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Montignez

Canton of Jura · District: Porrentruy · 241 inhabitants (2008, former municipality of Montignez, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Basse-Allaine
View of Montignez
Photo: Roland.chollier, CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Must-see historical sites Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Montignez

The village is first mentioned in 731 as « Montaniaco ». The name, ending in -acum, dates back to the Gallo-Roman period.[1][3]

Founding of Montignez

Neither the founder nor the date of the village's creation is known. Remains of walls show occupation in the Gallo-Roman period, and in 1956 a monolithic sarcophagus from the Merovingian period was discovered in the choir of the church. The village is recorded in 731. In the Middle Ages, Montignez shared the fate of the advocacy of Ajoie, which passed to the Bishop of Basel at the end of the 13th century. The abbey of Bellelay, which owned the neighbouring priory of Grandgourt, held major property there. Under the Ancien Régime the village belonged to the mairie of Coeuve. A mixed municipality from 1836, Montignez is now part of the municipality of Basse-Allaine (merger of 1 January 2009).[1][3]

History of Montignez

Gallo-Roman period. Remains of walls show occupation of the site.[3]

731. First mention: « Montaniaco ».[1][3]

1182. The neighbouring convent of Grandgourt is recorded as a daughter house of the abbey of Bellelay. Bellelay makes it a priory in 1208 and becomes a major landowner in Montignez.[2][3]

late 13th century. The advocacy of Ajoie, to which Montignez belongs, passes to the Bishop of Basel.[1][3]

1634-1640. During the Thirty Years' War the church and many houses are burnt by troops in the service of Sweden.[3]

1778. Restoration of the late Gothic choir of the church of Saint-Martin.[3]

1779. The parish ceases to belong to the diocese of Besançon.[1][3]

1793-1813. Montignez is attached to the French departments of Mont-Terrible, then Haut-Rhin.[1]

1815-1978. The village belongs to the canton of Bern (bailiwick, then district of Porrentruy).[1]

1836. Montignez becomes a mixed municipality.[1]

1868. Construction of the porch tower topped by a spire, which dominates the village.[3]

1881. Opening of a precision tool factory, the origin of the Manufactures d'outils Dumont. Watchmaking completes this modest industrialisation.[1][3]

1956. Discovery of the Merovingian sarcophagus in the choir of the church.[3]

1979. Montignez joins the new canton of Jura.

2009. On 1 January Montignez merges with Buix and Courtemaîche into the municipality of Basse-Allaine.[1][3]

Population of Montignez

Sources and references: [1][3]

Population of Montignez
1764240
1818245
1850357
1870407
1900318
1950356
2000249
2008241 (or 243)

Historic sites in Montignez

Church of Saint-Martin. It retains a late Gothic choir, restored in 1778, and a porch tower with a spire from 1868 that dominates the village. A Merovingian sarcophagus was discovered in its choir in 1956.[3]

Half-timbered houses. Several half-timbered houses in the village show the influence of neighbouring Alsace and the Sundgau.[1][3]

Maison Dumont. House from 1920, surrounded by a wooded park laid out in the 1930s-1940s, linked to the precision tool factory opened in 1881.[3]

Grandgourt. Estate and former priory south-west of the village, built in the 12th century in a gorge of the Allaine. A daughter house of Bellelay Abbey, which made it a priory in 1208. Cultural property of national significance.[2][5]

Remains in Montignez

Merovingian sarcophagus. Monolithic sarcophagus from the Merovingian period, discovered in 1956 in the choir of the church of Saint-Martin.[1][3]

Gallo-Roman walls. Remains of walls show occupation of the site in the Gallo-Roman period.[3]

Sources

  1. Dizionario storico della Svizzera, « Montignez » (Dominique Prongué), versione del 28.05.2020
  2. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Grandgourt » (Dominique Prongué), version du 17.11.2016
  3. Inventaire fédéral des sites construits d'importance nationale à protéger en Suisse (ISOS), « Montignez », fiche n° 2405
  4. République et Canton du Jura, Gouvernement, message au Parlement relatif à la révision de la législation en matière de fusion de communes (30 mars 2011)
  5. Office fédéral de la protection de la population (OFPP), Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale du canton du Jura (état au 1.1.2026)
  6. geo.admin.ch (swisstopo), recherche de lieux « Montignez »

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