JURA INFORMATION
JURA Geography
Jura is one of four departments of the Franche-Comté region and is surrounded by the French departments of Doubs and Haute-Saône, in the region of Burgundy, by the departments of Côte-d'Or and Saône-et-Loire, in the region of Rhône-Alpes by the department of Ain, as well as the Swiss canton of Vaud on the east.
The Jura mountains are wooded and rolling, not craggy and rocky like the Alps. Many lakes can be found throughout the Jura - the largest natural lake being Lac de Chalain, measuring 3km long and 1km wide. Lac de Vouglans was formed after the building of a hydro-electric dam. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in France.
Lac de Vouglans: The lake lies on Jurassic rock crushed into north to south ridges by the Alpine orogeny. It is therefore long and narrow, though rather sinuous in plan. It is about 30 kilometres long though only 21 km in a straight line. It lies in the valley of the Ain, impounded by the dam at Cernon. The old village of Vouglans in the Jura was displaced by its construction in 1968 by Électricité de France (EDF).
The buildings of the Carthusian monastery of Vaucluse were also moved to make way for the rising waters.
The lake is arranged for tourism with view-points scattered through the woods which cover the hillsides along its shores and places set up for bathing and boating.
The annual mean flow of water at the dam is 40.80 cubic metres per second.
JURA History
Historically, Jura belonged to the Free County of Burgundy, known in French as the Franche-Comté. Dole was the capital until the region was conquered by Louis XIV and it was moved to Besançon. It is now a sous-préfecture of Jura.
As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the southern 2/3 of Jura spoke a dialect of Arpitan language. It continued to be spoken in rural areas into the 20th century.
Jura is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Franche-Comté. The departments of Jura, Doubs, and Haute-Saône form the modern Franche-Comté region of France. The prefecture (capital) is Lons-le-Saunier.
JURA Climate
The climate of the Jura varies greatly by elevation. The lower valleys are temperate and pleasant, but the high mountain valleys have bitterly cold winters.
JURA Tourism
The Jura mountains provide ample opportunities for hiking, skiing, and other winter sports.
JURA Wines
Jura is a wine-growing region. The Jura wines are very distinctive and unusual wines, such as vin jaune, which is made by a similar process to sherry, developing under a flor of yeast. This is made from the local Savagnin grape variety. Other grape varieties include Poulsard, Trousseau, and Chardonnay.
JURA Administration
Department number : 39
Region : Franche-Comté
Prefecture : Lons-le-Saunier
Subprefectures : Dole, Saint-Claude
Arrondissements : 3
Cantons : 34
Communes : 545
JURA HOLIDAY RENTALS in FRANCHE-COMTE Region
MORE THAN 10.000 B&B in all France
MORE THAN 10.000 Gîtes in all France
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