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 ...
in the
Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; frp, Dubs) is a department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the river Doubs, it had a population of 543,974 in 2019.department
Department may refer to:
* Departmentalization, division of a larger organization into parts with specific responsibility
Government and military
*Department (administrative division), a geographical and administrative division within a country, ...
in the
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Bourgogne-Franche-Comté (; , sometimes abbreviated BFC; Arpitan: ''Borgogne-Franche-Comtât'') is a region in Eastern France created by the 2014 territorial reform of French regions, from a merger of Burgundy and Franche-Comté. The new region ...
region
In geography, regions, otherwise referred to as zones, lands or territories, are areas that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and the interaction of humanity and t ...
in eastern
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
Geography
The commune lies southeast of
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 ...
on the first plateau of the
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains ( , , , ; french: Massif du Jura; german: Juragebirge; it, Massiccio del Giura, rm, Montagnas da Jura) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the Frenc ...
. It is situated at the foot of a wooded hill and is crossed by the railroad from Besançon to
Le Locle
Le Locle (; german: Luggli) is a Communes of Switzerland, municipality in the Canton of Neuchâtel in Switzerland.
It is situated in the Jura Mountains, a few kilometers from the city of La Chaux-de-Fonds.
It is the third smallest city in Switz ...
.
The landscape of the town forms a wide basin with no surface drainage, since the rainwater seeps into the subsoil. Most of the land in Mamirolle is arable land and meadow land, with some parts covered in forest. Southern part of the commune extends over the slope of Mamirolle to the wooded ridge of Mont Bon, which forms the highest point in the commune at 662 m above sea level.
History
Archeological research determined that Mamirolle was populated very early on. A nearby
Tumulus
A tumulus (plural tumuli) is a mound of earth and stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds or ''kurgans'', and may be found throughout much of the world. A cairn, which is a mound of stones buil ...
dates from the
Hallstatt period
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western Europe, Western and Central European Archaeological culture, culture of Late Bronze Age Europe, Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe ...
, and traces of an alleged Gallo-Roman settlement site was also discovered.
Mamirolle was first mentioned in 1220 as a church with the name ''Mamirollis''. Over time, the spelling was changed to ''Mimiroles'' (1150), ''Memiroules'' (1267), and ''Memiruelles'' (1350), until it changed to today's Mamirolle in 1547. Since the Middle Age, Mamirolle has been belonging to the Montfaucon dominion. With the
Treaties of Nijmegen
The Treaties of Peace of Nijmegen ('; german: Friede von Nimwegen) were a series of treaties signed in the Dutch city of Nijmegen between August 1678 and October 1679. The treaties ended various interconnected wars among France, the Dutch Republi ...
in 1678, the village was passed over to France along with the rest of
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; frp, Franche-Comtât; also german: Freigrafschaft; es, Franco Condado; all ) is a cultural and historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of Doubs, ...
. Mamirolle was repeatedly devastated by major fires, such as in 1709, 1825 and 1893.
Sights
The Saint-Pierre Church, which used to be a medieval chapel, was rebuilt in 1775 and extensively restored in 1985. Various farmhouses in Franche-Comté style from the 17th to 19th centuries have been preserved in the town center.
Population
Industry
Until well into the 20th century, Mamirolle's economic was heavily dependent on agriculture and forestry. Commercial zones have developed on the outskirts of the village since the 1970s. Various companies in the food processing, construction, micro-mechanics and electronic sectors have settled here. In the meantime, the village has also changed into a residential community.