Bernese Jura

Jura Bernois District
Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois
District

Country   Switzerland
Canton  Bern
Capital Courtelary
Area
 • Total 541 km2 (209 sq mi)
Population (December 2015)
 • Total 53,543
 • Density 99/km2 (260/sq mi)
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)
Municipalities 40

Bernese Jura (French: Jura Bernois) is the name for the French-speaking area of the Swiss canton of Bern, and from 2010 one of ten administrative divisions of the canton.[1]

Comprising the three French-speaking districts in the northern part of the canton, it contains 40 municipalities with an area of 541.71 km2 (209.16 sq mi) and a population (as of December 2015) of 53,543. More than 90% of the population of the three districts speak French.

The Bernese Jura of today comprises only three out of a total of seven districts which were known as the Bernese Jura during the period of 1815–1979. Of the remaining four, three seceded as the canton of Jura in 1979, while the fourth, the Laufen district, joined the canton of Basel-Landschaft in 1994.

History

Territories of the bishopric of Basel in the 16th century

Most of the territory of the Bernese Jura was passed from the County of Burgundy to the Bishopric of Basel in AD 999.

It was annexed by France during the Napoleonic period, 1798-1814. In 1814, the Congress of Vienna accorded it to the canton of Bern to compensate for the loss of the new canton of Vaud.

From 1815 to 1979, the term Bernese Jura also included the territory now forming the canton of Jura, which seceded following a national popular vote on 24 September 1978.

In 1974 a plebiscite voted to remain part of Bern by a margin of only 70 votes. This led to acts of vandalism on 16 March 1974 and on 7 September 1975 an armed standoff at the Hôtel de la Gare in Moutier which was broken up by an elite team of Bernese police on the following day.[2] Two other plebiscites also came down on the side of remaining in the Canton of Bern, including one in 1998 which passed with a thin majority of 41 votes.[3] In 2013 a third plebiscite ended with the majority of residents choosing to remain in Bern, though a majority of residents of Moutier wanted to join Jura.[4] On 18 June 2017 the municipality of Moutier voted to join the Canton of Jura by a small margin of 51.7% (2,067 for leaving and 1,930 for remaining part of Bern).[5]

Its administrative capital was Biel/Bienne from 1815 to 2009. Since 2010, Biel/Bienne has been made the administrative capital of a separate district, and the administrative capital of the remaining Bernese Jura is now Courtelary.

Representation

According to the canton's constitution, one of the seven members of the Executive Council of Bern has to be a French-speaking citizen of this area. Of the 160 seats in the Grand Council of Bern, 12 seats are reserved for the Bernese Jura and an additional three seats are guaranteed for the French-speaking population of the bilingual district of Biel/Bienne.

Administrative divisions

Historically, the region was divided into three districts (2004 population estimates):

In 2010 the three districts were dissolved and merged to form the Arrondissement administratif Jura bernois.[6]

Gorges du Pichou
Flag Name Population
(31 December 2015)[7]		 Area in km²
Belprahon 308 3.83
Champoz 161 7.17
Corcelles 211 6.77
Corgémont 1,677 17.61
Cormoret 482 13.49
Cortébert 710 14.78
Court 1,418 24.61
Courtelary 1,360 22.17
Crémines 529 9.48
Eschert 375 6.58
Grandval 388 8.23
La Ferrière 544 14.20
La Neuveville 3,693 6.81
Loveresse 322 4.72
Mont-Tramelan 116 4.64
Moutier 7,615 19.60
Nods 746 26.66
Orvin 1,195 21.59
Perrefitte 434 8.57
Péry-La Heutte 1,919 23.79
Petit-Val 411 23.85
Plateau de Diesse 2,030 25.55
Rebévelier 43 3.54
Reconvilier 2,334 8.24
Renan 896 12.63
Roches 214 9.05
Romont 195 7.03
Saicourt 607 13.76
Saint-Imier 5,101 20.89
Sauge 810 13.44
Saules 159 4.28
Schelten 38 5.57
Seehof 68 8.41
Sonceboz-Sombeval 1,932 15.00
Sonvilier 1,257 23.79
Sorvilier 280 6.89
Tavannes 3,612 14.78
Tramelan 4,417 24.83
Valbirse 4,009 18.67
Villeret 927 16.23
Total (40) 53,543 541.75

Mergers

See also

References

  1. ↑ Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz, Mutationsmeldungen 2009 / Répertoire officiel des communes de Suisse, Mutations 2009 / Elenco ufficiale dei Comuni della Svizzera, Mutazione 2009 (PDF) (Report). Federal Statistical Office. 2009. 2776. Archived from the original (PDF) on 18 November 2010. Retrieved 6 March 2010.
  2. ↑ Kucera, Andrea (16 July 2012). "Die Jura-Autonomisten wittern Morgenluft". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 2013-06-25.
  3. ↑ Moutier in German, French and Italian in the online Historical Dictionary of Switzerland.
  4. ↑ Kucera, Andrea (25 November 2013). "Alle Augen sind auf Moutier gerichtet". Neue Zürcher Zeitung. Retrieved 14 June 2017.
  5. ↑ Jaberg, Samuel (18 June 2017). "Swiss town of Moutier votes to change cantons". SWI swissinfo.ch. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
  6. ↑ Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz (in German) accessed 4 April 2011
  7. ↑ Swiss Federal Statistical Office - STAT-TAB, online database – Ständige und nichtständige Wohnbevölkerung nach institutionellen Gliederungen, Geburtsort und Staatsangehörigkeit (in German) accessed 30 August 2016
  8. ↑ Nomenklaturen – Amtliches Gemeindeverzeichnis der Schweiz (in German) accessed 13 December 2014

Coordinates: 47°10′29″N 7°18′21″E / 47.17472°N 7.30583°E / 47.17472; 7.30583

  1. 1 2 "Karte der Verwaltungskreise und Verwaltungsregionen" (PDF) (PDF) (in German). Thun, Berne: Justiz-, Gemeinde- und Kirchendirektion, Canton of Berne. 1 January 2015. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
  2. 1 2 "Regierungsstatthalterämter" (in German). Thun, Berne: Justiz-, Gemeinde- und Kirchendirektion, Canton of Berne. Retrieved 2015-10-14.
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