Ornans | |
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![]() Facades of buildings along the Loue river. | |
Coordinates: 47°06′22″N 6°08′38″E / 47.106°N 6.1438°E | |
Country | France |
Region | Bourgogne-Franche-Comté |
Department | Doubs |
Arrondissement | Besançon |
Canton | Ornans |
Intercommunality | Loue-Lison |
Government | |
• Mayor (2020–2026) | Isabelle Guillame[1] |
Area 1 | 35.72 km2 (13.79 sq mi) |
Population (2021)[2] | 4,422 |
• Density | 120/km2 (320/sq mi) |
Time zone | UTC+01:00 (CET) |
• Summer (DST) | UTC+02:00 (CEST) |
INSEE/Postal code | 25434 /25290 |
Elevation | 323–635 m (1,060–2,083 ft) |
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km2 (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. |
Ornans (French pronunciation: [ɔʁnɑ̃]) is a commune in the Doubs department in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region in eastern France. On 1 January 2016 the former commune Bonnevaux-le-Prieuré was merged into Ornans.[3]
Ornans is a cultural and tourist centre located in the heart of the first plateau of the Jura Mountains in the Loue valley. The town offers tourists a wide range of outdoor activities thanks to the presence of the river and the surrounding cliffs, making it ideal for white-water sports, fishing, hiking, climbing and cycling. The birthplace of the painter Gustave Courbet, to whom it inspired many paintings including the famous A Burial at Ornans, it is home to a museum dedicated to the man and his works, which welcomes tens of thousands of visitors every year. The town also boasts a rich heritage, with twelve listed or classified historic monuments, numerous private mansions and houses whose facades bathed by the river have earned it the nickname of "Little Venice of Franche-Comté".
Ornans is also an economic centre of regional importance, thanks in particular to the presence of an industrial site belonging to the Alstom Transport group, which specialises in the construction of engines for rail transport (including the TGV) and city buses, and the Guillin Emballages company.