Vars (Haute-Saône)
| Vars | ||
|---|---|---|
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| region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté | |
| Department | Haute-Saône | |
| Arrondissement | Vesoul | |
| Canton | Dampierre-sur-Salon | |
| Community association | Val de Gray | |
| Coordinates | 47 ° 32 ' N , 5 ° 32' E | |
| height | 207-299 m | |
| surface | 16.16 km 2 | |
| Residents | 203 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 13 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 70600 | |
| INSEE code | 70523 | |
Vars is a municipality in the French department of Haute-Saône in the region Bourgogne Franche-Comté .
geography
Vars is located at an altitude of 223 m above sea level, eleven kilometers north-northwest of Gray and about 43 kilometers northeast of the city of Dijon (as the crow flies). The clustered village extends in the far west of the department, in the gently undulating landscape between the river valleys of Saône in the east and Vingeanne in the west, in the valley of the Ruisseau des Écoulottes .
The area of the 16.16 km² large municipal area includes a section in the area of the plateau north of the plain of Gray. The central part of the area is occupied by the wide basin of the Ruisseau des Écoulottes , which provides drainage to the south to the Saône. At Theuley the brook to the elongated Étang de Theuley is dammed. The valley basin is sunk into a plateau, which averages 240 m. It is divided by various hollows that open to the Ruisseau des Écoulottes. Only a few of these side valleys show an above-ground running water. The plateau consists of alternating layers of calcareous and sandy-marly sediments from the Upper Jurassic and Tertiary periods . Large parts of the plateau are used for agriculture, but there are also larger forest areas. The Bois Clair forest extends to the east (up to 242 m). The northern boundary runs in the Bois de Champlitte , the western in the Bois de Pouilly . At 299 m , the highest point in Vars is reached on Mont Verrat , a knoll in the headwaters of the Ruisseau des Écoulottes.
The village of Theuley-lès-Vars (227 m) on the eastern edge of the Étang de Theuley belongs to Vars . Neighboring municipalities of Vars are Champlitte and Écuelle in the north, Oyrières in the east, Auvet-et-la-Chapelotte in the south and Pouilly-sur-Vingeanne and Montigny-Mornay-Villeneuve-sur-Vingeanne in the west.
history
Numerous finds indicate that the municipality was already settled in Gallo-Roman times. Furthermore, a burial ground from the Burgundian period was discovered. The actual beginning of the settlement was the foundation of the Cistercian monastery Theuley in 1135. The monks cleared the area and founded various grangia , including that of Vars. In the Middle Ages, Vars belonged to the Free County of Burgundy and in that part of the Bailliage d'Amont area . The monastery and the village were destroyed in 1595 by troops under Tremblecourt. Together with Franche-Comté , Vars finally came to France with the Peace of Nijmegen in 1678. Vars and Theuley have been a community since the time of the French Revolution. Since the beginning of 2008, Vars has been a member of the Communauté de communes des Quatre Vallées, which comprises 14 localities .
Attractions
The Saint-André church in Vars was built in 1750 and has a stucco altar from the 18th century. Also in Vars are the 19th century Mairie (parish hall) and a Lavoir (1833), the architecture of which was modeled on the ancient Greek style. Buildings from the 18th century, mills and a Romanesque cellar vault have been preserved from the former Theuley monastery .
population
| Population development | |
|---|---|
| year | Residents |
| 1962 | 189 |
| 1968 | 212 |
| 1975 | 215 |
| 1982 | 179 |
| 1990 | 179 |
| 1999 | 190 |
With 203 inhabitants (2007), Vars is one of the small communities in the Haute-Saône department. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century (326 people were still counted in 1896), slight population growth has been recorded again since the beginning of the 1990s.
Economy and Infrastructure
For a long time, Vars was mainly a village characterized by agriculture (arable farming, fruit growing and cattle breeding) and forestry. The hydropower of the Ruisseau des Écoulottes was used to operate mills. Today there are some local small businesses, including an agricultural machinery company. In the last few decades the village has transformed into a residential community. Many workers are therefore commuters who go about their work in the larger towns in the area and in the Gray area.
The place is off the major thoroughfares on a department road that leads from Autrey-lès-Gray to Écuelle. Other road connections exist with Oyrières, Pouilly-sur-Vingeanne and Mornay.
