Le Maira
Origin of the name Le Maira
The official name is spelled « Le Mairâ ». Where does the name come from? That is still unknown.
Founding of Le Maira
Nobody knows who founded Le Maira. The hamlet, lying apart from the village of Buix on the Franco-Swiss border, first appears as a colonge (manorial estate) of Lucelle Abbey. Under the Ancien Régime its inhabitants formed a separate community. Le Maira then belonged to the former municipality of Buix, now part of Basse-Allaine (merger of 1 January 2009).[1][2]
History of Le Maira
1314. Le Maira is a colonge of Lucelle Abbey.[1]
1386. On 5 July, Prince-Bishop Imier de Ramstein sells Porrentruy and neighbouring villages, including Le Maira and Buix, to the counts of Montbéliard.[1]
1740. On 14 February, during the troubles of 1730-1740, the community of Le Maira submits to Prince-Bishop Jacques-Sigismond de Reinach.[1]
1780. On 11 July, a border rectification treaty between France and the Prince-Bishopric of Basel concerns, among others, Buix, Le Maira, Bure and Boncourt.[1]
1844. The Buix communal assembly discusses building the Buix-Le Maira road.[1]
1851. The inhabitants of Le Maira ask to be attached to the municipality of Buix, which accepts on 24 May with reservations owing to the hamlet's distance.[1]
1870. The chapel is built and blessed on 15 October.[1]
1910. The Bernese government establishes the Le Maira school, after the Buix assembly had refused it.[1]
1915-1917. During the First World War, German or foreign aircraft fly over the hamlet several times.[1]
1921. The Buix assembly deliberates on supplying water to Le Maira.[1]
1949. The Buix assembly examines building a new school building at Le Maira.[1]
1962. On 10 February, the Buix assembly decides to close the Le Maira class.[1]
1969. On 16 November, the restored chapel is inaugurated.[1]
1974. The Buix assembly decides to sell the Le Maira pond. The same year, the Spéléo-Club Jura fits out the artificial well of Le Maira.[1]
1992. On 5 July, the chapel, restored once again, is inaugurated.[1]
1993. Buix votes 70'000 francs to repair the Buix-Le Maira road, which is then taken over by the canton.[1]
Historic sites in Le Maira
Le Maira chapel. Chapel built in 1870, restored in 1969 and again in the early 1990s (inaugurated in 1992).[1]
Artificial well of Le Maira. Well fitted out in 1974 by the Spéléo-Club Jura.[1]
Sources
- Denis Moine, Chronologie jurassienne, « Maira Buix »
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Buix » (Dominique Prongué), version du 28.05.2020
- Statistique Jura, tableau JU-T.01.01.03, population résidante permanente au 31 décembre 2025
- geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux et limites communales historiques
Other villages near Le Maira
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