Loveresse
Origin of the name Loveresse
Loveresse appears in 1148 as « de Loveresce », in a forgery written at the end of the 12th century, then in 1225 as « Loverasse ». The name has no known explanation.[1]
Founding of Loveresse
The village lies on the southern slope of the Moron, in the Tavannes valley. In the 12th century the chapter of Moutier-Grandval collected the tithe here, and the abbey of Bellelay already owned land. Loveresse belonged to the provostry of Moutier-Grandval and, even before the Reformation, to the parish of Tavannes-Chaindon.[1]
History of Loveresse
1148. A charter dated to this year, in fact a forgery from the end of the 12th century, names « de Loveresce ».[1]
1225. The village is mentioned as « Loverasse ».[1]
Second half of the 13th century. The abbey of Bellelay acquires a great deal of property at Loveresse, including the mill.[1]
1404. The bishop of Basel grants franchises to attract settlers to the abbey's lands, notably at Loveresse.[1]
1611. A sawmill is set up at the place called Le Moulin.[1]
1797-1815. Loveresse belongs to the French departments of Mont-Terrible and then Haut-Rhin.[1]
1815. The village is attached to Bern, in the bailiwick and later the district of Moutier.[1]
1855. Loveresse becomes a mixed municipality.[1]
Late 19th century. Watch factories set up in the village. They do not survive the conversion crisis that follows the First World War.[1]
1906. The State of Bern buys the old people's home of the Tavannes valley to turn it into a reform home for girls.[1]
1928. Loveresse now belongs to the parish of Reconvilier (the change is also dated to 1908).[1][4]
1975-1987. The psychiatric clinic of Bellelay uses the former home's building.[1]
2004-2005. The agricultural training and advisory centre of the Bernese Jura, housed in this building, is merged into the Fondation rurale interjurassienne.[1]
2025. On 30 November, with a turnout of about 80 %, Loveresse rejects the merger with Reconvilier and Saules by 77.8 %. Voters feared the village would lose its identity.[2][3]
Population of Loveresse
Sources and references: [1][5]
| 1755 | 164 |
| 1850 | 227 |
| 1900 | 383 |
| 1910 | 421 |
| 1950 | 321 |
| 2000 | 333 |
| 2010 | 312 |
| 2020 | 346 |
| 2025 | 367 |
Historic sites in Loveresse
Former home of the Tavannes valley. An old people's home that became a girls' reform home in 1906, then part of the Bellelay clinic from 1975 to 1987. It houses the agricultural training centre of the Bernese Jura, part of the Fondation rurale interjurassienne.[1]
Le Moulin. Site of the mill acquired by Bellelay in the 13th century, where a sawmill was set up in 1611.[1]
Sources
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Loveresse » (Pierre-André Wyss), version du 20.01.2026
- La Télé (ATS), « Échec d'un projet de fusion de trois communes dans le Jura bernois », 30.11.2025
- Direction de l'intérieur et de la justice du canton de Berne, liste des projets de fusion de communes (état juin 2026)
- Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Reconvilier » (Christine Gagnebin-Diacon), version du 15.01.2026
- Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS), STATPOP, population résidante permanente au 31.12.2025
Other villages near Loveresse
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