Matafelon-Granges
| Matafelon-Granges | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Nantua | |
| Canton | Pont d'Ain | |
| Community association | Haut-Bugey agglomeration | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 16 ' N , 5 ° 33' E | |
| height | 267-783 m | |
| surface | 21.54 km 2 | |
| Residents | 641 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 30 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 01580 | |
| INSEE code | 01240 | |
 View of the hamlet of Chougeat |
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Matafelon-Granges is a French municipality with 641 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Ain in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It belongs to the canton of Pont-d'Ain in the Arrondissement of Nantua .
geography
Matafelon-Granges is located at 460 m , about eight kilometers west of the city of Oyonnax and 26 kilometers east-northeast of the prefecture of Bourg-en-Bresse (beeline). The farming village extends in the north of Bugey , in the Jura , on a slope inclined to the east above the basin of Samognat, in which the Oignin is dammed by the Moux dam.
The area of the 21.34 km² municipal area covers a section of the southern French Jura. The central part of the area is occupied by the ridge, which is bordered in the west and north by the valley of the Ain , in the east by that of the Oignin. The border always runs along the course of the river. The ridge, an anticline in the Jura , is divided into the height of the Bois de Ban ( 635 m ), the saddle of Matafelon and the ridge of Chougeat, on which the highest elevation of the Matafelon-Granges is reached at 786 m .
The community area extends in a narrow strip to the southwest along the Ain, which is dammed here by a river power station, to the loop of Bolozon. The area is rarely more than 1 km wide and, in addition to the deeply cut valley (Gorges de l'Ain), includes the adjacent steep slope, which is traversed by various rock bands.
The municipality of Matafelon-Granges consists of various villages, hamlets and farm groups, namely:
- Matafelon ( 460 m ) on the western slope of the Samognat basin
- Meuillat ( 460 m ) on the southeast slope of the Bois de Ban
- Charmines ( 420 m ) on a ledge above the Oignin dam
- Sorpiat ( 530 m ) on the western slope of the Oignin valley
- Chougeat ( 560 m ) in a hollow on the western slope of the Oignin
- Coiselet ( 300 m ) at the confluence of the Oignin and the Ain
- Le Port ( 290 m ) on the Ain bridge opposite Thoirette
- Courtouphle ( 300 m ) in the valley of the Ain
- Granges ( 330 m ) in the valley of the Ain
- Bonbois ( 305 m ) on the eastern edge of the Ain valley
Neighboring communities of Matafelon-Granges are Thoirette-Coisia in the north, Samognat and Izernore in the east, Sonthonnax-la-Montagne and Bolozon in the south and Corveissiat in the west.
history
The Thoire fortress, the cradle of the Thoire-Villars, later powerful ruling family, was built on a rock spur above the Ain valley in the 11th century. The village of Matafelon was granted certain freedoms in 1280. In 1402 Matafelon and Granges came after the sale of the rule under Humbert VII of Thoire-Villars to the Counts of Savoy . With the Treaty of Lyon , both villages came to France in 1601. On January 1, 1973, the two previously independent communities Matafelon and Granges were merged to form today's double community.
Attractions
The village church of Matafelon was built in Gothic style, but redesigned in the 17th and 19th centuries. The church of Granges also shows Gothic style elements. Ruins of the medieval castle Thoire have been preserved. The Château de Coiselet was built around 1344 and modified in the 16th and 19th centuries.
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 354 |
| 1968 | 299 |
| 1975 | 296 |
| 1982 | 336 |
| 1990 | 406 |
| 1999 | 483 |
| 2006 | 641 |
| 2011 | 652 |
With 641 inhabitants (as of January 1, 2017), Matafelon-Granges is one of the small communities in the Ain department. After the population had decreased in the first half of the 20th century (566 people were still counted in 1891), a significant increase in population has been recorded since the mid-1970s. The local residents of Matafelon-Granges are called Matafelonais (es) in French .
Economy and Infrastructure
Until the 20th century, Matafelon-Granges was primarily a village characterized by agriculture , in particular dairy and cattle breeding, as well as forestry. In the first half of the 20th century, various businesses that were dependent on hydropower were set up on the Ain and Oignin. Today there are only a few local small businesses and the hydropower plants on Oignin and Ain. In the meantime the village has turned into a residential community. Many workers are commuters who work in the larger towns in the area.
The village is located off the major thoroughfares on a departmental road that leads from Oyonnax to Thoirette. Other road connections exist with Chancia and Nurieux. The closest connection to the A404 motorway (Saint-Martin-du-Frêne - Oyonnax) is around ten kilometers away.
In Matafelon-Granges there is a state école primaire (elementary school with an integrated preschool ).
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Matafelon-Granges - notice communale. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved on June 14, 2015 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).
- ↑ French Statistics Institute ( www.insee.fr )