Joyeux, Ain

Joyeux
Chateau
Joyeux
Location within Rhône-Alpes region Joyeux
Coordinates:
Country	France
Region	Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
Department	Ain
Arrondissement	Bourg-en-Bresse
Canton	Meximieux
Intercommunality	Plaine de l'Ain
Government
• Mayor (2008–2014)	Marius Brocard
Area1	16.58 km2 (6.40 sq mi)
Population (2008)2	233
• Density	14/km2 (36/sq mi)
INSEE/Postal code	01198 / 01800
Elevation	272–298 m (892–978 ft) (avg. 285 m or 935 ft)
1 French Land Register data, which excludes lakes, ponds, glaciers > 1 km² (0.386 sq mi or 247 acres) and river estuaries. 2 Population without double counting: residents of multiple communes (e.g., students and military personnel) only counted once.

Joyeux is a commune in the Ain department in eastern France.

Geography

Joyeux lies less than 5 km (3.1 mi) from the wildlife park at Villars-les-Dombes and 40 km (25 mi) from Lyon in the natural region of the Dombes, a wide extent of middle and upper Pleistocene moraine left near the margin of the Alpine ice sheets. The commune includes some thirty lakes which together represent some 4 square kilometres of water. The land between them is of gravel, sand and clay.

History

The fief of Joyeux was mentioned in the twelfth century. In the fifteenth century, it was in the possession of the Villars family.

On 13 February 2006, a wild duck was found dead on the fen. It was the first attested case of the presence of the bird flu virus H5N1 in France.

Administration

List of the mayors

Period	Name	Party	Background
2001	Marius Brocard		Farmer

Population

Historical population
Year	Pop.	±%
1962	135	—
1968	146	+8.1%
1975	142	−2.7%
1982	151	+6.3%
1990	171	+13.2%
1999	206	+20.5%
2006	233	+13.1%

Sights

Old farms typical of the region. The nineteenth century Château de Joyeux.

See also

• Communes of the Ain department
• Dombes

References

• INSEE

External links

• Communes nearest to Joyeux
• Joyeux on the map of France
• Joyeux on Mapquest
• Dombes and the city of Joyeux