Divonne-les-Bains

History

From the 2nd century BC the Romans progressively conquered and settled area north of the Alps and west to Lake Geneva. Julius Caesar decisively defeated the local Helvetii in 58 BC. Roman settlements flourished in Nyon and Geneva. The natural springs of Divonne were appreciated by the Romans, who built an aqueduct of about 11 km from Divonne to Nyon to supply water to their garrison. Many traces of this aqueduct have been found; they continue to be excavated, often as new building developments are undertaken. In the Middle Ages, Divonne's name emerged, as a parish and in the context of its fortified castle and feudal owners. In the 12th century the parish of Divonne was part of the Diocese of Geneva. By the beginning of the 12th century the Lords of Divonne, in the fiefdom of the lords of Gex, had constructed a fortified castle, on the site of the present Château de Divonne. In 1225 Amadeus II, the Lord of Gex gifted the fiefdom of Divonne to the monastery of Saint-Claude. Sixty years later in 1285, Léonète, the Lady of Gex, alongside her son Pierre, successfully petitioned Amadeus V of Savoy for the return of the castle to their possessions. The Lord of Divonne in 1356 was Amé II de Joinville, whose daughter Aymonette married Jacques de Gingins. Her descendant, Laurent de Gignins, was the last of his line to be Lord of Divonne. He had married Jeanne de Symond, and following his death in 1653, she married Gilbert I de La Forest of Savoy. She bequeathed the Divonne estate to him; it was retained in the family until the French Revolution in 1789. Although the French Revolution deprived the aristocracy of much of their assets, Louis de la Forest was able recover some of his land including forests in the Jura, and in 1827 he was named as a hereditary member of…

Geography

Divonne-les-Bains has an oceanic climate (Köppen climate classification Cfb). The average annual temperature in Divonne-les-Bains is . The average annual rainfall is with December as the wettest month. The temperatures are highest on average in July, at around , and lowest in January, at around . The highest temperature ever recorded in Divonne-les-Bains was on 19 July 2022; the coldest temperature ever recorded was on 5 February 2012.

Most-observed species

• Yellow-legged hornet

  Vespa velutina Lepeletier, 1836 · Insecta
  5,113
• Carrion Crow

  Corvus corone Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,534
• House Sparrow

  Passer domesticus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,346
• Common Wood-Pigeon

  Columba palumbus Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  4,063
• Eurasian Blackbird

  Turdus merula Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,791
• Eurasian Blue Tit

  Cyanistes caeruleus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,403
• Great Tit

  Parus major Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,319
• Mallard

  Anas platyrhynchos Linnaeus, 1758 · Aves
  3,134

Most recent

• M 3.6 — 2026-01-12
  4 km SSW of Les Houches, France
• M 3.3 — 2022-09-25
  7 km ESE of Ar?ches-la-Frasse, France
• M 4.5 — 2022-03-12
  3 km S of Faverges, France
• M 3.4 — 2020-06-23
  11 km ESE of Samoëns, France
• M 3.2 — 2017-11-17
  10 km NNE of Saint-Rémy-de-Maurienne, France
• M 4.1 — 2017-07-01
  7 km E of Châtel-Saint-Denis, Switzerland