Saint-Ursanne

Another beautiful day in the Jura Canton of Switzerland. We woke a little late but enjoyed a leisurely breakfast overlooking Porrentruy. 

Later in the morning we drove on to Saint-Ursanne, where we were reacquainted with le Doubs River. 

According to legend St-Ursanne was founded in the 7th century when the Irish monk Ursicinus decided he wanted to live here as a hermit. A short time after a religious community settled here, and over the centuries the town grew and became a small but vital community. 

The Fiuntain du Mai (1591) stands in the centre of the village between the collegiate church and the city hall. The statue is of St Ursicinus with a bear at his feet. 

The hosuse frontages to the River Doubs. 

The cloisters of the collegiate church - started in the 1200s, it contains romanesque, gothic and baroque styles. 

A merchants house in the medieval village. 



Some interesting doorways. 

Getting a bit cute with the camera!

Today much of the town is dated from the 12th to the 16th century. The town has a very welcoming atmosphere with mainly service industries to accommodate the visitors to the town. 

The whole Jura area is geared for many outdoor activities, with walking and cycling trails abounding. 

Later in the day we moved on to Moutier where we were to spend the night - parked by a gurgling steam, with the sound of cow bells in the opposite paddock. Must be in Switzerland!

On the way, we past through a number of tunnels - 3 and 4  kilometres in length. Perhaps a Hobart traffic team could head this way and have a look! 

Switzerland- Porrentruy

Switzerland today! We have been on this journey for three weeks, a little slower getting here than we expected. France is always hard to just “travel through” with so many new and interesting places to visit. But, we have finally arrived. 

Monday, being Monday, there always seems to be some jobs to do before you can seriously get on the road. These being done, it was sad to leave the lovely area in Montbéliard beside the Canal du Rhône au Rhin. 

Montbéliard and the Canal du Rhône au Rhin, and our stopover place. . 

It was just a short distance to the Swiss border. The first greeting you get is, “Please pay 40 Swiss francs before entering”! Not very nice, I hear you say, but it is a very efficient way for travelers to navigate the motorways and roads around Switzerland. A much better system than the toll road system elsewhere. We paid, and then drove onto our first stop at Porrentruy for lunch - and, we are still here tonight!

The first Canton (State) we entered is the Canton of Jura. The area of this Canton is equivalent to New York City! It has 73000 people and it is 2.5 hours from Paris by train. And, at the festival of St Martin a kilogram of pork is consumed per person! All useless information!

We spent some time exploring this charming town, with its mixture of gothic, renaissance, baroque and neo-classical buildings, with the obligatory castle overlooking the town. 

The 16th century renaissance fountain - the wild boar on the flag is the emblem of Porrentruy. 
The remaining defensive gates, Porte de France, as part of the cities early fortifications. 

The 13th century Château. 

The 18th century hospital. 

This renaissance fountain depicts  St John the Baptist as a child. 

The lady in the Tourist Office was just delightful. She took a great deal of time and effort in providing information she thought would be helpful in our wandering around Switzerland.  We came away with a bag full of brochures and booklets about many areas across Switzerland. Being an Aussie does help too! 

We are back in a city where the ancient style signage is popular. Some that caught our attention:

We had planned to move on but we spent so much time around the town that it was pointless to drive on any further. So, we stayed put. Such is the life of motorhomers!

Some extra pics from Porrentruy:

The Mutton Hotel!

We are also in the land of the tunnels!