Biel/Bienne
| Biel/Bienne | ||||||||||
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| Population | 50,455 (Dec 2009)[1] | |||||||||
| - Density | 2,380 /km2 (6,164 /sq mi) | |||||||||
| Area | 21.20 km2 (8.19 sq mi) | |||||||||
| Elevation | 434 m (1,424 ft) | |||||||||
| Postal code | 2500-2510 | |||||||||
| SFOS number | 0371 | |||||||||
| Mayor | Hans Stöckli (as of 1990) SPS/PSS | |||||||||
| Surrounded by | Brügg, Ipsach, Leubringen/Magglingen (Evilard/Macolin), Nidau, Orpund, Orvin, Pieterlen, Port, Safnern, Tüscherz-Alfermée, Vauffelin | |||||||||
| Twin towns | Iserlohn (Germany) | |||||||||
| Website | www.biel-bienne.ch SFSO statistics |
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  Biel/Bienne
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| View map of Biel/Bienne | ||||||||||
Biel/Bienne is a city in the district of the Biel/Bienne administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland.
It is located on the language boundary and is throughout bilingual. Biel is the German name for the town, Bienne its French counterpart. The town is often referred to in both languages simultaneously. Since January 1, 2005, the official name has been "Biel/Bienne", unofficially also "Biel-Bienne". Until then, the city was officially named Biel (BE).[2]
The city lies at the foot of the first mountain range of the Jura Mountains area, guarding the only practical connection to Jura in the area, on the northeastern shores of Lake Biel (Bielersee, Lac de Bienne), sharing the eastern tip of the lake with its sister city, Nidau, the administrative centre of the District of Nidau. Neuchâtel, Solothurn & Bern (the capital of Switzerland) lie west, east and southeast of Biel/Bienne. They all can be reached in about 30 minutes, either by train or by car.
The city has about 50,000 inhabitants and the agglomeration near 100,000.
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History
The origin of the city has been traced to the times when Celts settled in the region. At the time it was called Belenus, after a Celtic deity. The Romans later inhabited the area. The township itself was built in the 11th century, and in 1275 it was chartered.
Biel has remained under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Basel for hundreds of years. In 1279 the town entered an alliance with Bern which was made permanent in 1352. There have been several conflicts between the inhabitants of Biel and the Bishop of Basel. In 1798 Biel was invaded by French troops. After Napoleon's collapse, the town became a part of the Canton of Bern (fr: Canton de Berne), in 1815.
Biel had been asked, at the time of the creation of the Canton de Jura, to become its capital, but it remained with the canton of Bern. Today the population is an estimated 51,900.
Geography
Biel/Bienne has an area, as of 2009[update], of 21.23 square kilometers (8.2 sq mi). Of this area, 1.7 square kilometers (0.7 sq mi) or 8.0% is used for agricultural purposes, while 9.63 square kilometers (3.7 sq mi) or 45.4% is forested. Of the rest of the land, 9.65 square kilometers (3.7 sq mi) or 45.5% is settled (buildings or roads), 0.13 km2 (32 acres) or 0.6% is either rivers or lakes and 0.14 km2 (35 acres) or 0.7% is unproductive land.[3]
Of the built up area, industrial buildings made up 5.1% of the total area while housing and buildings made up 21.9% and transportation infrastructure made up 12.6%. Power and water infrastructure as well as other special developed areas made up 1.7% of the area while parks, green belts and sports fields made up 4.1%. 44.8% of the total land area is heavily forested. Of the agricultural land, 4.7% is used for growing crops and 2.0% is pastures. All the water in the municipality is in rivers and streams.[3]
Language
Most of the population (as of 2000[update]) speaks German (55.4%), with French being second most common (28.1%) and Italian being third (6.0%).[4] The city is officially bilingual (the biggest bilingual city in Switzerland). In addition some 150 nationalities are represented in Biel. In recent years the city has wisely used its linguistic assets as an economic advantage, becoming the Swiss City of Communication. Several call centres have been created in or around Biel, in addition to the traditional businesses established in the city and surrounding area, which have always exported most of their production worldwide.
Demographics
Biel/Bienne has a population (as of 31 December 2009) of 50,455.[1] As of 2007[update], 27.2% of the population was made up of foreign nationals. Over the previous 10 years, the population decreased at a rate of -0.9%.
In the 2007 election, the most popular party was the SPS which received 32.2% of the vote, followed by the SVP (20.1%), the Green Party (18.9%) and the FDP (14.5%).
In 2000, the age distribution of the population was children and teenagers (0–19 years old) made up 18.8% of the population, while adults (20–64 years old) made up 61.6% and the seniors (over 64 years old) 19.7%. In Biel, about 63.1% of the population (between age 25-64) have completed either non-mandatory upper secondary education or additional higher education (either University or a Fachhochschule).[4]
Tourism
Biel/Bienne is the heart of the Swiss watch-making industry. Trademarks such as Swatch, Omega, Rolex and many others are closely associated with the city of Biel, The Swatch Group has its wordwide headquarters in the tree lined "Seevorstadt", in the previous building of ASUAG.
The small but beautiful historic centre, with its gothic church (15th century), impressive guild halls and fountains decorated with flowers, entice one to stroll, while restaurants brimming with character wait to greet visitors on their terraces. Leaving the historic centre, the tree-lined "Seevorstadt" takes to the lake and its beautiful shoreline. On the way the visitors pass the Biel "Cultural Quarter" with the Neuhaus and Schwab Museums and the CentrePasquArt.
The Jura mountains are easily reached by funicular from Biel. It takes just seven minutes to reach Magglingen (where the Federal Sports School is located) and from where numerous walking paths start in every direction. Magglingen, Leubringen, Prêles and the year round resort of Les Prés-d'Orvin offer sensational views of the Alps on a clear day. The highest viewpoint is Chasseral (1607 m a.s.l). The steep gorge of Taubenloch also offers a spectacular scenery.
The port of Biel is the starting point for scenic river and lake cruises, which can take the visitors to the city of Solothurn, St. Peter's Island and the Lakes Neuchâtel and Murten (Three-Lake-Tour). Do not forget to interrupt the lake cruise with a visit to one of the picturesque wine-growing villages to taste their fine products. The experience is at its best during the autumn harvest and when the wine festivals are held against a background of autumn colours. Other culinary specialties of the Biel region include perch and whitefish filets and the famous marc sausage.
Biel also makes the ideal starting point for cycling tours with a wide selection of routes to choose from: sporting cyclists can measure themselves against the Jura foothills or more, while day-trippers can opt for the routes along the waterfront, where restaurants and cafés are on hand to help top up energy reserves. For families a trip to the lakeside Seeland is a must, where kilometres of quiets paths lead through an area of cultivation. The "Vegetable Route" provides information panels along the way on the more than 60 varieties of vegetable cultivated in the area.
With the architecturally impressive Congress Centre, the city of Biel offers excellent facilities for major national and international congresses, meetings and seminars.
Weather
| Climate data for Biel | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Average high °C (°F) | 2 (36) |
4.7 (40.5) |
9 (48) |
13.7 (56.7) |
18.5 (65.3) |
22 (72) |
24.8 (76.6) |
24 (75) |
20.6 (69.1) |
14.4 (57.9) |
7.2 (45) |
3 (37) |
13.7 (56.7) |
| Daily mean °C (°F) | -0.3 (31.5) |
1.3 (34.3) |
4.4 (39.9) |
8.5 (47.3) |
12.8 (55) |
16.3 (61.3) |
18.7 (65.7) |
17.7 (63.9) |
14.5 (58.1) |
9.6 (49.3) |
4.2 (39.6) |
0.9 (33.6) |
9.1 (48.4) |
| Average low °C (°F) | -2.4 (27.7) |
-1.3 (29.7) |
0.9 (33.6) |
4.1 (39.4) |
8.2 (46.8) |
11.6 (52.9) |
13.6 (56.5) |
13.1 (55.6) |
10.3 (50.5) |
6.4 (43.5) |
1.8 (35.2) |
-1.2 (29.8) |
5.4 (41.7) |
| Precipitation mm (inches) | 109 (4.29) |
100 (3.94) |
90 (3.54) |
75 (2.95) |
98 (3.86) |
108 (4.25) |
92 (3.62) |
121 (4.76) |
86 (3.39) |
88 (3.46) |
115 (4.53) |
121 (4.76) |
1,203 (47.36) |
| Avg. precipitation days | 12.2 | 10.5 | 11.6 | 11.2 | 12.7 | 11.5 | 9.8 | 10.7 | 8.3 | 9.1 | 10.7 | 11.7 | 130 |
| Source: MeteoSchweiz [5] | |||||||||||||
Business
The city and its neighbourhood thrive on precision and micro mechanics, the conception and manufacture of highly-specialised, production-oriented machinery and tools. The products are exported worldwide, next to Swiss-made watches of the well known & reputed watch brands located in the city and its vicinity.
- Rolex have since the beginning established and run their movement & technical parts production centres in the city, also
- Swatch Group have their Group & several Brands headquarters, especially Omega SA & Swatch here, as well as
- The Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
- Glycine Watch manufacturing and administration.
Biel has an unemployment rate of 2.92%. As of 2005[update], there were 138 people employed in the primary economic sector and about 20 businesses involved in this sector. 8869 people are employed in the secondary sector and there are 471 businesses in this sector. 23688 people are employed in the tertiary sector, with 2228 businesses in this sector.[4]
Culture
The newspapers Bieler Tagblatt and Journal du Jura as well as the only totally bilingual German/French newspaper Biel-Bienne with its large free distribution within the greater area, are published in Biel.
The city is also known for its annual International Chess Festival.
The city of Biel received the Wakker Prize in 2004.
Each June since 1959, Biel has hosted a 100 km Ultramarathon race, which is among the biggest races of its kind worldwide and forms a part of the European Ultramarathon Cup.
Sport
- EHC Biel, the professional ice hockey team
- FC Biel-Bienne, the soccer club funded in 1896
Notable people born in Biel/Bienne
- Mario Cortesi, (1940) founder and editor of the bilingual newspaper Biel/Bienne, writer, film producer, director and critic
- Ernst Thomke, (1940) turnaround manager, e.g. Swatch
- The Swiss ski mountaineer Andréa Zimmermann
- Robert Walser (writer)
Notable people residing in Biel/Bienne
- Stefanie Vögele, WTA tennis player, currently ranked 97
Honoured Citizen
- Nicolas G. Hayek, promoted to honourable citizenship in 2004, official ceremony held on February 19, 2005.[6]
International relations
Twin towns — Sister cities
Biel/Bienne is twinned with:
Iserlohn, Germany since 1959
Gallery
 Lake Biel |
 town's park |
 the river Suze |
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 Place du Ring |
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.jpg) Magglingen funicular |
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office, MS Excel document – Bilanz der ständigen Wohnbevölkerung nach Kantonen, Bezirken und Gemeinden (German) accessed 25 August 2010
- ↑ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz, Ausgabe 2006, p. 271
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Swiss Federal Statistical Office-Land Use Statistics 2009 data (German) accessed 25 March 2010
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Swiss Federal Statistical Office accessed 29-May-2009
- ↑ "Average Values-Table, 1961-1990" (in German, French, Italian). Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss. http://www.meteoswiss.admin.ch/web/de/klima/klima_schweiz/tabellen.html. Retrieved 8 May 2009.
- ↑ http://www.biel-bienne.ch/ww/fr/pub/home.cfm?setlang=fr
External links
- Official website of Biel/Bienne
- Tourism Biel Seeland
- Biel/Bienne in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
- Biel International Chess Festival
- Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry FH
- Chamber of economy Biel-Seeland
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