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Monible

Canton of Bern · Former district: Moutier · 35 inhabitants (2000, former municipality of Monible, last figure before the merger)
Part of the municipality of Petit-Val
Origin of the name Founding Historical timeline Population over time Remains Sources and references Nearby villages

Origin of the name Monible

The hamlet is recorded as «Montnible» in 1403, from a copy of 1414, then as «Monible» in 1537. An agreement of 1377 on the sharing of tithes already names it. The name is unexplained.[1][2]

Founding of Monible

Monible sits on a hill near Sornetan, in the Petit-Val. The inhabitants of the vanished village of Sapran may have founded the hamlet, which first belonged to the parish of Sapran and then to the Reformed parish of Sornetan. A fief of Moutier-Grandval, it belonged under the prince-bishops of Basel to the mayoralty of Sornetan, in the provostry of Moutier-Grandval. Monible lost many inhabitants in the 19th century and remains a rural village. It has been part of the municipality of Petit-Val since the 2015 merger.[1][2]

History of Monible

1377. An agreement on the sharing of tithes between Bellelay and Moutier-Grandval mentions Monible.[2]

1612. David Juillerat, born at Monible around 1574, becomes abbot of Bellelay. He dies in his abbey on 17 February 1637, after a plague epidemic and the occupation of the abbey during the Thirty Years' War.[2]

1743. A fire destroys almost the whole hamlet.[1]

1746. The community petitions Prince-Bishop Joseph-Guillaume Rinck against the way road-building work is shared out.[2]

1797. French troops invade the principality of Basel. Monible enters the département of Mont-Terrible, then in 1800 that of Haut-Rhin.[2]

1815. On 20 March the Congress of Vienna assigns the region to the canton of Bern. Monible becomes part of the bailiwick of Moutier.[2]

1845. Three houses burn down.[2]

1853. On 2 April the municipal and burghers' assemblies agree to form a mixed municipality, with a division of property.[2]

1858. On 21 April, after irregularities in the accounts, the Bernese government places the authorities and assembly of Monible under guardianship until 1864. A new guardianship follows in 1875.[2]

1956. The primary school closes.[1]

1977. On 20 May a small private aircraft crashes in the municipality. Its pilot is killed.[2]

1984. Monible forms its own electoral district, separate from Sornetan.[2]

2014. On 16 March the voters of Monible accept the Petit-Val merger by 100 %.[3]

2015. On 1 January Monible becomes part of the municipality of Petit-Val.[1][2]

Population of Monible

Sources and references: [1]

Population of Monible
177576
1850132
190072
195055
200035

Remains in Monible

Forêts du Beucle iron mine. A former medieval iron mine, listed as an object of national importance in the inventory of cultural property protection.[4]

Sources

  1. Dictionnaire historique de la Suisse, « Monible » (Pierre-Olivier Léchot, version du 14.09.2016)
  2. Commune de Petit-Val, « Monible autrefois »
  3. Dictionnaire du Jura (DIJU), « Petit-Val » (Kiki Lutz, 2016)
  4. Office fédéral de la protection de la population, Inventaire PBC, liste cantonale des objets A et B, canton de Berne (état au 1.1.2026)

Other villages near Monible

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