Les Charbonnières dates from 1834.

Web links

Commons : Le Lieu  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Official website of the municipality of Le Lieu (French)
• Olivier Pichard: Lieu, Le. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Germain Hausmann: Combenoire. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .
• Aerial views of Le Lieu
• Aerial views of Les Charbonnières
• Aerial views of Le Séchey
• Vallée de Joux (French)

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent and non-permanent resident population by year, canton, district, municipality, population type and gender (permanent resident population). In: bfs. admin.ch . Federal Statistical Office (FSO), August 31, 2019, accessed on December 22, 2019 . 
2. ↑ Florence Cattin / Wulf Müller, Le Lieu VD (La Vallée) in: Dictionnaire toponymique des communes suisses - Lexicon of Swiss community names - Dizionario toponomastico dei comuni svizzeri (DTS | LSG) , Center de dialectologie, Université de Neuchâtel, Verlag Huber, Frauenfeld / Stuttgart / Vienna 2005, ISBN 3-7193-1308-5 and Éditions Payot, Lausanne 2005, ISBN 2-601-03336-3 , p. 518.