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Bethoncourt

Coordinates: 47°32′07″N 6°48′17″E / 47.5353°N 6.8047°E / 47.5353; 6.8047
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Bethoncourt
The overflowing Lizaine river in Bethoncourt
The overflowing Lizaine river in Bethoncourt
Coat of arms of Bethoncourt
Location of Bethoncourt
Map
Bethoncourt is located in France
Bethoncourt
Bethoncourt
Bethoncourt is located in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Bethoncourt
Bethoncourt
Coordinates: 47°32′07″N 6°48′17″E / 47.5353°N 6.8047°E / 47.5353; 6.8047
CountryFrance
RegionBourgogne-Franche-Comté
DepartmentDoubs
ArrondissementMontbéliard
CantonBethoncourt
IntercommunalityPays de Montbéliard Agglomération
Government
 • Mayor (2020–2026) Jean André[1]
Area
1
6.54 km2 (2.53 sq mi)
Population
 (2021)[2]
5,308
 • Density810/km2 (2,100/sq mi)
Time zoneUTC+01:00 (CET)
 • Summer (DST)UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code
25057 /25200
Elevation315–410 m (1,033–1,345 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Bethoncourt (French pronunciation: [bətɔ̃kuʁ]) is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France.[3]

Geography

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Bethoncourt lies north of Montbéliard, close to the border with the Haute-Saône department and the Territoire de Belfort and very near the Swiss border. The Lizaine, formerly called the Luzine, flows through it.

History

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In the Franco-Prussian War, many citizens of Bethoncourt fled from the Prussians across the border to Switzerland, where many had relatives in the Swiss Jura region.

Population

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In the early twentieth century, Bethoncourt grew from a small town into a thriving city of nearly 11,000 inhabitants. Since 1975, however, it has shrunk to just over half that size.

Historical population
YearPop.±% p.a.
1800 426—    
1851 713+1.02%
1896 891+0.50%
1921 1,026+0.57%
1946 1,598+1.79%
1954 1,928+2.37%
1962 6,442+16.28%
1968 10,996+9.32%
YearPop.±% p.a.
1975 10,592−0.53%
1982 9,751−1.17%
1990 7,448−3.31%
1999 6,848−0.93%
2007 6,098−1.44%
2012 5,885−0.71%
2017 5,647−0.82%
Source: EHESS[4] and INSEE (1968-2017)[5]

Economy

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Bethoncourt possessed rich iron mines that provided ore for all the foundries in the region in such towns as Chagey and Audincourt.

Shafts from 1 to 3 meters in diameter were dug to a depth of 40 meters. These led to horizontal galleries that allowed extraction of the mineral.

The ore was brought to a washing station (still extant), a sort of lock on the Lizaine between Bethoncourt and Bussurel. There the nodules of iron were washed out of the soil matrix.

The workers, mostly peasants, were well paid for this difficult and dangerous work. The galoshes (Gollutch) they wore became the nickname for the residents of Bethoncourt.[6]

In the mid-nineteenth century, an important segment of the population consisted of highly skilled watchmakers. However, the entire Jura watchmaking industry was hit hard by the importation of cheap factory-made American watches, which were of equal or higher quality.

In the 1930s, up to 600 workers were employed in the textile mill.

Transportation

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Bethoncourt lies on the Strasbourg-Lyon line of the SNCF and on departmental highway D438.

Twin towns

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Bethoncourt is twinned with:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Répertoire national des élus: les maires" (in French). data.gouv.fr, Plateforme ouverte des données publiques françaises. 13 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Populations légales 2021" (in French). The National Institute of Statistics and Economic Studies. 28 December 2023.
  3. ^ INSEE commune file
  4. ^ Des villages de Cassini aux communes d'aujourd'hui: Commune data sheet Bethoncourt, EHESS (in French).
  5. ^ Population en historique depuis 1968, INSEE
  6. ^ Association Bethoncourtoise pour la sauvegarde et la mise en valeur du patrimoine locale