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Coat of arms of Le Bémont

Le Bémont

Canton of Jura · District: Franches-Montagnes · 299 inhabitants (31.12.2025)
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Photo: The original uploader was Vodimivado at German Wikipedia., CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons · Coat of arms: Public domain
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Le Bémont

The place appears in 1330 as « Le Belmont ». It is cited in 1382 in connection with the refusal of the droit d'angal. Where does the name come from? That is still unknown.[1]

Founding of Le Bémont

Neither the founder of Le Bémont nor the date of its creation is known. Recorded in 1330, the place is mentioned in 1382, when delegates from Le Bémont and the surrounding area refuse to pay the burghers of Saint-Ursanne the droit d'angal on wine, intended for the upkeep of the town walls, claiming they do not belong to its provostry. Le Bémont is part of the lordship of the Franches-Montagnes, in the Bishopric of Basel, until 1792. Its scattered settlement (La Bosse, Les Rouges-Terres, Les Communances, Les Royes, Le Praissalet and other farms) explains the division of the municipality into sections that served as electoral districts.[1]

History of Le Bémont

1382. Delegates from Le Bémont and the surrounding area refuse to pay the droit d'angal on wine demanded by the burghers of Saint-Ursanne for the upkeep of their walls.[1]

Until 1629. Le Bémont belongs to the parish of Montfaucon.[1]

1629. Attached to the new parish of Saignelégier.[1]

1670. The Simonin sisters give about 26 hectares of forest to the descendants of their families to protect it from the felling for the Undervelier foundries: origin of the « gaubes » right.[2]

1677. Consecration of the Jean-François Morel oratory.[2]

1719. Construction of the Sainte-Jeanne chapel at La Bosse.[1]

1792. End of its membership in the lordship of the Franches-Montagnes, in the Bishopric of Basel.[1]

1792-1814. Le Bémont belongs to the French department of Mont-Terrible, then to that of Haut-Rhin.[1]

1815-1978. The municipality belongs to the canton of Bern, first to the bailiwick, then to the district of Franches-Montagnes.[1]

1871. During the construction of the Montfaucon-Le Bémont road, bones and coins dated 1624 are discovered.[2]

1882. Inauguration of the new school building.[2]

1892. The Bernese Grand Council divides the parish of Saignelégier into three political municipalities: Saignelégier, Le Bémont and Muriaux (27 September).[2]

1897. Rebuilding of the Sainte-Jeanne chapel at La Bosse.[1]

1908. Electric lighting is inaugurated; between 1901 and 1908 land is expropriated for the Saignelégier-Glovelier railway line.[2]

1947. A military aircraft crashes between Montfaucon and Le Bémont, killing the Jura pilot Jean-Pierre Bueche.[2]

1968. Le Bémont is included in a protected area of national importance.[2]

1969. Creation of the Étang des Royes nature reserve.[1]

1979. Le Bémont becomes part of the new canton of Jura.

2003. The Le Bémont post office closes.[2]

Population of Le Bémont

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Le Bémont
1818582
1850612
1870718
1900637
1950361
2000346
2010329
2025299

Historic sites in Le Bémont

Sainte-Jeanne chapel at La Bosse. Chapel built in 1719 and rebuilt in 1897, dedicated to Jeanne Froidevaux (1596-1625), an Annonciade nun of Pontarlier.[1]

Hamlet of La Bosse. One of the finest built ensembles in the canton of Jura, with farmhouses from the 17th to the 19th century.[1]

Étang des Royes. Nature reserve created in 1969. Les Royes also had a tile works, bankrupt in 1905 and bought in 1912 by Saignelégier and Le Bémont, and a sawmill that burned down in 1947.[1][2]

Jean-François Morel oratory. Oratory consecrated in 1677.[2]

Creux and Petit-Creux caves. Caves opened in 1889 and 1892. The Grand Creux cave reopens in 1893 and is considered for a tourist project in 1939.[2]

Remains in Le Bémont

Bones and coins of 1624. Found in 1871 during work on the Montfaucon-Le Bémont road. Where they came from is not known.[2]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Le Bémont (JU) » (Claude Rebetez)
  2. Commune du Bémont, « Historique »
  3. Statistique Jura, tableau JU-T.01.01.03, population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025
  4. geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux « Le Bémont »

Localities of the municipality with a page

Other villages near Le Bémont

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