When planning a trip, Bart offers clear themes: forests, paths along waterways and through the woods, and Fort du Mont-Bart. There are also two cycling routes described in different ways and the Cité ouvrière Japy Frères et Cie workers’ housing estate. If you are considering a short trip, you can decide what to focus on in Bart by whether nature and cycling or its historical side will shape your stay.
Forests and trails through the landscape
The forests of Bart cover just under 100 hectares and consist mainly of beech trees, with some sessile oaks and a few conifers. Numerous rare plants grow in the forests, including the Turk’s cap lily. The tree composition describes the forest as a whole, while the Turk’s cap lily provides a specific botanical highlight.
Three quarters of Bart’s forests lie around Mont-Bart and are criss-crossed by forest trails. Several paved greenways and cycling paths are intended for walkers and cyclists. They run along the Rupt and Allan waterways and through the forest of Mont-Bart. This lets you distinguish paths along waterways from trails through the forest as different landscape settings.
Cycling routes with different formats
Bart’s cycling network includes EuroVelo 6, which connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Black Sea. The Circuit cyclo touristique n° 3 has a different format: the 17 km loop passes through Montbéliard, among other places. The difference when choosing a route lies in its scale and format: EuroVelo 6 places Bart on a long-distance connection, while the Circuit is a numbered loop with a defined route. This puts a regional connection and a loop of a specified length side by side as different ways to plan a ride.
The fort and trails at Mont-Bart
Fort du Mont-Bart was built between 1874 and 1877 as part of a national defensive chain. It is located within the territories of the municipalities of Bavans and Bart. Its construction period and role in the defensive chain give the fort a clear historical focus.
The Mont-Bart loop trail is marked and maintained by the Les Randonneurs de la Vallée du Rupt association. The GR5 passes by the fort. Those who want to explore Mont-Bart via the loop trail will find details about its marking and maintenance; for the GR5, the fort is the specific point along the route.
A workers’ housing estate from the industrial past
Another historical theme leads to the Cité ouvrière Japy Frères et Cie. The Japy Frères et Cie company built the workers’ housing estate between 1920 and 1928. It was presumably intended to house Czech workers from the La Roche factory.
Different aspects of the past therefore sit side by side: the fort relates to national defence, while the workers’ housing estate relates to the probable connection between factory work and housing. The presumed purpose specifically concerns Czech workers from the La Roche factory. This adds a theme to the picture of Bart that differs from its forest and cycling trails.
Discover more travel destinations: La Cluse-et-Mijoux, Fourbanne, Mancenans, Voujeaucourt, Mamirolle, Émagny, Loray, Les Auxons
For the regional travel overview: Doubs.
