Pontenet

State :

Switzerland

Canton :

Bern (BE)

Administrative district :

Bernese Jura

Residential municipality :

Valbirse

Postal code :

2733

former BFS no. :

0702

Coordinates :

586 140 / 232476 coordinates: 47 ° 14 '35 " N , 7 ° 15' 20" O ; CH1903: 586140 / 232476

Height :

741 m above sea level M.

Area :

2.74 km²

Residents:

222 (December 31, 2014)

Population density :

81 inhabitants per km²

Website:

www.valbirse.ch

Pontenet

map

Pontenet is a place in the municipality of Valbirse , which is in the Bernese Jura administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland .

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

geography

Parish before the merger on January 1, 2015

Pontenet is 741 m above sea level. M. , ten kilometers west-southwest of the town of Moutier (beeline). The farming village extends on a knoll on the lower southern slope of the Moron around 30 meters above the valley floor of the Birs , in the wide valley basin of the Juralängstals Vallée de Tavannes .

The area of the 2.7 square kilometers large former municipal area comprises a narrow section in the central part of the Vallée de Tavannes. The valley of the Birs occupies the southern part. A small tip extends to the lower slope of the Montoz chain, which flanks the Vallée de Tavannes on its south side. To the north, the former municipal area extends over the Pâturage du Droit (pasture and forest area) and the wooded steep slope to the Jura range of the Moron, where at 1325 m above sea level. M. the highest point of Pontenet is reached. Here there are extensive Jura high pastures with the typical mighty spruce trees , which either stand individually or in groups. In 1997, 6% of the former municipal area was in settlements, 46% in forests and woodlands, 47% in agriculture and a little less than 1% was unproductive land.

Several individual farms and mountain farms on the Moron belong to Pontenet. The neighboring municipalities of Pontenet are Loveresse and Petit-Val .

population

With 217 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2013), Pontenet was one of the small communities in the Bernese Jura . 89.5% of the residents were French-speaking, 9.5% German-speaking and 0.5% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Pontenet was 121 in 1850 and 234 in 1900. After a peak in 1920 with 295 inhabitants, a significant decline has since been recorded.

economy

Pontenet is still a village dominated by agriculture today , with cattle breeding and dairy farming predominating. In the valley floor of the Birs some smaller businesses have established themselves. Many workers are commuters and work in the industrial communities of the Vallée de Tavannes.

traffic

The former municipality is very well developed in terms of traffic. It is located 500 meters from the 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 railway line from Court to Tavannes was inaugurated with a station in Pontenet.

history

The first written mention of Pontenet dates back to 1357 under the name Pontenat . The village was under the Moutier-Grandval provost until the end of the 18th century . From 1797 to 1815 Pontenet 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 , the place came to the canton of Bern to the district of Moutier in 1815 .

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

Attractions

In the town center, some farmhouses from the 18th and 19th centuries have been preserved, the oldest farmhouse dates from 1673. The small church was built in the style of late classicism .

Web links

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

Official website of the municipality of Pontenet
Pierre-André Wyss: Pontenet. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .