Villes
| Villes | ||
|---|---|---|
|
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| region | Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes | |
| Department | Ain | |
| Arrondissement | Nantua | |
| Canton | Bellegarde-sur-Valserine | |
| Community association | Pays Bellegardien | |
| Coordinates | 46 ° 5 ' N , 5 ° 47' E | |
| height | 392-1,321 m | |
| surface | 9.21 km 2 | |
| Residents | 376 (January 1, 2017) | |
| Population density | 41 inhabitants / km 2 | |
| Post Code | 01200 | |
| INSEE code | 01448 | |
 Saint-Nicolas church |
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Villes is a French municipality with 376 inhabitants (at January 1, 2017) in the department of Ain in the region Auvergne Rhône-Alpes . It belongs to the canton of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in the Arrondissement of Nantua and is a member of the Pays Bellegardien municipal association
geography
Villes is located at 550 m , about four kilometers southwest of the town of Bellegarde-sur-Valserine and 45 kilometers east-southeast of the prefecture of Bourg-en-Bresse (beeline). The farming village extends in the Bellegarde basin, in a panoramic position on the Michaille plateau, around 220 m above the Rhone valley , at the eastern foot of the Plateau de Retord , a high plateau of the French Jura .
The area of the 9.21 km² municipality covers a section of the Rhône valley. The eastern part of the municipality is occupied by the Michaille plateau, which lies at an average of 520 m . It descends gradually towards the east and is subdivided by the valleys of short side streams of the Rhône, but the municipality does not reach down into the Rhône valley. To the west, the community area extends with a narrow strip over the steep Jura slope to the Plateau de Retord , on which the highest elevation of Villes is reached at 1322 m .
Villes' neighboring municipalities are Châtillon-en-Michaille in the north, Bellegarde-sur-Valserine in the east, Billiat in the south and Haut-Valromey with Le Grand-Abergement in the west.
history
The village developed around a priory founded by the Nantua Monastery in the 11th century . Villes is mentioned for the first time in 1144 under the name Villa in Michalia . Over time, the spelling changed via Villaz , Ville (1650), Villas en Michaille (1734) to the current name, which is documented in writing in 1808. Until the beginning of the 20th century, the names Ville and Ville-en-Michaille were also used. The place name goes back to the Latin word villa (country house, village).
Attractions
The church has been preserved from the former priory in Romanesque and Gothic styles. It has been restored and redesigned several times and has, among other things, Gothic windows and fragments of glass paintings from the 15th century. Villes also has a manor house and stately farmhouses.
Population development
| year | Residents |
|---|---|
| 1962 | 108 |
| 1968 | 146 |
| 1975 | 159 |
| 1982 | 184 |
| 1990 | 226 |
| 1999 | 268 |
| 2006 | 340 |
| 2011 | 374 |
With 376 inhabitants (January 1, 2017) Villes is one of the small communities in the Ain department. After the population had decreased significantly in the first half of the 20th century, population growth has been recorded again since the early 1960s. The local residents of Villes are called Villatus in French .
Economy and Infrastructure
Until well into the 20th century, Villes was a predominantly agricultural village. In addition, there are now some local small businesses. In the meantime the village has turned into a residential community. Many of the employed people are commuters who work in the larger towns in the area and mainly in neighboring Bellegarde-sur-Valserine.
The village is well-developed in terms of traffic, although it is located away from the major thoroughfares. Road connections exist with Bellegarde-sur-Valserine, Châtillon-en-Michaille and Billiat. The closest connection to the A40 motorway is around five kilometers away.
There is a state primary school ( école élémentaire ) in Villes .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ É. Philipon: Dictionnaire Topographique du Département de l'Ain . Imprimerie Nationale, 1911, p. 465 (French, online [PDF; accessed January 4, 2014]).
- ↑ French Statistics Institute ( www.insee.fr )
- ^ Villes - notice communal. In: cassini.ehess.fr. Retrieved on June 3, 2015 (French, INSEE population from 1968 ).