La Baroche
Origin of the name La Baroche
None of the five former communes was called La Baroche. The word already named their area, however: the narrow-gauge line licensed in 1910 between Alle and Courgenay, via Miécourt, Charmoille and Fregiécourt, was called the Baroche railway, and a family help service set up in 1973 « dans la Baroche » served the five villages. How the name was chosen for the commune merged in 2009 is not known.[5]
Founding of La Baroche
La Baroche unites Asuel, Charmoille, Fregiécourt, Miécourt and Pleujouse. Starting from an initiative launched in spring 2008, the merger is voted on 13 July 2008 by the communal assemblies of the five villages, then ratified by the Jura Parliament. It is one of the seven mergers that, on 1 January 2009, bring the canton of Jura down from 83 to 64 communes. The five villages share a similar seigneurial past. Asuel and Pleujouse grew up near castles whose origins reportedly go back to the 11th century, and the Asuel family also left its mark on Fregiécourt. From the 14th to the 16th century the localities gradually became fiefs of several lords, chief among them the prince-bishop of Basel, whose fate they then shared until the Revolution. Church life was partly shared too: in 1820 Charmoille, Asuel, Fregiécourt and Pleujouse still split the cost of casting a bell.[1][2][3][5]
History of La Baroche
Neolithic. A dolmen, of which remains survive, is raised at Fregiécourt.[1]
Roman period. A Gallo-Roman villa stands at Miserez, between Charmoille and Miécourt, and a Roman road crosses the Col des Rangiers.[1]
866. Miécourt is the first of the five villages to appear in the written record.[1]
1105. Pleujouse castle is recorded under the name « Pluiusa ». It soon passes into the fief of the bishopric of Basel.[1]
1123-1124. Hugues de Charmoille takes part in founding the abbey of Lucelle.[1]
1136. The Asuel family appears with Bourcard and Henri. The first trace of Fregiécourt dates from the same year.[1]
1145. Bishop Ortlieb of Frobourg gives the church of Charmoille to the abbey of Lucelle.[5]
1386. The Asuel banner is lost at the battle of Sempach. It is kept in the archives of the canton of Lucerne.[1]
1479. The Asuel family, which had given many provosts to Saint-Ursanne, dies out with Jean-Lutold.[1]
1793. After the episode of the Rauracian Republic the villages pass to France: department of Mont-Terrible, then Haut-Rhin from 1800 to 1814. The former bishopric of Basel is assigned to the canton of Bern in 1815.[1]
1918. On 7 October the balloonist Lieutenant Walter Flury is shot down over Miécourt by a German airman. A monument recalls his death.[1]
1924. On 31 August the Sentinelle des Rangiers is inaugurated at the pass. The decision to erect a national monument there dated from 9 November 1919.[1]
1939. The Col des Rangiers is fortified with anti-tank works, among them the Chételat fort. Decommissioned in the late 1990s, they are looked after by an association.[1]
2008. On 26 March an initiative is launched in favour of merging the five communes.[2]
2008. On 13 July the communal assemblies accept the merger: Asuel by 51 votes to 34, Charmoille by 107 to 75, Fregiécourt by 51 to 40, Miécourt by 168 to 44, Pleujouse by 32 to 30.[1][2]
2008. The Jura Parliament ratifies the merger on 3 September.[2]
2009. The merger comes into force on 1 January. The first communal council is constituted on 6 January.[1][2][3]
2009. First communal assembly of La Baroche, on 20 April.[2]
2012. On 15 November a new coat of arms bearing a damassine flower is adopted.[2]
2013. The coat of arms of the new commune is inaugurated on 25 May. Two days later the regulations of the former communes are repealed.[2]
Population of La Baroche
Sources and references: [4][7][8]
| 2001 | 216 (Asuel, at 31 December) |
| 2001 | 342 (Charmoille, at 31 December) |
| 2001 | 129 (Fregiécourt, at 31 December) |
| 2001 | 448 (Miécourt, at 31 December) |
| 2001 | 86 (Pleujouse, at 31 December) |
| 2012 | 1'154 (at 31 December) |
| 2024 | 1'135 |
Historic sites in La Baroche
Communal administration. It is in Charmoille, route principale 64.[1]
Ruins of Asuel castle. The castle of the lords of Asuel, whose origins reportedly go back to the 11th century, is now in ruins. The ruins and the abandoned town that went with it are a cultural property of national importance. A Bronze Age site lies on the castle's lower slopes.[1][6]
Pleujouse castle. Recorded from 1105, this castle is listed in the inventory of cultural property of regional importance.[1][6]
Former priory of Miserez (Charmoille). The buildings of the former priory, at Miserez-le-Haut, are a cultural property of regional importance. A Gallo-Roman villa once stood on the site.[1][6]
Church of Charmoille. The foundation stone of the present church was laid on 21 March 1866 and it was consecrated on 11 October 1868. Restored, it was inaugurated again on 21 June 1992.[5]
Trenches and fort of the Rangiers. Dug in 1914, when Switzerland feared an attack through the Belfort Gap, trenches are still visible at La Caquerelle. The Chételat fort can be visited.[1]
Sources
- Commune de La Baroche, « Histoire »
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Baroche, commune »
- République et Canton du Jura, « Message du Gouvernement au Parlement relatif à la révision de la législation en matière de fusion de communes » (30 mars 2011)
- Statistique Jura, « Mémento statistique Jura 2025 » (population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2024)
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Charmoille »
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population (OFPP), Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale du canton du Jura (état au 1.1.2026)
- Bureau de la statistique du canton du Jura, tableaux 1.1.020 et 1.2.020, « Communes classées selon le nombre croissant d'habitants » (population résidante au 31.12.2001)
- Statistique Jura, tableau JU-1.2.11, « Population résidante permanente des communes, selon la nationalité et le sexe, au 31 décembre 2012 »
Localities of the municipality with a page
Other villages near La Baroche
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