La Heutte
Origin of the name La Heutte
The village takes its name from a Glas-Hütte, a glassworks, probably its origin. A fief letter of the d'Orsans family names « Zur Hütte » in 1370, the form « Hütte » appears in 1393 and the present name in 1727. La Heutte is the French form of the German « Zur Hütte ».[1][5]
Founding of La Heutte
La Heutte lies in a narrow valley on the old Roman road from Augusta Raurica (Augst) to Petinesca (Studen). The village belonged to the lordship of the Erguël, in the prince-bishopric of Basel, and to the mayoralty of Péry, whose parish it also shared. In the 18th century it often quarrelled with the town of Biel. Mostly agricultural until the 20th century, it is today in the municipality of Péry-La Heutte (merger of 2015).[1][5]
History of La Heutte
1370. A glassworks operated for a few decades at the place called Le Van, north of the village.[1][2][4]
1530. Biel imposed the Reformation on the parish of Péry, to which La Heutte belonged.[1][4]
1577. A licence for a mill and a sawmill was granted.[3]
Vers 1609. Glassmakers from Solothurn and Bohemia, arriving via Gänsbrunnen, founded three glass huts under the prince-bishop: Le Grabe (1594) and La Steiner (1599), on Sonceboz land, then the Porte des Enfers at La Heutte.[1]
1633. A new glassworks was set up at Le Van.[1]
XVIIe siècle. A burgher community already existed.[1]
1650-1750. The lower village was built, with a thriving pottery and a large mill on the Suze.[1][4]
1798. The municipality was created.[1]
1816. On 6 April a Bernese decree placed La Heutte in a district of Péry. From 1831 to 2009 the village belonged to the district of Courtelary.[7][1]
1839. The first school was built.[1][3][4]
1876. On 1 June the railway halt opened, which helped watchmaking to settle.[1][3][4]
1878. The Amann & Béguelin factory took over the site of the Bendit mill. Urania Watch Co. followed in 1895, then the Weber wire works in 1938.[1][4]
1880. On 30 September the mill burnt down.[3]
1917-1936. A lime and cement works operated in the village.[1]
1950-1974. Many small watchmaking workshops opened.[1][4]
1985. The A16 motorway section to Biel turned La Heutte into a commuter village.[1][4]
1995. About ten three-toed dinosaur tracks were found (a dozen, according to the municipality). The dinosaur trail was opened in 1998.[1][3][4]
2015. La Heutte joined Péry to form Péry-La Heutte.[1]
Population of La Heutte
Sources and references: [1][3]
| 1818 | 171 |
| 1850 | 271 |
| 1900 | 400 |
| 1950 | 344 |
| 1970 | 486 |
| 1980 | 431 |
| 2000 | 488 |
| 2010 | 483 |
| 2014 | 498 |
Historic sites in La Heutte
Dinosaur trail. South of the village, workers building a forest road found footprints left mostly by brachiosaurs, but also by carnivores. A 3.6 km loop with information panels leads to them, about 25 minutes' walk from the station.[5][6]
Old school. The school of 1839, converted into a municipal building after 1981, celebrated its 150th anniversary in 1989.[3]
Remains in La Heutte
Medieval glassworks of Le Van. The site of the Le Van glassworks, north of the village, is listed in the inventory of cultural property as an object of national importance (A).[1][2]
Porte des Enfers. Glass hut founded around 1609 at La Heutte by glassmakers from Gänsbrunnen.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Heutte, La » (Anne Beuchat-Bessire, version du 09.11.2021)
- Office fédéral de la protection de la population, Inventaire suisse des biens culturels d'importance nationale et régionale, liste du canton de Berne (2026)
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Heutte, La »
- Commune de Péry-La Heutte, « Histoire »
- Canton de Berne, BEinfo, « Péry-La Heutte, terre de dinosaures » (7 mars 2024)
- Commune de Péry-La Heutte, « Traces des dinosaures »
- Chronologie jurassienne, « Reuchenette »
Other villages near La Heutte
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