Fontenais facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fontenais
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 Fontenais
Location in Switzerland
Fontenais
Location in Canton of Jura
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| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Jura | |
| District | Porrentruy | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 19.99 km2 (7.72 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 458 m (1,503 ft) | |
| Population
(Dec 2020 )
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| • Total | 1,690 | |
| • Density | 84.54/km2 (219.0/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
2902
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| Localities | Villars-sur-Fontenais | |
| Surrounded by | Bressaucourt, Porrentruy, Cornol, Courgenay, Ocourt | |
Fontenais is a small town, also called a municipality, located in the Jura region of Switzerland. It's part of the Porrentruy district. In 2013, another nearby town called Bressaucourt joined with Fontenais to become one larger municipality.
Contents
A Look at Fontenais' Past
Fontenais is quite old! We first find its name mentioned in historical records way back in the year 1148. Back then, it was known as Fonteneis.
Exploring Fontenais' Geography
Fontenais covers an area of about 10.48 square kilometers (which is about 4 square miles). A big part of this land, almost half (48.7%), is used for farming. Another large section, 43.5%, is covered by forests.
About 7.4% of the land has buildings and roads, making up the settled areas. Only a tiny bit, 0.4%, is land that isn't used for farming or building.
- What's on the land?
- In the built-up areas, about 4.9% is homes and other buildings.
- Roads and other ways to get around make up 1.6% of the settled land.
- In the forests, 41.8% of the total land is dense forest.
- Another 1.6% has orchards or small groups of trees.
- For farming, 27.5% of the land grows crops.
- 19.0% is used for pastures where animals graze.
- A small part (1.1%) has orchards or vineyards.
Fontenais is located south of the city of Porrentruy. It stretches across a small valley and up the sides of the mountains around it. The main village of Fontenais grew in this area. The municipality also includes a smaller village called Villars-sur-Fontenais and several scattered farmhouses. There are even stories that the remains of an old castle from the 11th century are buried on a nearby hill called Le Chételat.
Understanding the Coat of Arms
Every town has a special symbol called a coat of arms. Fontenais' coat of arms is blue, with a silver fountain in the middle. At the top, there's a gold band with two red stars. The fountain on the coat of arms is a clever design because the French word for fountain is fontaine, which sounds a lot like "Fontenais"! This is called a "canting" arm, meaning the design hints at the name.
Who Lives in Fontenais?
Fontenais has a population of about 1,262 people. As of 2008, about 6.5% of the people living there were from other countries. Over the past ten years (from 2000 to 2010), the number of people living in Fontenais changed a little, going down by 1.7%.
- Languages spoken:
- Population by gender and origin (2008):
- About 48.0% of the population is male, and 52.0% is female.
- 550 men (44.2%) are Swiss citizens.
- 47 men (3.8%) are not Swiss citizens.
- 604 women (48.6%) are Swiss citizens.
- 43 women (3.5%) are not Swiss citizens.
- Where people were born (2000):
- About 34.9% of the people living in Fontenais were born right there.
- 40.1% were born in the same canton (Jura).
- 10.4% were born somewhere else in Switzerland.
- 11.0% were born outside of Switzerland.
- Age groups (2000):
- Children and teenagers (0–19 years old) make up 25% of the population.
- Adults (20–64 years old) make up 57.7%.
- Seniors (over 64 years old) make up 17.3%.
- Households and homes (2000):
- There were 509 private homes in Fontenais, with about 2.4 people living in each home on average.
- 151 homes had only one person living in them.
- 41 homes had five or more people.
- Most apartments (89.2%) were lived in all year round.
- A small number (6.2%) were used only during certain seasons.
- About 4.6% of apartments were empty.
The chart below shows how the population of Fontenais has changed over many years:
How People Work in Fontenais
In 2010, about 4.9% of people in Fontenais who wanted to work were unemployed. Many people in Fontenais have jobs in different areas:
- Primary Sector: This includes jobs like farming and forestry. In 2008, 43 people worked in this area, with 15 businesses.
- Secondary Sector: This includes jobs in factories and construction. In 2008, 39 people worked here, with 13 businesses.
- Tertiary Sector: This includes jobs in services, like shops, transport, and education. In 2008, 74 people worked here, with 19 businesses.
Overall, 593 people living in Fontenais had jobs, and about 44.7% of them were women.
- Where people work:
- Many people from Fontenais travel to other towns for work. In 2000, 454 people left Fontenais for their jobs.
- Only 58 people came into Fontenais from other places to work.
- Most people (73.4%) use a private car to get to work.
- A smaller number (6.2%) use public transportation.
Religion in Fontenais
Based on information from the year 2000:
- Most people (72.4%) are Roman Catholic.
- About 11.6% belong to the Swiss Reformed Church.
- A small number of people belong to other Christian churches (6.33%) or are Islamic (1.20%).
- About 6.81% of the population does not belong to any church, or are agnostic (meaning they aren't sure if God exists) or atheist (meaning they don't believe in God).
Learning and Education
Education is very important in Switzerland! In Fontenais, about 31.3% of the adults have finished high school (called upper secondary education). About 8.6% have gone on to higher education, like a university.
- The school system in Jura Canton:
- Kids can go to two years of optional Kindergarten.
- Then, they go to six years of Primary school.
- After that, there are three years of required lower Secondary school. Students are grouped by their abilities.
- After lower Secondary, students can choose to go to an optional upper Secondary school for three or four years, or they can start an apprenticeship (learning a job while working).
During the 2009-2010 school year, Fontenais had 104 students in 6 classes. There was one kindergarten class with 21 students and five primary classes with 83 students. Since there are only nine Secondary schools in the whole canton, students from Fontenais go to Secondary school in a different town.
In 2000, only 3 students came to Fontenais to go to school, while 95 students from Fontenais went to schools outside the municipality.
See also
In Spanish: Fontenais para niños
