Doubs
Doubs (, ; ; ) 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 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 areas, zones, lands or territories, are portions of the Earth's surface that are broadly divided by physical characteristics (physical geography), human impact characteristics (human geography), and ...
in eastern
France
France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
. On 1 January 2025, the former commune of Le Gratteris was merged into Mamirolle.
Geography
The commune lies southeast of
Besançon
Besançon (, ; , ; archaic ; ) is the capital of the Departments of France, 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 Switzerland.
Capi ...
on the first plateau of the
Jura mountains
The Jura Mountains ( ) are a sub-alpine mountain range a short distance north of the Western Alps and mainly demarcate a long part of the French–Swiss border. While the Jura range proper (" folded Jura", ) is located in France and Switzerla ...
. It is situated at the foot of a wooded hill and is crossed by the railroad from Besançon to
Le Locle
Le Locle (; ) 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 Switzerland (in Swit ...
.
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 (: tumuli) is a mound of Soil, earth and Rock (geology), stones raised over a grave or graves. Tumuli are also known as barrows, burial mounds, mounds, howes, or in Siberia and Central Asia as ''kurgans'', and may be found through ...
dates from the
Hallstatt period
The Hallstatt culture was the predominant Western and Central European archaeological culture of the Late Bronze Age (Hallstatt A, Hallstatt B) from the 12th to 8th centuries BC and Early Iron Age Europe (Hallstatt C, Hallstatt D) from the 8th to ...
, 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 or Peace of Nijmegen (; ; ) 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 Republic, Spain, Brandenburg, Sw ...
in 1678, the village was passed over to France along with the rest of
Franche-Comté
Franche-Comté (, ; ; Frainc-Comtou dialect, Frainc-Comtou: ''Fraintche-Comtè''; ; also ; ; all ) is a cultural and Provinces of France, historical region of eastern France. It is composed of the modern departments of France, departments of Doub ...
. 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.
See also
*
Communes of the Doubs department
The following is a list of the 563 communes of the Doubs department of France.
The communes cooperate in the following intercommunalities (as of 2025):