History of the villages of the canton of Bern

History of the Bernese Jura

Moutier-Grandval and the bishopric of Basel

Around 640 Duke Gundoin gave land in the Birse valley to Walbert, abbot of Luxeuil, who had the abbey of Moutier-Grandval founded there under the monk Germanus. In 999 King Rudolph III gave it to the bishop of Basel: this was the origin of the later prince-bishopric.

The Erguël, which included the Suze valley and Tramelan, was a lordship of the bishopric from the 13th century to 1797. In 1264 Otto of Arguel handed his office back to the bishop. The bishop founded La Neuveville around 1310, below the Schlossberg castle, and granted it a charter of liberties in 1318. The town concluded a co-citizenship treaty with Bern in 1388.

The Reformation

In March 1530 the people of the Erguël voted for the Reformation under the influence of Biel. Guillaume Farel preached at La Neuveville in 1529 and 1530, and Bern imposed the new faith there.

In the provostry of Moutier-Grandval about four fifths of the inhabitants adopted the Reformation, and the collegiate church was destroyed in 1531. The chapter took refuge in Delémont in 1534. The southern part of the provostry, Sur-les-Roches, became Protestant, while Sous-les-Roches remained Catholic.

From France to the canton of Bern

In January 1793 Moutier-Grandval broke away under the protection of Bern. The south of the bishopric was occupied from December 1797 and attached to the département of Mont-Terrible, then to Haut-Rhin in 1800.

In 1815 the former bishopric, except Biel, was united with the canton of Bern. The Act of Union guaranteed the Catholic and Protestant faiths. The Erguël became the bailiwick of Courtelary, the provostry formed the district of Moutier from 1831, and in 1846 La Neuveville became the seat of a French-speaking district.

From the Jura question to the present

Watchmaking took root with Longines at Saint-Imier in 1866 and the Tavannes Watch Co. in 1891, and precision machinery developed at Moutier from 1880. The Moeckli affair of September 1947 opened a new phase of the Jura question. The plebiscite of 23 June 1974 approved the creation of a canton of Jura by 36'802 votes to 34'057, but on 16 March 1975 the southern districts chose to remain in Bern. Since 1 January 1979 the Bernese Jura has consisted of the districts of Courtelary, Moutier and La Neuveville.

The 2010 reform created the administrative district of the Bernese Jura, with its prefecture at Courtelary. On 28 March 2021 Moutier voted by 54.9% to join the canton of Jura, which took effect on 1 January 2026. The administrative district had 49 communes at its creation and has 39 in 2026. In 2017, before Moutier left, it had 53'768 inhabitants.