Rondchâtel
Rondchâtel is a place in the political municipality of Péry-La Heutte in the canton of Bern in Switzerland .
Geographical location
Rondchâtel is located south of Reuchenette and above the Rondchâtel gorge at 580 m above sea level. M. on the Schüss in the Bernese Jura .
history
The place is named after a presumed castle on the hill in the middle of the valley, but its existence has not been proven. The Romans had already built fortifications along their road. It is believed that there was a Roman fort on the hill in Rondchâtel. The top of the hill is surrounded by a terraced step. Concrete remains from Roman times can be found at the exit of the Klus near Frinvillier , on the eastern slope the cart tracks at Martinsklafter , to the west the foundation walls of a watchtower on a rock spur on the Geissücken , from which one overlooks the entire valley from Reuchenette in the north to the Taubenloch Gorge in the south.
The French place name Rondchâtel ( German round castle ) is first mentioned in 1393 in a Latin document that is in the archives of the diocese of Basel. The document names Wilhelm von Orsans, Lord von Rondchâtel, who holds a fiefdom of the Church of Basel in Orwen .
economy
When the Compagnie du Jura Bernois opened the railway line from Biel to Sonceboz in 1874 , the Frenchman Constant Peck built a lime and cement factory. This is still in operation today and has been part of Vigier AG since 1902. In 1882 Oscar Miller , director of the Biberist paper mill, founded a wood pulp mill, which ceased operations at the beginning of the 21st century.
Parish merger project
Rondchâtel is the name of a merger project of six municipalities in the Bernese Jura , which failed in the referendum on June 1, 2008.
The project would have united the six municipalities of Orvin , Péry , La Heutte , Vauffelin , Romont and Plagne into a new municipality with 4,000 inhabitants in Bas Vallon near St-Imier . According to media reports, a committee opposed the merger. In particular, it criticized the inadequate public information about the project. The tax burden was also an issue and a loss of democracy was feared.
Attractions
Individual evidence
- ↑ Contribution à l'Histoire de La Seigneurie d'Orvin ( Memento of the original of March 16, 2012 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link has been inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (PDF file; 1.25 MB), pages 8–25 (French).
- ↑ Vigier Beton Seeland Jura .
- ↑ Quelques photos de la fête de Rondchâtel Le plus important projet de fusion de communes du Jura bernois a échoué , Tages-Anzeiger Online, June 1, 2008.
Web links
- Christine Gagnebin-Diacon: Rondchâtel. In: Historical Lexicon of Switzerland .