Mijoux

Coat of arms

Mijoux

Location within Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region

Mijoux

Coordinates: 46°21′58″N 5°59′46″E / 46.3661°N 5.9961°ECoordinates: 46°21′58″N 5°59′46″E / 46.3661°N 5.9961°E

Country

Communauté de communes du Pays de Gex

Government

• Mayor (2014-2020)

Jean-Yves Lapeyrère

Area¹

22.00 km² (8.49 sq mi)

Population (2012)²

374

• Density

17/km² (44/sq mi)

Time zone

CET (UTC+1)

• Summer (DST)

CEST (UTC+2)

INSEE/Postal code

01247 /01410

Elevation

866–1,614 m (2,841–5,295 ft)
(avg. 990 m or 3,250 ft)

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

²Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

¹ French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries.

Mijoux is a commune and village in the Ain department in eastern France.

The village is situated in the upper section of the narrow Valserine valley, nestled between high limestone cliffs to the south-east that form the first anticline of the Jura mountains and the edge of the Lajoux plateau to the northwest. However, only the south-eastern side of the valley is within the commune's boundary, which stretches from the source of the Valserine river in the north, to the entry into Lélex, further down the valley, in the south. The commune is roughly 16 km long and 2 km wide.

Despite its high altitude (just under 1000 m), the village is built around a crossroads of regional importance: the valley road (D991) which links Bellegarde-sur-Valserine with Les Rousses here crosses the D936 which links Saint-Claude with Geneva over the Col de la Faucille. Both are former routes nationales.

In 1334 the valley was declared common property and revenue was shared between Jean II de Rossillon and Hugues de Joinville, Sire of Gex. The agreement thereby struck up stated that a hospice should be paid for and built within the valley.

The hospice was inhabited by monks who were charged with caring for the poorest pilgrims visiting the tombs of the Saints of Condat in Saint-Claude. Most of the pilgrims were from Geneva or Savoy. This was the first building to be inhabited year-round in Mijoux.

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Wikipedia