Lons-le-Saunier () is a commune 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 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 ...

. 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''), w ...

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. Vineyard ...

s. The river Vallière 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. 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,

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 earlie ...

, Bourg-en-Bresse and

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

, though the last of these lies on the other side of the Jura massif. It is served by the

A39 autoroute A39 or A-39 may refer to: * Tortoise heavy assault tank, a British experimental tank in World War 2 * The FAA identifier for Ak-Chin Regional Airport Roads * A39 highway (Australia), a road in Victoria designated A39/B340 * A39 motorway (France) ...

, 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 ...

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 ...

. 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. I ...

and

Arbois Arbois () is a commune in the Jura department, in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region, eastern France. The river Cuisance passes through the town, which centres on an arcaded central square where one can sample the local wines. The commune h ...

. 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 and

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 ...

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

History

The brine springs 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 pa ...

. In the 19th century thermal baths 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'', the French national anthem * Jean Baptiste Gaspard Roux de Rochelle (1762–1849), ambassador to the U.S. * Étienne Bobillier (1798–1840), mathematician * Maurice Joly (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 ...

(born 1918), historian and political economist * Jeanne Champion (born 1931), French painter and writer * Guy Canivet (born 1943), judge * Jean-Claude Romand (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'', which was entered into the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. Film ...

(1944–2021), actor and filmmaker * Bernard Clavel (1923–2010), novelist * Félix Lambey (born 1994), rugby player

Residents

*General Claude Lecourbe (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 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 administrative capital ...

, Germany *

Ripley Ripley may refer to: People and characters * Ripley (name) * ''Ripley'', the test mannequin aboard the first International Space Station space station Dragon 2 space test flight Crew Dragon Demo-1 * Ellen Ripley, a fictional character from the Al ...

, United Kingdom

References

External links

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