Lons-le-Saunier () is a

commune A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or other derivations may also refer to: Administrative-territorial entities * Commune (administrative division), a municipality or township ** Communes of ...

and capital of the Jura Department, eastern France.

Geography

The town is in the heart of the Revermont region, at the foot of the first plateau of the Jura massif. The Jura escarpment extends to the east and south, while to the west lies the plain of

Bresse Bresse () is a former French province. It is located in the regions of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes and Bourgogne-Franche-Comté of eastern France. The geographical term ''Bresse'' has two meanings: ''Bresse bourguignonne'' (or ''louhannaise''), whic ...

and to the north extensive

vineyard A vineyard (; also ) is a plantation of grape-bearing vines, grown mainly for winemaking, but also raisins, table grapes and non-alcoholic grape juice. The science, practice and study of vineyard production is known as viticulture. Vineyards ...

s. The river

Vallière Vallière (; oc, Valièra) is a commune in the Creuse department in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region in central France. Geography A farming area comprising the village and several hamlets situated by the banks of the river Banize, some southwest ...

runs through the town, rising in a typical Jura

blind valley A steephead valley, steephead or blind valley is a deep, narrow, flat bottomed valley with an abrupt ending. Such closed valleys may arise in limestone or karst landscapes, where a layer of permeable rock lies above an impermeable substract such ...

not far away, at

Revigny Revigny () is a commune in the Jura department in the administrative region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in eastern France. Geography The Vallière has its source in the southern part of the commune; it flows north through the commune in the ste ...

. It has been conduited since the 1960s on grounds of hygiene, since sewage outlets run into it. A small section remains in the open air near the parc des Bains, and only a single bridge (the pont de la Guiche) remains. The town is approximately equally placed between

Besançon Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...

Dijon Dijon (, , ) (dated) * it, Digione * la, Diviō or * lmo, Digion is the prefecture of the Côte-d'Or department and of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in northeastern France. the commune had a population of 156,920. The earlies ...

Bourg-en-Bresse Bourg-en-Bresse (; frp, Bôrg) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Ain Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region in Eastern France. Located northeast of Lyon, it is the capital of the ...

and

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the List of cities in Switzerland, second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaki ...

, though the last of these lies on the other side of the Jura massif. It is served by the A39 autoroute, by which Dijon can be reached in about an hour and

Lyon Lyon,, ; Occitan: ''Lion'', hist. ''Lionés'' also spelled in English as Lyons, is the third-largest city and second-largest metropolitan area of France. It is located at the confluence of the rivers Rhône and Saône, to the northwest of t ...

in an hour and a half. The town's railway station lies on the line from

Strasbourg Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...

. The wine-growing region to the north of the town is particularly well known, and includes the vintages of l'Etoile,

Château-Chalon Château-Chalon () is a commune in the Jura department, Bourgogne-Franche-Comté, eastern France. The commune is perched on a cliff in the first fold of the Jura mountains. It is reached from the west by a road with numerous hairpin curves. Its ...

and

Arbois Arbois () is a Commune in France, commune in the Jura (département), Jura Departments of France, department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté Regions of France, region, eastern France. The river Cuisance passes through the town, which centres on ...

. The Jura escarpment to the south and east is a popular tourist region, with its attractions including the lakes of Chalain, Clairvaux and Vouglans (at Lect, Jura), and mountain resorts such as

Prénovel Prénovel () is a former commune in the Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. On 1 January 2016, it was merged into the new commune of Nanchez.Les Rousses Les Rousses () is a commune in the Canton of Hauts de Bienne of Jura department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France, on the Swiss border. The Lac des Rousses is located northeast of the village of Les Rousses beside the r ...

. In terms of area, Lons-le-Saunier is the second smallest prefectural town in France, after

Bobigny Bobigny () is a commune, or town, in the northeastern suburbs of Paris, Île-de-France, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Bobigny is the prefecture (capital city) of the Seine-Saint-Denis department, as well as the seat of the A ...

History

The

brine spring A brine spring or salt spring is a Brine, saltwater Spring (hydrology), spring. Brine springs are not necessarily associated with halite deposits in the immediate vicinity. They may occur at valley bottoms made of clay and gravel which became sogg ...

s of Lons-le-Saunier have been exploited since the

Neolithic The Neolithic period, or New Stone Age, is an Old World archaeological period and the final division of the Stone Age. It saw the Neolithic Revolution, a wide-ranging set of developments that appear to have arisen independently in several parts ...

. In the 19th century

thermal bath A spa is a location where mineral-rich spring water (and sometimes seawater) is used to give medicinal baths. Spa towns or spa resorts (including hot springs resorts) typically offer various health treatments, which are also known as balneothe ...

s were established, of which the monumental Thermes Lédonia have been preserved. In the 19th century there were copper and iron foundries, and a trade in horses, cattle, grain, cheese, etc.Ross, J.M. (editor) (1878)
"Globe Encyclopaedia of Universal Information"
Vol. IV, Edinburgh-Scotland, Thomas C. Jack, Grange Publishing Works

Population

Personalities

Births

Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle (), sometimes spelled de l'Isle or de Lile (10 May 1760 – 26 June 1836), was a French army officer of the French Revolutionary Wars. He is known for writing the words and music of the ''Chant de guerre pour l'armé ...

(1760–1836), composer of ''

La Marseillaise "La Marseillaise" is the national anthem of France. The song was written in 1792 by Claude Joseph Rouget de Lisle in Strasbourg after the declaration of war by France against Austria, and was originally titled "Chant de guerre pour l'Armée du R ...

'', the French national anthem * Jean Baptiste Gaspard Roux de Rochelle (1762–1849), ambassador to the U.S. *

Étienne Bobillier Étienne Bobillier (17 April 1798 – 22 March 1840) was a French mathematician. He was born in Lons-le-Saunier, France. At the age of 19 he was accepted into the École Polytechnique and studied there for a year. However, due to a shortage of ...

(1798–1840), mathematician *

Maurice Joly Maurice Joly (22 September 1829 – 15 July 1878) was a French political writer and lawyer known for ''The Dialogue in Hell Between Machiavelli and Montesquieu'', a political satire of Napoleon III. Known life Most of the known informatio ...

(1829–78), satirist and lawyer *

René Rémond René Rémond (; 30 September 1918 – 14 April 2007) was a French historian, political scientist and political economist. Born in Lons-le-Saunier, Rémond was the Secretary General of Jeunesses étudiantes Catholiques (JEC France in 1943) and a ...

(born 1918), historian and political economist *

Jeanne Champion Jeanne Champion (born 25 June 1931, near Lons-le-Saunier) is a French painter and historical novelist. Biography Jeanne Champion, born in a peasant environment, is largely self-taught. An artist-painter since 1956, she has produced many works ...

(born 1931), French painter and writer *

Guy Canivet Guy Canivet (born 23 September 1943 in Lons-le-Saunier) is a French judge. , he is president of the Court of Cassation and as such is the highest judge in France. On 22 February 2007, Jean-Louis Debré, president of the French National Ass ...

(born 1943), judge *

Jean-Claude Romand Jean-Claude Romand (born 11 February 1954) is a French spree killer and impostor who pretended to be a medical doctor for 18 years before killing his wife, children and parents in January 1993 when he was about to be exposed. Heavy suspicions a ...

(born 1954), medical imposter *

Jean-François Stévenin Jean-François Stévenin (; 23 April 194427 July 2021) was a French actor and filmmaker. He appeared in 150 films and television shows since 1968. He starred in the film ''Cold Moon (1991 film), Cold Moon'', which was entered into the 1991 Canne ...

(1944–2021), actor and filmmaker *

Bernard Clavel Bernard Charles Henri Clavel (29 May 1923 – 5 October 2010) was a French writer. Clavel was born in Lons-le-Saunier. From a humble background, he was largely self-educated. He began working as a pastry cook apprentice when he was 14 years ol ...

(1923–2010), novelist *

Félix Lambey Félix Lambey (born 15 March 1994) is a French rugby union lock who currently plays for Lyon and France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas r ...

(born 1994), rugby player

Residents

*General

Claude Lecourbe Claude Jacques Lecourbe (22 February 1759 – 22 October 1815), born in Besançon, was a French general during the French Revolutionary and Napoleonic wars. Biography After having studied at a college in Poligny and in Lons-le-Saunier, Lecourbe e ...

(1759–1815) studied in Lons; a statue of him stands in the central Place de la Liberté

Twin towns

Lons-le-Saunier is twinned with: *

Offenburg Offenburg ("open borough" - coat of arms showing open gates; Low Alemannic German, Low Alemmanic: ''Offäburg'') is a city located in the state of Baden-Württemberg, Germany. With nearly 60,000 inhabitants (2019), it is the largest city and the ad ...

, Germany * Ripley, United Kingdom

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lonslesaunier Communes of Jura (department) Prefectures in France Spa towns in France