Les Bois facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Les Bois
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 Les Bois
Location in Switzerland
Les Bois
Location in Canton of Jura
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| Country | Switzerland | |
| Canton | Jura | |
| District | Franches-Montagnes | |
| Area | ||
| • Total | 24.71 km2 (9.54 sq mi) | |
| Elevation | 1,034 m (3,392 ft) | |
| Highest elevation | 1,119 m (3,671 ft) | |
| Lowest elevation
(Doubs)
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607 m (1,991 ft) | |
| Population
(Dec 2020 )
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| • Total | 1,246 | |
| • Density | 50.425/km2 (130.60/sq mi) | |
| Postal code |
2336
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| Surrounded by | Le Noirmont, Saint-Imier (BE), Sonvilier (BE), La Ferrière (BE), La Chaux-de-Fonds (NE), Fournet-Blancheroche (F), Charquemont (F) | |
Les Bois is a small town, also called a municipality, in the Franches-Montagnes district. It is part of the Jura canton in Switzerland. The name "Les Bois" means "the woods" in French, which fits its forested landscape.
Contents
History of Les Bois
Les Bois was first written about in the year 1484. Back then, it was known as Des Boix. This shows that the town has a long history.
Geography and Landscape
Les Bois covers a large area of about 24.7 square kilometers (9.5 square miles). It is the biggest municipality in the Jura canton. A big part of this land, about 56.6%, is used for farming. This includes pastures for animals.
Forests cover a lot of the area too, about 37.5% of the land. The rest of the land, about 5.5%, has buildings and roads. A small part, 0.4%, is made up of rivers or lakes.
The municipality includes the main village of Les Bois. It also has nine smaller settlements called hamlets. A hamlet is a very small village.
Some nearby towns, including Les Bois, are thinking about joining together. They might form a new, larger municipality called Franches-Montagnes in the future.
Coat of Arms: The Symbol of Les Bois
The official symbol of Les Bois is its coat of arms. It shows three green pine trees with black trunks. They stand on red hills. The background of the shield is silver.
This design is a type of canting arms. This means the picture on the shield gives a hint about the name. Since "Les Bois" means "the woods," the three trees perfectly represent the town's name.
Population and People
Les Bois has a population of about 1,087 people (as of December 2005). Most people in Les Bois speak French. About 93.1% of the population uses French as their main language. German is spoken by about 4.5% of the people, and Italian by 0.6%.
In Les Bois, about 29.6% of the population are children and teenagers (under 20 years old). Adults, aged 20 to 64, make up about 54.2% of the population. Older people, over 64, make up about 16.1%.
Many people who live in Les Bois were also born there. About 45.3% of the people living in Les Bois in 2000 were born in the town itself.
Economy and Jobs
In 2010, the unemployment rate in Les Bois was 4.8%. This means a small number of people who wanted jobs couldn't find them.
The town's economy has different types of jobs:
- Primary Sector: This includes jobs like farming and forestry. About 128 people work in this area.
- Secondary Sector: This involves manufacturing and construction. About 246 people work in factories or building things.
- Tertiary Sector: This covers services, like shops, restaurants, and healthcare. About 116 people work in these types of jobs.
Many people who live in Les Bois travel to other towns for work. About 281 people commute out of Les Bois for their jobs. At the same time, 198 people travel into Les Bois to work. Most people use a private car to get to work, while some use public transportation.
Transportation in Les Bois
Les Bois has good connections by train. There are three railway stations in the municipality. These stations are on the La Chaux-de-Fonds–Glovelier line. The stations are:
- Les Bois
- Le Boéchet
- La Large-Journée
Religion
Based on information from 2000, most people in Les Bois are Roman Catholic, making up about 64.9% of the population. Another group, about 17.2%, belong to the Swiss Reformed Church. Some people belong to other Christian churches, or to the Islamic faith. About 10.3% of the population do not belong to any church.
Education and Schools
In Les Bois, about 31.0% of the people have finished upper secondary education. This is schooling after primary school. About 7.8% have gone on to higher education, like a university.
The school system in the Canton of Jura works like this:
- Children start with two years of non-required Kindergarten.
- Then, they go to six years of Primary school.
- After that, they have three years of required lower Secondary school. Students are grouped by their skills.
- After lower Secondary, students can choose to go to an upper Secondary school for three or four years. They can also start an apprenticeship, which is like learning a job while working.
During the 2009–10 school year, Les Bois had 118 students in 7 classes. There was one kindergarten class with 21 students. There were also 6 primary classes with 97 students. Students from Les Bois go to secondary schools in other towns because there are only nine secondary schools in the whole canton.
See also
In Spanish: Les Bois para niños
