Le Val-d'Ajol
| Le Val-d'Ajol | ||
|---|---|---|
|
|
|
| region | Grand Est | |
| Department | Vosges | |
| Arrondissement | Epinal | |
| Canton | Le Val-d'Ajol (main town) | |
| Community association | Porte des Vosges Méridionales | |
| Coordinates | 47 ° 56 ' N , 6 ° 29' E | |
| height | 328-761 m | |
| surface | 73.33 km 2 | |
| Residents | 3,871 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 53 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 88340 | |
| INSEE code | 88487 | |
| Website | http://www.valdajol.fr/ | |
 Location of the commune in the Vosges department |
||
Le Val-d'Ajol is a French commune with 3871 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017) in the Vosges department in the Grand Est region (until 2015 Lorraine ). It belongs to the Arrondissement Épinal and is the seat of the canton of Le Val-d'Ajol (previously Plombières-les-Bains ), which was newly created during the 2015 cantonal reform .
geography
The municipality of Le Val-d'Ajol is located on the edge of the southwestern Vosges , about halfway between the towns of Remiremont and Luxeuil-les-Bains , more spaciously between Épinal , Belfort and Vesoul .
At 73.33 km², Le Val-d'Ajol is the largest of the 515 communes in the department. The municipal area borders on the Franche-Comté region to the west, south and east and comprises a 500 to 760 meter high mountain range, which is interrupted by the deeply cut valley of the Combeauté . The Combeauté drains via the Sémouse , the Lanterne and the Saône to the Rhône and thus to the Mediterranean, while the northeastern municipal border forms the European main watershed to the Moselle and Rhine .
Forests cover about 40% of the municipality, especially in the northeast and southeast ( Forêt d'Hérival ) and on the western Combeauté steep slope ( Bois du Chanot ). The agricultural areas in the valleys consist of fields, in higher elevations of pastureland.
Outside of the core town, the municipality has a very relaxed settlement character. The municipality includes the villages and hamlets of Courupt, Faymont, Hamanxard, Hérival, La Battelieule, La Croisette, La Feuillée Dorothée, La Gailland, Larrière, La Ville, Le Hariol, Le Petit Moulin, Le Pré Bosson, Le Roulier, Olichamp and Rapaumont . In addition to the numerous mountain farms, there are many holiday homes, some of which are detached.
Neighboring municipalities of Le Val-d'Ajol are Saint-Nabord in the north, Remiremont and Saint-Étienne-lès-Remiremont in the northeast, Girmont-Val-d'Ajol in the east, La Longine in the southeast, Saint-Bresson in the south, Fougerolles- Saint-Valbert with Fougerolles in the west and Plombières-les-Bains in the north-west.
history
The Prieuré d'Hérival , a priory that was built around 1080 and destroyed in 1800, was significant for the area . Only the guest house of the priory remains today. Hérival as well as the current area of the municipality belonged to the sphere of influence of the Remiremont chapter . The place Herival belonged to Girmont-Val-d'Ajol until 1832, before it was added to Le Val-d'Ajol.
Four years before the end of the Thirty Years War (1618–1648), Le Val-d'Ajol was devastated by Turenne's troops . Since 1697 the municipality has finally belonged to Lorraine. It was part of the Bailiwick of Remiremont until the French Revolution.
The Church of Our Lady of the Assumption ( Notre-Dame de l'Assomption ) with a statue of the Virgin Mary on the main portal was built in 1735 instead of a previous church. The parish in Val d'Ajol was part of the dean's office in Luxeuil of the diocese of Besançon for a long time before it joined the diocese of Saint-Dié in 2000.
The school building ( L'école Sainte-Marie ) was built in 1896.
In 1881 the community got a railway connection. The route led over 16.7 kilometers from Corbenay to the terminus in the district of Faymont . In 1949 the passenger traffic was stopped, since 1991 the entire operation has been closed. The tracks have been dismantled and partially replaced by new cycle paths. The street name Avenue de la Gare still reminds of the former train station of Le Val-d'Ajol .
Population development
| year | 1962 | 1968 | 1975 | 1982 | 1990 | 1999 | 2007 | 2017 |
| Residents | 5380 | 5802 | 5573 | 5229 | 4877 | 4452 | 4138 | 3871 |
From the middle of the 19th to the beginning of the 20th century, Le Val-d'Ajol was the third largest municipality in the Vosges department after Épinal and Saint-Dié-des-Vosges. The downward trend in population development continues unabated to this day.
Attractions
- Notre-Dame de l'Assomption Church ( Monument historique )
- Saint-Pierre Fourier chapel in the hamlet of Le Motiron
- Mathiot chapel in the hamlet of Adelfe
- Cascade de Faymont (waterfall)
- Croix de Larri? Ere, floor cross, Monument historique
Mathiot Chapel
Saint-Pierre Fourier Chapel
Croix de Larri? Ere
Economy and Infrastructure
Numerous craft and service companies are based in Le Val-d'Ajol. The ZI La Croisette industrial park was established on the RN 57 . Some of the residents work in the tourism industry, while some workers commute to neighboring communities.
In the area of Le Val-d'Ajol there are numerous hiking trails as well as a mountain bike route, and cross-country trails are groomed in winter. In addition to numerous holiday homes, there are several hotels, restaurants and pensions in the municipality.
Transport links
The RN 57 from Épinal to Besançon (part of the European route 23 from Metz to Lausanne ) leads through the west of the municipality . The main road through the village of Le Val-d'Ajol runs along the Combeauté valley from Remiremont to Fougerolles . Further road connections lead to the neighboring communities of Girmont-Val-d'Ajol and Plombières-les-Bains .
Personalities
- Aimé Duval (1918–1984), French composer, chansonist
- Dominique Arnould , professional cyclist, world cyclocross champion in 1993, stage winner of the 1992 Tour de France
