Boécourt
Origin of the name Boécourt
Name origin: old form « Boescort » in 1141; its old German name is « Biestingen ». The etymology is not explained in the sources consulted. Séprais is mentioned in 1260 (« Cesprais ») and in 1264 (« Pratum »); Montavon in 1330 (« Montaun »).
Founding of Boécourt
Boécourt lies south of the Rangiers pass, on the Glovelier-Porrentruy road. No founder is known, but the site was occupied very early: at the place called Les Montoyes, pottery attests a Late Bronze Age settlement, followed by a Gallo-Roman farmstead occupied from the 1st to the 3rd century. In the 12th and 13th centuries the abbey of Bellelay acquired major holdings there, including two mills, the church and the benefice endowment. Boécourt was later one of the thirteen free villages of the Delémont valley, a lordship of the Prince-Bishopric of Basel. The municipality also includes the hamlet of Séprais, made up of two groups of farms at the foot of the Rangiers, and the village of Montavon, on the old road linking the Ajoie to Delémont. Montavon formed a municipality during the French period (1793-1814); since 1854 it has been a citizens' community separate from that of Boécourt-Séprais. The sources consulted give no date for the union of the three villages into a single municipality (to be cross-checked).
History of Boécourt
Late Bronze Age. Settlement at the place called Les Montoyes, attested by pottery.
1st-3rd century. A Gallo-Roman farmstead is occupied at Les Montoyes.
Merovingian period. An iron-smelting workshop with two bloomery furnaces operates at Les Boulies, near Séprais.
1141. Old form « Boescort », the earliest known mention of Boécourt.
12th-13th century. Through donations and purchases, the abbey of Bellelay obtains major holdings in Boécourt: two mills, the church and the benefice endowment.
1260. Séprais is mentioned in the form « Cesprais ».
1302. The parish of Saint-Martin on the Mont-Repais, to which Montavon and the farms of the Rangiers belong, is recorded.
1330. Montavon is mentioned in the form « Montaun ».
1611. The parish of the Mont-Repais is attached to Boécourt.
1766. The church of Saint-Sébastien in Boécourt is rebuilt.
until 1792. Boécourt is one of the thirteen free villages of the Delémont valley; Montavon belongs to the mayoralty of the lordship of Delémont (Prince-Bishopric of Basel).
1793-1814. French period; Montavon forms a municipality.
1815-1978. Boécourt belongs to the Bernese district of Delémont.
1854. Montavon becomes a citizens' community separate from that of Boécourt-Séprais.
1898. The chapel of Sainte-Anne in Montavon is built.
1979. Boécourt becomes part of the new canton of Jura.
second half of the 20th century. Late industrialisation, as the village lies away from the railway: watchmaking (watch glasses and cases) and construction; in 1990, 74% of the working population is employed in the secondary sector.
1993. The Balade de Séprais, an open-air sculpture exhibition, is created.
Population of Boécourt
| 1818 | 480 |
| 1850 | 655 |
| 1870 | 656 |
| 1900 | 599 |
| 1950 | 645 |
| 1980 | 791 |
| 2000 | 814 |
| 2010 | 862 |
| 2025 | 953 |
Historic sites in Boécourt
Church of Saint-Sébastien. Parish church of Boécourt, rebuilt in 1766. The church had belonged to the abbey of Bellelay. Since 1611 it has also been the church of the former parish of the Mont-Repais (Montavon and the farms of the Rangiers).
Chapel of Sainte-Anne in Montavon. Chapel built in 1898 in the village of Montavon.
Village of Montavon. Sunny village on the old road from the Ajoie to Delémont, mentioned in 1330; it had 115 inhabitants in 1888, 144 in 1900 and 87 in 2007.
Hamlet of Séprais and Balade de Séprais. Hamlet of two groups of farms at the foot of the Rangiers (142 inhabitants in 1888, 63 in 2010), known since 1993 for its open-air sculpture exhibition.
Remains in Boécourt
Les Montoyes site. Pottery from a Late Bronze Age settlement and remains of a Gallo-Roman farmstead occupied from the 1st to the 3rd century.
Merovingian bloomery furnaces of Les Boulies. Merovingian-period iron-smelting workshop with two bloomery furnaces, near Séprais.
Former iron mines of Séprais. South of Séprais, a deposit of siderolithic iron ore was worked from the early Middle Ages to the 19th century. The Rouge Eau stream and the hamlet of Les Lavoirs recall these mines, which from the 17th to the mid-19th century supplied the blast furnaces of the Delémont valley.
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Boécourt » (François Kohler)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Montavon » (François Kohler)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Séprais » (François Kohler)
- Statistique Jura, tableau JU-T.01.01.03, population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025
- geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux « Boécourt »
Other villages near Boécourt
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