POLIGNY
Stage town for the first time
Main town of a canton of Jura (39)
Population: 4,000 (Polinois)
Specialities: the world capital of Comté. Jura wines (yellow wine).
Personalities: Sophie Agacinski (actress), Jean-Pierre Travot (General of the Empire).
Sport: Poligny Jura Basket Comté. Handball Club polinois. Entente Jura Centre d'Athlétisme.
Events: trail of the Croix du Dan. Tour du Jura (cycling).
Economy: Poligny saltworks. Viticulture. Cheese factories, Comté cheese maturing. Grozon gypsum. Agri-food and scientific centre. National school for the dairy industry. Kitchens (Bonnet Thirode)
Festivals: Percée du vin jaune. Polizic (music, September).
Signature: County Capital of the World.
Labels: flower city (**). Quality tourism.
Websites / FB / Twitter: www.ville-poligny.fr / www.cc-coeurdujura.fr / www.jura.fr / www.bourgognefranchecomte.fr
POLIGNY AND CYCLING
Six Jura towns already hosted the Tour de France. Poligny will be the seventh. The closest finish to this pretty little town, which has hosted the Tour du Jura three times, was in Champagnole, 20 km away, where Soren Kragh Andersen won in 2020. Poligny also hosted a stage of the 1995 Grande Boucle women's race to Switzerland, won by Alessandra Cappellotto, who became Italy's first female world road champion two years later.
SIGHTS
Church of Notre-Dame de Mouthier-le-Vieillard
Construction: 9th century Style: Romanesque.
History: of the Romanesque church with three naves, 80 metres long, only the bell tower from 1228 and a few cells from the 11th and 14th centuries remain. However, the interior still contains many treasures: the recumbent tombstone of Antoine de Montmartin, wife of Jean de Poupet; a 15th century stone statue of Saint Anthony; a 14th century monumental calvary, etc. Left abandoned for many years, the church and the square were then restored.
Trivia: it is the oldest monument in the commune. The church is one of the Cluniac sites and as such is a candidate for Unesco World Heritage listing.
Listed as: Historical Monument since 1911.
Collegiate Church of Saint-Hippolyte
Construction: 15th century
Style: Flamboyant Gothic.
History: the construction of the collegiate church can be known with precision thanks to the preservation of numerous archival documents. Its construction, begun in 1414, was more or less completed in 1440. The building site continued until 1450 with the construction of the bell tower. This building is part of the early Flamboyant Gothic style. The importance of the project can be explained, among other things, by the rise in power of Poligny at the time of the separation of the county and duchy of Burgundy.
Characteristics: the speed of its construction gives it a rare unity of style. The square tower of the belfry, off-centre, rises on the left of the façade. This tower ended in a stone spire which was destroyed in the 17th century and replaced by a dome. The 17th century porch is covered by a ribbed vault whose arches fall on Tuscan columns. The interior is remarkable for the sobriety of its lines and the harmony of its proportions. The collegiate church contains the finest collection of 15th century Burgundian school statues in Franche-Comté. The most remarkable are the four statues in the apse and those of the Calvary dominating the entrance to the choir. It also houses a copy of the Virgin and Child (statue by Claus De Werve), the original of which (sold in 1920 by a Polish man) is in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.
Listed as: Historical Monument since 1911.
Former Jacobins Convent (Lycée hôtelier)
Construction: 13th century
Style: Radiant Gothic.
History: The most illustrious families of Poligny have their funerary monuments here. Initially a parish church, in 1271 it became the church of the Order of Friars Preachers, also called Jacobins. During the Revolution, the Jacobin convent was closed and the monks were expelled. In 1795, the church became a gunpowder factory. Its statues were dispersed and are now kept in the Louvre Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York and the Besançon Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology. As a sub-prefecture of the Jura, a grain market, a wine cooperative, the buildings are constantly being reused.
Current use: it currently houses the Hyacinthe-Friant hotel school and the Poligny wine cooperative of the Jura vineyard.
Listed as : Historical Monument since 1945.
Sergeant's Tower
Construction: 15th and 19th centuries.
History: this military tower, which was part of the defences of the castle of Grimont, became in turn a dwelling (16th-19th century), then an oil mill (1840) and a threshing floor (1860). A stream, the Sergentin, flows at its feet.
Current use: owned by the town, it houses mannequins that evoke the resistance of Poligny against the French.
Listed as: Historical Monument since 1985.
Ursuline Convent
Construction: 17th century
History: the Ursuline convent of Poligny was founded in the early 17th century to provide education for the young girls of the town. Destroyed by fire in 1673, the buildings were rebuilt at the end of the 17th century. The convent was abolished during the French Revolution. The facades, roof, vaults and staircases are listed.
Characteristics: the four buildings surrounding the cloister courtyard remain from this monastic complex. The treatment of their elevation is similar to the architectural style of the time: small bays supported on a stringcourse, semi-circular arches resting on columns. The shell niche housing a statue of the Virgin and Child is one of the highlights of the decoration.
Current use: the building, damaged by fire in 2017, is used for housing.
Listed as: Historical Monument since 1994.
Fountains
About fifteen fountains in Poligny have an important heritage interest, including those known as the Dead (16th century), rue du Collège, listed in 1991, the Siren (18th century), rue Hyacinthe-Friant, listed in 1990, and the Sea Horse (18th century), Grande Rue, listed in 1992, as well as that on Place des Déportés.
Croix du Dan (Dan Cross)
La Croix du Dan is the most remarkable viewpoint over the town of Poligny. It is installed on a rocky promontory overlooking the capital of the county and allowing a view of more than 40 kilometres in the direction of Dole. Its origin remains a mystery, although we know that it was built in the years 1870-71. The wrought iron cross is 12 metres high. It faces the Trou de la Lune (Moon Hole), a geological curiosity in the form of a hollow in the cliff and a regional climbing spot.
TO EAT
Maison du Comté
The architecture of the Maison du Comté revisits, in a contemporary style, the traditional farm buildings of Haut-Doubs and Haut-Jura. Its three buildings echo the three trades in this interdependent industry: milk producers, cheese makers and ripeners, who have been united in the heart of the Jura massif for 700 years. This den of the region's king cheese opened its doors in 2021 and already has more than 40,000 visitors per year. In an area of 1,500 m², visitors can discover the whole world of Comté cheese in a fun way. This immersive journey allows the five senses to be fully awakened: hearing, smell, sight, touch and, of course, taste during a tasting at the end of the tour.
