Jura is a department in the east of France in the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It is named after the Jura mountains.

The largest city in the department is Dole but its prefecture (capital) is the city of Lons-le-Saunier.

History 
Historically, Jura belonged to the Free County of Burgundy, known in French as the Franche-Comté. Dole was the capital until the region was conquered by Louis XIV. Louis XIV moved the capital to Besançon and Dole is now a sous-préfecture of Jura.

As early as the 13th century, inhabitants of the southern 2/3 of Jura spoke a dialect of Arpitan language. It continued to be spoken in rural areas into the 20th century.

Jura is one of the original 83 departments created during the French Revolution on March 4, 1790. It was created from part of the former province of Free County. The department was created with six districts: Dole, Lons-le-Saunier, Orgelet, Poligny, Saint-Claude and Salins; the capital was Lons-le-Saunier alternating with Dole, Poligny and Salins but from 1794 only Lons-le-Saunier remained as the capital.

In 1800, with the creation of the arrondissements in France, the six districts were changed into four arrondissements: Lons-le-Saunier, Dole, Poligny and Saint-Claude. On 10 September 1926, the arrondissement of Poligny was eliminated.

Geography 
Jura is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. It has an area of .

The department borders with 5 departments in two regions. The Swiss canton of Vaud is to the southeast.

 Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region
 Haute-Saône (north)
 Doubs (east)
 Saône-et-Loire (west)
 Côte-d'Or (northwest)
 Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region
 Ain (south)

The highest point in the department is Crêt Pela (),  high; it is also the highest mountain of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region. The Crêt Pela mountain is in the Forêt du Massacre, Jura mountain range.

Many lakes can be found throughout the Jura department. The largest natural lake in the department is the Lac De Chalain. It is  long and  wide. Lac de Vouglans was formed after the building of a hydro-electric dam; it is one of the largest man-made lakes in France.

The Ain river starts in the Jura department but it is the main river of the Ain department. The Doubs also flows through a part of the department. Many tributaries of both rivers flow, partially or completely, in the Jura department.

Climate 
The climate of the Jura varies greatly by elevation. The lower valleys are temperate and pleasant, but the high mountain valleys have bitterly cold winters.

Administration
Jura is managed by the Departmental Council of Jura in Lons-le-Saunier. The department is part of the Bourgogne-Franche-Comté region.

Administrative divisions
There are 3 arrondissements (districts), 17 cantons and 509 communes (municipalities) in Jura.

The following is a list of the 17 cantons of the Jura department (with their INSEE codes), following the French canton reorganisation which came into effect in March 2015:

 Arbois (3901)
 Authume (3902)
 Bletterans (3903)
 Champagnole (3904)
 Dole-1 (3905)
 Dole-2 (3906)
 Lons-le-Saunier-1 (3907)
 Lons-le-Saunier-2 (3908)
 Moirans-en-Montagne (3909)
 Mont-sous-Vaudrey (3910)
 Morez (3911)
 Poligny (3912)
 Saint-Amour (3913)
 Saint-Claude (3914)
 Saint-Laurent-en-Grandvaux (3915)
 Saint-Lupicin (3916)
 Tavaux (3917)

Demographics
Jura had a population, in 2014, of 260,681, for a population density of  inhabitants/km2. The arrondissement of Lons-le-Saunier, with 126,071 inhabitants, is the arrondissement with more inhabitants.

Evolution of the population in Jura

The cities with more than inhabitants in the department are:

Economy 
Jura is a wine-growing region. The Jura wines are very distinctive and unusual wines, such as vin jaune, which is made by a similar process to sherry. It develops under a flor of yeast. This is made from the local Savagnin grape variety. Other grape varieties include Poulsard, Trousseau, and Chardonnay.

Tourism 
The Jura mountains provide ample opportunities for hiking, skiing, mountain biking and other winter sports.

Related pages
 Arrondissements of the Jura department
 Communes of the Jura department

References

Other websites 

 Prefecture website  
 Departmental Council website 
 Tourism website 
 Tourism Information

Wine regions of France
Departments in Bourgogne-Franche-Comté