Bévilard

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Bern (BE)

Administrative district :

Bernese Jura

Residential municipality :

Valbirse

Postal code :

2735

former BFS no. :

0682

Coordinates :

588 265 / 231772 coordinates: 47 ° 14 '12 " N , 7 ° 17' 1" O ; CH1903: 588,265 / 231772

Height :

691 m above sea level M.

Area :

5.63 km²

Residents:

1741 (December 31, 2014)

Population density :

309 inhabitants per km²

Website:

www.valbirse.ch

Bévilard

map

Bévilard is a place in the municipality of Valbirse , which is in the Bernese Jura administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland . The former German name Bewiler is no longer used today.

Until December 31, 2014, Bévilard was an independent political municipality . On January 1, 2015, Bévilard merged with the municipalities of Malleray and Pontenet to form the new municipality of Valbirse .

geography

Bévilard is 691 m above sea level. M. , eight kilometers southwest of Moutier (linear distance ). The village is located in the basin of the Jura latitudinal valley Vallée de Tavannes and extends from the Birs to the adjacent slopes of.

The area of the 5.6 square kilometer former municipal area includes a section of the wide Vallée de Tavannes, which is drained by the Birs. In the north the area extends over the pastures Pâturage du Droit up to 880 m above sea level. M. on the southern slope of the Moron Jura range . To the south, the former municipal area extends over the densely wooded steep slope of the Forêt de l'Envers to the Bergerie de Bévilard on the Montoz chain. At the apex of the Montoz ridge is 1327 m above sea level. M. reached the highest point of Bévilard. In 1997, 11% of the former municipal area was accounted for by settlements, 49% for forests and woodlands and 40% for agriculture.

Several individual farms belong to Bévilard. Neighboring municipalities to Bévilard are Champoz , Sorvilier and Péry-La Heutte .

population

Population development
year	Residents
1850	294
1900	652
1910	808
1930	933
1950	1'130
1960	1,604
1970	1'952
1980	1,707
1990	1,707
2000	1,666

With 1730 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2013), Bévilard was one of the larger communities in the Bernese Jura . 85.1% of the residents are French-speaking, 5.9% German-speaking and 4.7% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Bévilard recorded significant growth rates, especially around the middle of the 20th century. After peaking around 1970, significant outflow was observed in the following decade. The population has remained stable since 1980. The village has grown together with the neighboring village of Malleray.

economy

Bévilard was an agricultural village until the second half of the 19th century , but then quickly developed into an industrial community. Today only 2% of the working population work in agriculture. With industrialization , machine and watch factories settled in the village. By the crisis in the watch industry during the 1970s Bévilard was hit hard, resulting in numerous job losses and a decline in population.

traffic

The former community is well developed in terms of traffic. It is located on the busy main road from Delémont to Tavannes . By 2015, the A16 motorway is to be built in the Vallée de Tavannes, which will connect the Swiss national road network with the French motorway network. On December 16, 1876, the Court to Tavannes railway was inaugurated. The station, called Malleray-Bévilard, is located in the area where the two municipalities border.

history

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2015

Aerial photo (1958)

The village is first mentioned in 1181 under the name Beviler in a document from Pope Lucius III. mentioned who confirmed property in Bévilard to Bellelay Monastery . The names Betviler (1225), Buelert (1237), Befelier (1250), Beivilar (1263) and Bellvillart (1463) appear later . The place name is derived from the Latin Belini Villa , which goes back to the Celtic sun god Belenos .

In the 13th and 14th centuries, the place was the seat of the nobles of Bévilard. The village, in which the Reformation was introduced in 1531 , was under the Moutier-Grandval Provost . From 1797 to 1815 Bévilard belonged to France and was initially part of the Mont-Terrible department , which was linked to the Haut-Rhin department in 1800 . By the decision of the Congress of Vienna , Bévilard came to the canton of Bern in the district of Moutier in 1815 .

Until December 31, 2014, Bévilard was an independent municipality .

Attractions

The reformed parish church of Saint-Georges with a bell tower crowned by an onion dome was rebuilt in 1715-16. The parish of Bévilard has existed since 1263.