Banvillars

Banvillars
Commune
Coat of arms
Location of Banvillars
Banvillars Banvillars
Coordinates: 47°35′34″N 6°48′56″E
Country	France
Region	Bourgogne-Franche-Comté
Department	Territoire de Belfort
Arrondissement	Belfort
Canton	Châtenois-les-Forges
Intercommunality	Grand Belfort
Government
• Mayor (2020–2026)	Thierry Patte
Area 1	4.67 km2 (1.80 sq mi)
Population  (Jan. 2019)	288
• Density	62/km2 (160/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC+01:00 (CET)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+02:00 (CEST)
INSEE/Postal code	90007 /90800
Elevation	348–444 m (1,142–1,457 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Banvillars is a commune. It is found in the region Bourgogne-Franche-Comté in the Territoire de Belfort department in the northeast of France.

Geography

Banvillars is about 6 km southwest of the city of Belfort. The village is in the Burgundy Gate (Trouée de Belfort), in a wide valley west of the valley of the Savoureuse and its tributary, the Douce. It lies between the Grand Bois hills to the southeast and the Bois du Mont hills to the northwest.

File:Banvillars.jpg

View of Banvillars

The municipality covers an area of 4.67 km². Its land is part of the gently rolling landscape of the Burgundy Gate. The central part of the municipality is the Banvillars valley, which has an average elevation of about 350 m and is about 1.5 km wide. It is mainly used for farmland and meadows. The village stream drains the area northeast towards the Douce, a tributary of the Savoureuse.

The valley is surrounded by wooded hills. To the northwest is the Bois du Mont, where the highest point in Banvillars is reached at 444 m. To the southwest is the Beau Bois, which reaches 415 m and includes Fort du Haut-Bois. To the south is the Grand Bois, which reaches 425 m. Part of the Grand Bois is within the military area of Bois d'Oye.

Banvillars borders Urcerey and Argiésans to the north, Dorans to the east, Brevilliers to the southwest, and Échenans-sous-Mont-Vaudois to the west.

History

Archaeological finds made during the construction of the railway between Belfort and Montbéliard around 1850 show that the area of Banvillars was settled during the Gallo-Roman period.

Banvillars was first mentioned in written records in the early 12th century. It became the center of a small lordship. At first, it was under the influence of the Counts of Montbéliard, but in the middle of the 14th century it came under the rule of the Habsburgs. In 1580, the fief of Banvillars passed to the Landenberg family.

Together with the Sundgau, Banvillars became part of the Kingdom of France after the Peace of Westphalia in 1648. From 1793, it was part of the Haut-Rhin department. After the Franco-Prussian War in 1871, Banvillars remained part of France as part of the Territoire de Belfort, while most of the rest of Alsace became part of the German Empire.

Fort du Haut-Bois was built from 1889 on the Beau Bois hill, near the remains of the medieval castle. It was part of the fortifications built around Belfort.