Roches BE

BE is the abbreviation for the canton of Bern in Switzerland and is used to avoid confusion with other entries in the name Roches .

Roches
State :	Switzerland
Canton :	Bern (BE)
Administrative district :	Bernese Jura
BFS no. :	0704
Postal code :	2762
Coordinates :	595819  /  239 101 coordinates: 47 ° 18 '10 "  N , 7 ° 23' 0"  O ; CH1903:  595819  /  239101
Height :	491  m above sea level M.
Height range :	477–1281 m above sea level M.
Area :	9.06  km²
Residents:	201 (December 31, 2018)
Population density :	22 inhabitants per km²
Roches
Location of the municipality

Roches is a municipality in the Bernese Jura administrative district in the canton of Bern in Switzerland .

geography

Roches is 491  m above sea level. M. , 3 km north-northeast of the village of Moutier (linear distance). The village extends in a valley widening of the Birs below the Gorges de Moutier, in the breakthrough valley through the anticline of the Mont Raimeux chain of the Jura .

The area of ​​the 9.0 km² community includes the heavily relief area of ​​the breakthrough of the Birs through an anticline of the Chain Jura . The hard limestone layers now form striking rock ridges, while the softer clays and marls in between have been more heavily eroded, creating valley widths. In the east, the municipality extends to the height of Mont Raimeux, on which at 1280  m above sea level. M. the highest point of Roches is reached. To the west, the area extends to the plateau of the Montagne de Moutier ( 1140  m above sea level ) as well as the Trondai ( 972  m above sea level ) and the chain of Le Mont ( 1129  m above sea level ). The southern boundary runs along the Arête du Raimeux and Belle Face ; the northern border lies on the rocky peaks of the Roche Saint-Jean and the Côte des Porcs . In 1997, 4% of the municipal area was in settlements, 71% in forests and woodlands, 24% in agriculture and a little less than 1% was unproductive land.

The hamlet of Hautes-Roches ( 733  m above sea level ) on a promontory on the eastern slope of the Montagne de Moutier high above the valley floor of the Birs and several individual farms belong to Roches . Neighboring municipalities of Roches are Moutier , Belprahon and Grandval in the canton of Bern as well as Courrendlin and Châtillon in the canton of Jura .

population

With 201 inhabitants (as of December 31, 2018), Roches is one of the small communities in the Bernese Jura . 81.8% of the residents are French-speaking, 15.1% German-speaking and 1.3% Italian-speaking (as of 2000). The population of Roches was 277 in 1850 and 280 in 1900. After a peak around 1970 with 323 inhabitants, a marked decline has been recorded since then.

politics

The voting shares of the parties in the 2015 National Council election were: SVP 62.4%, SP 9.9%, EDU 6.8%, EVP 4.0%, glp 4.0%, CVP 3.0%, GPS 2.8 %, Philipp Jutzi 2.8%, BDP 2.6%, SD 1.4%, FDP 0.5%.

economy

Roches was an agricultural village for a long time , but has also developed into a residential community in recent decades. There was a mill on the Birs since the end of the 18th century. Today there are a few smaller companies in Roches. However, many employed people are commuters and work either in Moutier or in the Delémont region .

traffic

The community has good transport links. It is located on the busy main road from Delémont to Moutier. With the 3 km long Mont Raimeux tunnel on the A16 motorway , which bypasses the Moutier gorges , through traffic has decreased somewhat. The A16 will connect the Swiss national road network with the French motorway network by 2015. On December 16, 1876, the Jura Railway from Delémont to Moutier was inaugurated with a train station in Roches. Today, however, no trains stop there, the municipality is connected to the public transport network by the Delémont - Moutier bus line.

history

The village was under the Moutier-Grandval provost until the end of the 18th century . From 1797 to 1815 Roches 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.

Attractions

See also : List of cultural assets in Roches

• In the center of the village there are some classicist buildings and wooden warehouses from the 18th century. In the hamlet of Hautes-Roches, the characteristic farmhouses from the 19th century form a unit.
• The archaeological nature trail at La Charbonnière (Combe Chopin) leads close to the site through the pre-industrial history of the Jura.

photos

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Web links

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

• Official website of the municipality of Roches (French)
• Christine Gagnebin-Diacon: Roches (BE). In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Permanent resident population from STAT-TAB of the BfS , municipalities see also regional portraits 2020 on bfs.admin.ch, accessed on May 29, 2020
2. ^ Results of the Roches community. State Chancellery of the Canton of Bern, October 18, 2015, accessed on April 19, 2016 .