Merignat
| Merignat | ||
|---|---|---|
|
||
| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Nantua | |
| Canton | Pont d'Ain | |
| Community association | Rives de l'Ain-Pays du Cerdon | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 4 ' N , 5 ° 26' E | |
| height | 300-587 m | |
| surface | 3.17 km 2 | |
| Residents | 130 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 41 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 01450 | |
| INSEE code | 01242 | |
 View of Mérignat |
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Mérignat is a French commune of 130 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the Ain department in the region of Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It is assigned to the canton of Pont-d'Ain and the Arrondissement of Nantua .
geography
Mérignat is located at 434 m in the Bugey in the southern French Jura Mountains , about 23 kilometers southeast of the prefecture of Bourg-en-Bresse and 58 kilometers northeast of the city of Lyon (as the crow flies). The 3.17 km 2 municipal area comprises a small plateau in the foothills between the flat landscape of the Dombes in the west and the first Jura mountain ranges in the east. The northern and eastern municipal boundaries follow the relief of the Cerdon valley, which is about 150 m deep in this area . There are several springs on the parish ground, some of which is collected.
The hamlet of Preau lies on the municipal boundary with Cerdon, so that some houses and a chapel still belong to Mérignat. Neighboring municipalities of Mérignat are Cerdon in the north and east, Boyeux-Saint-Jérôme in the south and Jujurieux and Poncin in the west.
history
In the Middle Ages, Mérignat, first mentioned in a document as Merignieu in 1212, formed its own small lordship under the lords of Thoire-Villars. In 1302 they sold the rulership rights to a local aristocratic family with the condition that the property be secured with a castle. A four-tower building with a moat and drawbridge was built on a hill east of the village center. The ownership changed several times, and from 1488 to 1734 the estate belonged to the House of Moyria . The castle was destroyed in the French Revolution , so that today only the foundation walls of one of the towers remain.
Attractions
The village church of Saint-Eloi in Mérignat is from the 15th century, its bell tower, which was dismantled during the revolution, was rebuilt in the 19th century. Only one tower remains from the castle as a ruin.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 122 |
| 1968 | 90 |
| 1975 | 86 |
| 1982 | 80 |
| 1990 | 85 |
| 1999 | 114 |
| 2006 | 131 |
| 2011 | 134 |
With 130 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), Mérignat is one of the very small communities in the Ain department. After the population had decreased somewhat in the first half of the 20th century (301 people were still counted in 1901), it has increased again slightly since the turn of the millennium.
Economy and Infrastructure
Mérignat has been shaped by agriculture in the past , mainly viticulture . Even today the community has around ten winegrowers who cultivate the Poulsard and Gamay grape varieties on the plateau and produce a sparkling rosé wine under the protected designation of origin Cerdon . Those who are not employed in viticulture are mostly commuters who work in the larger towns in the area.
A small departmental road crosses the town and connects to the D1084, which leads from Pont-d'Ain to Nantua . There are connections to the A40 and A42 motorways around 17 kilometers away.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ É. Philipon: Dictionnaire Topographique du Département de l'Ain . Imprimerie Nationale, 1911, p. 254 (French, online [PDF; accessed January 4, 2014]).
- ↑ Achille Raverat: Les vallées du Bugey: excursions historiques, pittoresques et artistiques . tape 2 . Lyon, 1867, p. 341 (French, limited preview in Google Book Search [accessed February 11, 2014]).
- ^ Marie-Claude Guigue: Topography Historique du Département de l'Ain . Bourg-en-Bresse et Lyon, A. Brun, 1873, p. 229 (French, online [accessed January 18, 2014]).
- ↑ French Statistics Institute ( www.insee.fr )
- ^ Mérignat - notice communale. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved December 15, 2014 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).