Rances (Vaud)

Geschichte

Rances is a municipality in the district of Jura-Nord Vaudois of the canton of Vaud in Switzerland.HistoryRances is first mentioned around 972-73 as Rancias.The name of Rances is apparently derived from a Roman family name, but the exact form of the name has been forgotten. The most dramatic event of its history occurred in 1548, when the village was almost entirely destroyed by an accidental fire.It has been the site of extensive archeological excavations, notably by the University of Geneva.GeographyRances has an area, of 9.8km2. Of this area, 5.9km2 or 60.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 3.41km2 or 34.7% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 0.49km2 or 5.0% is settled (buildings or roads) and 0.04km2 or 0.4% is unproductive land.Of the built up area, housing and buildings made up 1.4% and transportation infrastructure made up 3.1%. Out of the forested land, 32.1% of the total land area is heavily forested and 2.5% is covered with orchards or small clusters of trees. Of the agricultural land, 35.7% is used for growing crops and 8.3% is pastures, while 2.8% is used for orchards or vine crops and 13.1% is used for alpine pastures.The municipality was part of the Orbe District until it was dissolved on 31 August 2006, and Rances became part of the new district of Jura-Nord Vaudois.The municipality is located on a high plateau above the Mujon river valley, a tributary of the Zihl river.