Lake Biel

Lake Biel (Lac de Bienne)
	Church of Ligerz on Lake Biel
Geographical location	Seeland , Canton Bern , Switzerland ; GEWISS -Nr .: 37 (Aare) u. 1411 (Canal de la Thielle)
Tributaries	Zihl Canal , Hagneck Canal or Aare , Twannbach , Schüss
Drain	Nidau-Büren Canal or Aare , ; Zihl
Islands	St. Petersinsel , Vogelinsel
Places on the shore	Biel
	Data
Coordinates	579 918 / 214 984 coordinates: 47 ° 5 ' N , 7 ° 10' O ; CH1903: five hundred and seventy-nine thousand nine hundred and eighteen / 214,984
Altitude above sea level	429.25 m above sea level M. (1983-2015)
surface	39.8 km²
length	15 km
width	4.1 km
volume	1.24 km³
scope	55.602 km
Maximum depth	74 m
Middle deep	29 m
Catchment area	8210 km²
	BFS no. : 9148, ; shares by cantons: BE : 9149, NE : 9150

The Lake Biel ( French Lac de Bienne , Italian Lago di Bienna ; Romansh: Lai da Bienna ) is in addition to the Murten and Neuchâtel one of the three large Jura lakes edge of Switzerland in the so-called Three-Lakes . The mean discharge is 244 m³ / s. The theoretical residence time of the water in the lake is only 54 days. Almost all of the lake lies in the canton of Bern , only a small part between La Neuveville and the Zihl Canal is in the canton of Neuchâtel .

Tributaries

The most important tributaries are the Aare , which has been fed through the Hagneck Canal since the Jura water correction , the Zihl Canal , which comes from Lake Neuchâtel, and the Twannbach and Schüss brooks, which arise in the Jura .

Maritime history

The Bielersee represents a remnant of the former Solothurnersee , which was formed after the last ice age in a hollow of 100 kilometers in length created by the Rhone glacier at the southern foot of the Jura from the terminal moraines at Wangen an der Aare and Solothurn to the watershed at La Sarraz . Debris from the Alpine and Jura rivers filled a large part of this area, so that today only the three Jura lakes remain.

Drain

The original outflow of the lake water through the lower reaches of the Zihl near Nidau has been replaced by the Nidau-Büren Canal since the first Jura water correction . The Port control weir built on this artificial watercourse allows the water level of the three Jura lakes, which is monitored at the Ligerz measuring station, and the Aare to be controlled.

In the town of Nidau, an approximately 1500 m long section of the old Zihllauf from the eastern end of Lake Biel to the new canal has been preserved. It begins at the lido and the seaport and leads past Nidau Castle on the east side . Seven bridges and footbridges cross the stream between the lake and the confluence with the Nidau-Büren Canal. The footpath on the left bank below the Nidau road bridge still bears the name "Reckweg" today because of the former ship transport .

Shore locations

The most important place on the shores of Lake Biel is the city of Biel / Bienne .

Since Lake Biel is on the German-French language border , various localities around the lake have bilingual names, but not all of them are used today:

Bipschal - Bévesier
Erlach - Cerlier
Hagneck
Ipsach
Landern - Le Landeron
Ligerz - Gléresse
Lüscherz - Locras
Mörigen - Morenges
Neuenstadt - La Neuveville
Nidau
Schafis - Chavannes
St. Peters Island - Ile de Saint-Pierre
Sutz-Lattrigen
Täuffelen - Chouffaille
Tüscherz - Daucher
Twann - Douanne
Vinelz - Fenis
Vingelz - Vigneules
Wingreis - Vingras

archeology

Since the Neolithic Age, Lake Biel offered a suitable settlement area for the construction of pile dwellings . The lakeside settlements in the Alpine region are among the most important archaeological cultural assets in Europe. Depending on the water level, prehistoric settlements have been identified and partially excavated on the shoreline in Sutz-Lattrigen , Mörigen , Lüscherz , Vinelz , Twann and Biel / Bienne (in the Vingelz district ). Some are over 6000 years old and date from the Bronze Age or the Neolithic Age . In Biel / Bienne ( NMB ), Lüscherz ( Pfahlbaumuseum Lüscherz ), Twann and La Neuveville there are museums on this epoch of settlement history. The excavation sites of the pile dwellers in the Alpine countries Switzerland, Germany, Austria, Slovenia, Italy and France have been UNESCO World Heritage Sites since 2011 .

shipping

There are several landing stages for scheduled boats and ports for private shipping on Lake Biel.

The Bielersee Rescue Service organization organizes training in safety issues and rescue services on the lake.

Hydropower

Bielersee Kraftwerk AG operates two hydropower plants at the mouth of the Hagneck Canal in Lake Biel and next to the Port Regulierwehr .

Attractions

St. Peters Island

The most important and most important tourist attraction of Lake Biel is St. Petersinsel near Erlach . In the Middle Ages, a Cluniac monastery was built on the island . In the 18th century, Jean-Jacques Rousseau stayed here for several weeks. Since the correction of the Jura waters, the island has been connected to the lakeshore near Erlach by a narrow strip of land about 1.7 km in length, thus forming a new peninsula. It can be reached with the scheduled ship of the Bielersee-Schifffahrts-Gesellschaft or on foot from Erlach. The northeastern part of St. Petersinsel belongs to the municipality of Twann , the south-western part near the bank to the municipality of Erlach.

Bird island

The small bird island at the confluence of the Schüss offers a habitat for numerous water-loving breeding birds that can be observed there.

Viticulture on the lake

On the left bank of Lake Biel between Biel / Bienne and Le Landeron , wine is grown on the steep, sun-exposed slopes of the southern foot of the Jura . White wine is predominantly grown, along with red and rosé wine. In autumn numerous wine festivals take place in these places on the occasion of the grape harvest . According to a tradition, the local specialty, the Treberwurst , is served to visitors in the wine cellars of this wine-growing region during the winter months . The regional wine museum is located in Ligerz.

Nature reserve and nature trail

A protected wetland area

Along the lake shore between Mörigen and Hagneckkanal there is an important wetland in Switzerland, which is under nature protection. This wetland is of international importance, especially for birds . Many rare and threatened species breed in the extensive reed and marshland near the shore , rest here on their migration between the breeding area and winter quarters or spend the winter. A nature trail leads through this nature reserve and the reed belt.

Historical places

The city of Biel / Bienne , La Neuveville , Erlach , Twann and Ligerz have well-preserved old towns and cityscapes typical of the region.

Ligerz Church

Because of its location on the mountain slope above the lake, the church of Ligerz is one of the most famous motifs of landscape iconography in Switzerland.

Tessenberg funicular

A funicular of the Ligerz-Tessenberg-Bahn leads from Ligerz to Prêles on the Tessenberg.

Biel lido

Biel's lido is one of the most important monuments of modern architecture in Zealand.

literature

Erich Liechti, Jürg Meister, Josef Gwerder: The history of shipping on the Jura waters. Lake Neuchâtel - Lake Murten - Lake Biel - Aare . Meier, Schaffhausen 1982, ISBN 3-8580-1035-9 .

Web links

Commons : Bielersee - collection of images, videos and audio files

Individual evidence

↑ Federal Office for the Environment FOEN - Hydrological data and forecasts: Bielerrsee and 2015 annual table : annual mean 1983–2015 (PDF)

↑ ^a ^b ^c ^d Seen (Federal Office for the Environment FOEN). Retrieved January 18, 2020 .

↑ Generalized municipal boundaries in Switzerland, 2014 edition (PDF) p. 16, accessed on March 18, 2018

↑ Website on the three Jura border lakes of the BENEFRI working group of the cantons of Bern, Neuchâtel and Friborg - Lake Biel ( Memento from August 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

^ The state of the lakes in Switzerland, Environmental Series No. 237, Federal Office for the Environment, Forests and Landscape, 1994

↑ Hydrodata Ligerz.

↑ World Heritage pile dwellings. ( Memento from December 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

^ Association of Rescue Service Bielersee.

^ The Hagneck hydropower station , Bielersee Kraftwerke

^ "Hof" vineyard museum on Lake Biel .

↑ Ligerz . In: Andres Moser: The art monuments of the canton of Bern, Volume III: The district of Nidau 2nd part (= The art monuments of Switzerland, 106). Wiese, Basel, 2005, ISBN 3-906131-80-7 , pp. 341-408 ( PDF ; 6.2 MB)

↑ Biel Beach.

[1] Federal Office for the Environment FOEN - Hydrological data and forecasts: Bielerrsee and 2015 annual table : annual mean 1983–2015 (PDF)

[bafu-2] Seen (Federal Office for the Environment FOEN). Retrieved January 18, 2020 .

[3] Generalized municipal boundaries in Switzerland, 2014 edition (PDF) p. 16, accessed on March 18, 2018

[4] Website on the three Jura border lakes of the BENEFRI working group of the cantons of Bern, Neuchâtel and Friborg - Lake Biel ( Memento from August 9, 2013 in the Internet Archive )

[5] The state of the lakes in Switzerland, Environmental Series No. 237, Federal Office for the Environment, Forests and Landscape, 1994

[6] Hydrodata Ligerz.

[7] World Heritage pile dwellings. ( Memento from December 11, 2016 in the Internet Archive )

[8] Association of Rescue Service Bielersee.

[9] The Hagneck hydropower station , Bielersee Kraftwerke

[10] "Hof" vineyard museum on Lake Biel .

[11] Ligerz . In: Andres Moser: The art monuments of the canton of Bern, Volume III: The district of Nidau 2nd part (= The art monuments of Switzerland, 106). Wiese, Basel, 2005, ISBN 3-906131-80-7 , pp. 341-408 ( PDF ; 6.2 MB)

[12] Biel Beach.