Jura (department)

Jura (ˈ(d)ʒʊərə , ʒyʁa)Arpitan is a département in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in Eastern France. Named after the Jura Mountains, its prefecture is Lons-le-Saunier. Its subprefectures are Dole and Saint-Claude. In 2019, Jura had a population of 259,199. Its INSEE code is 39. It has a short portion of the border of Switzerland. Historically, Jura belonged to the Free County of Burgundy, known in French as the Franche-Comté. Dole was the capital until the region was conquered by Louis XIV and the capital was moved to Besançon. Dole is now a sous-préfecture, or sub-prefecture, of Jura. As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the southern two-thirds of Jura spoke a dialect of Arpitan language. It continued to be spoken in rural areas into the 20th century. Jura is one of the original 83 départements of France, it being created during the French Revolution on 4 March 1790. It was established from part of the former province of Franche-Comté. The prefecture is Lons-le-Saunier. Population development since 1801: The most populous commune is Dole; the prefecture Lons-le-Saunier is the second-most populous. As of 2019, there are 5 communes with more than 5,000 inhabitants: Jura is one of eight départements of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region and is surrounded by the French départements of Doubs, Haute-Saône, Côte-d'Or, Saône-et-Loire, and Ain, as well as the Swiss canton of Vaud on the east. The Jura mountains are wooded and rolling, not craggy and rocky like the Alps. Many lakes can be found throughout the Jura, the largest natural lake being Lac de Chalain, measuring 3 km long and 1 km wide. Lac de Vouglans was formed after the building of a hydro-electric dam. It is one of the largest man-made lakes in France. The President of the Departmental Council has been Clément Pernot (miscellaneous right) since 2015. In the 2017 legislative election, Jura elected the following representatives to the National Assembly: The climate of the Jura varies greatly by elevation.